Changed from expressing milk at evening feed to breast feeding- help!

[momma.bear]

Since DD was a week old, I have been giving her expressed milk in a bottle for her evening feed. We went camping this past weekend and I ended up stopping this. Last night at her 7 pm feeding she emptied one breast and still seemed hungry (I don't switch breasts during a feed) so I offered her the other breast. She then fed for under a minute, I don't think there was much there.
When I went to bed around 10:30 I could feel that same breast getting quite full. By 1pm it was huge, and I ended up leaking lots. Finally at 3:45am I fed her as she woke up. It's been ages since my breasts were so full (well it was really only the one that I offered to her second at her evening feed). And she typically goes until at least 5am without needing to feed.
So my question is, has anyone else had this? Why would my one breast get full so quickly? Is it because I offered it to her for a minute after the other breast? I don't know what to do tonight. If one breast doesn't satisfy her and I offer the second and there's not much there, I don't want to go through the same thing again. Or maybe that breast will be more full tonight since last night it was telling my brain to make more??

[shivi]

When you pump for the evening feed, do you usually pump both sides?

If so, the second side offered wasn't emptied almost at all so it is normal in this case that it got engorged during the evening and into the night. Also normal in this case that baby woke earlier for the feed as she probably didn't take in as much as she would from a bottle of pumped milk.

I would try and offer both sides tonight, starting with the side you didn't feed on at the afternoon feed. At 3-4 mths (usually 4 mth GS) a lot of previous single-sided feeders go looking for a second side and its fairly typical to have to double side feed from then on. My son at 6 mths then started looking for a third boob (to quote my mum) which was the sign to start solids ;-)))

HTH and hugs

Siobhain x

[momma.bear]

When I pumped for the evening feed, I usually pumped only one side. On occasion I'd pump both if I couldn't get 6 oz. from the first side. I did offer her both sides last night, starting with the side she didn't feed on at her afternoon feed. But she wouldn't really feed, and I just assumed that there wasn't really any milk. Now what?!! It was often hard to get a 6 oz. bottle into her for her evening feed, which is why I didn't want to breast feed her at night. But it's much easier than having to pump, so how do I make sure she gets what she needs?

[shivi]

maybe pop her back on in her sleep, before you go to sleep, tanking her up under your terms as it were?

I could never feed DS in his sleep, he never latched on well (a very deep sleeper) whereas DD was a pro at all...never an issue. In fact, I ALWAYS DF from the breast and even went back to a kind of tanking-up feed around 8-9pm when she was self-weaning this time last year just to get to my aim (reduced aim I might add, as I really wanted to get to 24 mths but she was not interested) of 18 mths.

HTH

Siobhain x

[momma.bear]

Thanks, I'll give it a try if she won't take the second side tonight.