Feeding on one breast at a time

And then I use a hand held pump on the other while I feed

Ah yeah that’s true I do see that frequently. Do you think it’s necessary if I don’t really from the other side?

I did one breast for a while. However, I don’t pump. I started offering both breasts to empty both or get some relief. No reason other than that. I follow my baby’s cues. Once he’s done, I take him off.

I usually only feed one side at a time. At first, I had to use the haakaa on the other side sometimes to catch letdown and help with engorgement, but after like the first month, my girls were good. I will say there are some tricks, like before bed I'll feed her from R side, then about 30 minutes later L side, she goes to bed at 9 and usually wakes up sometime between 2-5. When she wakes up, we always do R side first because she produces more, and L side is good until next feeding. It also helps with going longer between pumps at work, too. Since each one is used to going for 4-5 hours between their feeding times, even though baby girl nurses every 2-3 hours when I'm home, I can go about 4 hours at work between pumps Since I'm pumping both sides at the same time. You'll have to figure out what tricks work best for you.

I was told to do one at a time so my baby would get more of the hindmilk when she was having a hard time gaining weight. She's about to be 4 months now, and usually, she'll at least take some from the second as well now.

It is recommended to do one breast at a time if your baby can do a full feed on one side, so you're doing it right! When you feed one at a time, baby gets both foremilk (comes out first, more hydrating) and hind milk (comes out last, fattier and will keep them fuller) Secondly if you feed one at a time (ensuring your babe is full of course), your body will regulate to what baby needs rather than having a oversupply, which it sounds like you have!

I only nursed both when she was newborn to 11 weeks or so