Breastfeeding guide
Breastfeeding Logs: Why Side and Duration Are Enough
With a bottle you can read the volume off the side. At the breast you cannot, which is why so many parents wear themselves out trying to estimate it. The genuinely useful information in a breastfeeding log is not volume at all — it is which side, for how long, and how the baby responded.
Last reviewed 2026-08-08 · A general record-keeping guide, not medical advice.
What to record instead of volume
Measuring intake at the breast properly means weighing the baby before and after. That is not something to do at every feed. These four fields cover the same ground well enough:
- Time the feed started
- Side you started on, and whether you switched
- Roughly how long on each side
- How the baby seemed at the end
The second one earns its place immediately — it decides where the next feed begins.
Recording sides looks after you, too
Side tracking is not only about the baby. Favouring one side, or repeatedly skipping one, makes engorgement on the neglected side more likely.
In a log, "started left three times running" is visible at a glance. During stretches of frequent night feeding, keeping that balance from memory alone is close to impossible, which is when this field earns its keep.
One word for the baby's response
How a feed ended is the closest usable stand-in for volume. A single word does the job.
| Word | What it captures | | --- | --- | | Settled | Came off on their own, content | | Hungry | Rooting again straight away | | Fell asleep | Dozed off mid-feed, ending unclear | | Refused | Pushed away when offered |
Collect a few days of these and patterns appear — a particular time of day when feeds consistently end unsettled, for instance.
When formula enters the picture
Adding formula makes the record suddenly more complex. Lump breast and bottle into one field and you will not be able to read anything back out of it later.
Record the method separately. If caregivers are swapping in and out, the approach in formula and breastfeeding handoffs prevents most of the confusion.
Preparing for a consultation
For a lactation consultation or clinic visit, the last few days are what matter most: how many feeds, roughly what intervals, how the sides balanced, how the baby responded, and what nappies looked like.
The log is material for that conversation, not a verdict. If you are worried about supply or you are in pain, go to a clinician or lactation professional rather than trying to interpret the numbers yourself.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to alternate sides every feed?
- Finishing one side and starting the next feed on the other is commonly suggested, but the right approach depends on you and your baby. The log's job is simply to stop you forgetting where you left off — the method itself is worth settling with a lactation professional or clinician.
- If a feed was short, did my baby take less?
- Duration and intake are not reliably proportional. Babies often get more efficient and finish faster as they get older. Read duration alongside how settled the baby seems, nappy output, and the weight trend rather than on its own.
- Should pumping go in the same log?
- Keep it separate. Pumping happens at different times for different reasons, and pumped volumes are actually measurable, so mixing them makes the record harder to read later.
- I feed half-asleep at night and cannot remember which side.
- Very common. Logging at the start of the feed rather than the end helps, as does simply marking the last side used. Missing the occasional entry is not a problem.
- One side has felt uncomfortable for a while. Does the log help?
- It shows you which side has been skipped and when it was last drained, which is useful context. But pain, redness or fever are not things to work out from a log — see a clinician promptly.
Sources
Shared records instead of memory