My second son is three weeks old and is becoming more and more uncomfortable and upset when nursing on my right breast. I hear him gulping air despite that his position is the same as that on the left side; he does gulp air occasionally on the left side as well. After breaking the suction and burping him, he often continues nursing but breaks out in to painful cries, sometimes going back to the breast and sometimes pulling away completely. The number of times he cries in pain has begun escalating over the past three days, so much so that our morning nursing session was quite short and I doubt he ate until full.
I have tried using the football hold on the right side so that his body is in a similar position to how I cradle him when nursing him on the left side. That hasn't helped too much. Additionally, I've tried cradle-holding him at a steeper angle as well as less of one; neither seems to make much of a difference.
While he doesn't cry exclusively when at the right breast, it seems to happen much more frequently there. I'm starting to wonder if my milk tastes different on that side, or if I should try pumping that side and serving it in a bottle.
Has anyone had a similar experience? I want to continue breast feeding but want to be sure he is comfortable and that we're enjoying the experience. I welcome any suggestions. Thank you!
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my request. The suggestions were varied and all terrific! I took all comments to my pediatrician, who we were able to see about 3 days after my posting, and we determined that the problem with Declan is two-fold: first, he gets overwhelmed by my let-down, which causes him to get frantic and gulp air; second, he's simply a gassy boy who sometimes has a hard time working things out. His age may be a factor as well since, per my pediatrician, his nervous system is developing and he may also realize now that crying is a response to illicit comfort for when his tummy is grumbly; before that, it's possible he suffered in silence (poor baby ...). While we're still having some issues with crying and pulling off, I'm sticking to breast feeding and give Declan plenty of breaks for burps and words of encouragement.
For those who also inquired about my little guys' names -- Finnbarr and Declan: my husband is from Ireland (Cork City), and the names are family ones. We haven't had pronunciation issues yet, but I'm sure that will happen! Oh well. :)
Again, thanks to you all for your words of wisdom, encouragement and support. I truly appreciate how speedy you all were to offer up help! What a great site.
Hi L.,
Sounds like you could be producing more milk on that side, I did with my daughter. I would pump off a little then put her back to the breast to finish. She couldn't keep up with the amount that would come out and she would swallow air and be upset like you mentioned. Try this and see if it works, it did for us!
Is it possible that he could have an ear infection? It may be painful on that side if he is lying with the sore ear down. Just a guess--good luck!
i know it's been aawhile since you posted (but it takes me forever to have a chance to look at postings!). I hope that the situation has gotten better, now that your baby is getting a little older. If it hasn't, I would talk to your pediatrician about ruling out torticollis, which is where a baby's neck muscles are a bit tighter on one side than the other. Check to see if your baby can turn his head fully from right to left and back again, or if he seems to have less range of motion on one side versus the other. The tightness can cause discomfort when laying in certain positions where the tight muscles are stretched. It is easily corrected with some basic stretching, positioning, and other little tricks that your pediatrician or a physical therapist can teach you. Hope everything is working itself out, and congrats on the new baby!
L.,
Try seeing your OB. There might be something going on that you need to have checked out. A mammogram might just be what you need. That's the only thing I can think of - sorry it's so negative, but it could be a positive for you. Worst case, it winds up nothing.
Good luck,
M.
Sounds like he is having breast-preference issues. My daughter did the same thing to me. She shortly got over it. Offer the right side to him first. That should slowly break him out of it. Sometimes this happens as a result of how they are positioned in utero and want to keep it that way. I also found it more comfortable for me to nurse on the left side rather on the right, it felt better to me and most definitely to her.
The milk on the one breast will be different, not taste, if he hasn't nursed on that side as often. It should be darker and heavier. It is best to keep a balance on both sides. Good luck with your new little son. And wow, what unique names!
Something to keep in mind....you don't HAVE to nurse on both sides. I know a few women who nurse only at one breast. Your breasts get a little uneven...but hey. Also, I'm not sure what your opinion is on chiropractic care, but maybe your little guy IS in pain and needs his spine adjusted.
I don't have a lot of ideas why your baby is having trouble nursing on the right side other than maybe you have a faster flow. I really doubt your milk would taste different. What I wanted to comment on is your baby's name! My son (turning one this Friday) is also named Declan! My husband fell in love with the name. It actually fits my son very well. But don't you hate it when people say, "De- Clan" or "Deeklan?" Ugh.
When was the last time his ears were checked?
Nanc
Just want to rule out any other possibilities...my son wouldn't nurse from the right side when he was first born. I had a doula for his birth, and she pointed out that it was likely due to his forceps delivery, which seemed to have pulled his neck. I took him to a chiropractor when he was five days old--she adjusted him, and then he nursed just fine from that side and was fine from then on. Just in case you're wondering, chiropractic for babies and children is really gentle. The chiropractor uses a light tap with one finger--so light that I didn't even realize she'd adjusted him. I just wanted to point that out in case maybe there was some other reason he may not be taking that side.
I also wanted to comment on your kids' names--are you Irish? My husband's from Ireland--we named our first son Liam, and baby #2 (not yet named) will arrive in about six weeks!
I did.
You may have too much milk or it coming out too fast for him! Check out http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html
Also check out La Leche League. There is a Queens group http://www.lllusa.org/NYE/Queens/queens.HTM They really are the experts on what could be the problem. The leaders have their phone numbers listed, all calls are free and SOOO helpful.
Good luck and congrats!
I had this problem (to a lesser degree, I think) and I found that nursing lying down helped. I could also switch breasts without changing the position of the baby.
Good luck!
My son didn't like the left boob. I kept offering him that breast first. At 1, he still prefers the right breast but does not really mind the left one. You could ask your doctor, but I think this is really common. Just keep offering it to him first. Be ready with a pad on your breast or a little cup to catch what comes out if he fusses and rejects it and moves on to the other one.
L.-
My son also started having trouble with breast feeding around 3 weeks old. He nursed great until then, but at 3 weeks he started gagging and crying and basically latching on and then coming off. At one point, I also thought it happened more often on one side than the other, but after time went by, I realized it was just a coincidence. My lactation consultant was great. We figured out that he was getting too much milk at once and couldn't handle it. To slow down your milk, you can gently press down on one area of the breast (always switch the area so you don't get a clogged duct), or you can lean back if sitting up or lie down while feeding him. My son would still gag, but it happened less often. The gagging pretty much disappeared after he hit two months. As for the latching on and off with crying in between, that seemed to be his tummy bothering him. Even now, about to be 4 months old, he still does this sometimes. Now, I know to expect a poop or some gas to come out. After I change him, he'll usually eat some more. If you have access to a lactation consultant, they can help figure out what is going on in your situation.
Also, if this definitely only happens on your right side, you may want to have his ear checked just to make sure he's not sick.
Good luck!
-T.
Both of my kids preferred my right side in the beginning, not really sure why. I always thought maybe it was because it was easier on one side then the other. I started trying to feed on the bad side first when they were more eager to work hard to get the milk. Eventually both sides were excepted equally. I would just keep offering it, and if it keeps happening contact a lac. consultant they are usualy very helpful.
Good luck
Hi L.,
At 3 weeks old, your baby is telling you that something is not quite right when he's lying down on the right side. A baby this age doesn't fuss like this for no better reason than preference.
I would check your position with a lactation consultant (sometimes we do things without realizing it, and having an outside eye can spot those), and if the lactation consultant doesn't see anything wrong, talk about it with your pediatrician. It may be you (I doubt it's your milk, but if you want you can do a quick preliminary test by expressing a little bit from each breast and comparing the tastes), but it may also be that there is something going on with your baby that makes him uncomfortable on the right side.
Hope this helps,
K.
I agree with the visit to the chiropractor. My son was delivered with suction and had difficulty opening his mouth wide enough to latch at all. At 6 weeks old he had 2 sessions with a pediatric chiropractor and it was like a light switch got flipped on! At that point, he latched no problem on my right side, but continued to have difficulty on the left. I finally figured out that my nipple was too inverted on the left. So for the rest of his 2 year nursing career, he only nursed on the right side, and I occasionally pumped on the left.
Have you tried laying down to nurse? My son definitely preferred one side at first, to the point that I would get 2-3 oz less when pumping from the neglected breast! I started nursing laying down, and switching at each feed. (So he would get the right breast only at one feed, and the left breast only at the next, etc.)
It worked great- completely got rid of the preference! And after a while, it didn't matter what position I nursed in.
I had the same problem with my first son (who is now 4) and I just kept offering the breast he refused and pumping it if he didn't take any milk. After a couple of weeks or so, he just got over the issue and started nursing from both again.
I think at this early age, the baby's neck is pretty tight - I noticed with my second son that he didn't really start moving his head around loosely until about 10 weeks, so perhaps that contributes to it?
