I am a mom of a 2 year old daughter and a now 3 week old daughter. I am currently breastfeeding my infant and have noticed that my left breast is producing way more milk than my right. By "way more" I mean I pumped tonight and only was able to pump 1oz of milk from my right breast and was able to pump 4oz from my left breast. Is there any reason why this is?
I've noticed before that my left breast is a little bigger than the right one. Is this maybe the reason why I am not able to produce more on my right side? Is there anything I can do to help the breast milk production better so that it evens out on the right side? I am only able to breast feed my infant for like 5 minutes on the right side and then I have to switch her to the left side because she isn't getting enough out of the right. I was always told to keep pumping on the side that isn't producing as much because the pumping helps the milk production. Is this true? Any help or advice will be much appreciated.
Thank you!
Well, I thought maybe the reason I wasn't producing as much from what I was at the hospital was because I was not drinking enough water. I increased my water intake and it didn't help. So, for now all I can conclude is my daughter is just eating a lot more. I am still concerned with the right breast not producing as much as the left because now she will start to fuss on the right breast until I switch her to the left. Then she is content. I may be contacting the lactation specialist at the hospital I delivered at to see if they can give some advice!
6 months later- no mater how much I start feeding on the right side or pump after feeding, my right side produces half of what the left side produces. just keep going and between the two you will be fine,
My best advice is to let your daughter nurse for longer on the right side. If she's still interested in nursing on that side then don't pull her off. Baby is way more efficient at getting a breast to produce than a pump is. Pump on your left side and nurse on the right. Let her comfort nurse on the right side too. If she likes to fall asleep nursing, let her on the right side. In order for your breast to produce more milk, your daughter needs to be completely emptying the breast of all fore and hind milk and then nursing some more. If you do this, you'll actually feel the breast "kick back on" and start producing more. You'll get a second let-down.
Don't pull your daughter off because YOU think she's not getting enough. If she's content, leave her be. Let HER tell you when she's ready to switch. Really the best thing you can do is to nurse her for a few minutes on the left side so she gets all of the thirst busting, watery fore milk from that side, then put her on the right side and let her nurse away to get through the hind milk. Once they're full, many babies will continue to suckle just for comfort. You want her on the right side when she reaches this point. The more stimulation you allow her to provide the breast, the better off you'll be.
Good luck!
pumping is really not a good indication as to how much milk you are producing, I could only pump 1 oz but my child was getting enough (I am still nursing at 17 mo) However since you are getting more from one by pumping and say is is bigger you might have it right. I have not heard of this but my advise was to have her nurse on the 'smaller' side two times in a row for two feedings so it can 'catch' up to the other side...my LAC suggested this to me when one side was faster than the other (she was getting a forcefull letdown) so it slowed down the fast side...but you are saying that you have to switch bc you are not getting enough on that side? my dd did perfer one side over the other, so maybe that is the prob. here since she will nurse more on one and not the other she is creating the other side to overproduce. I would try to start on the 'smaller' side FIRST EACH TIME not switching sides until she needs you to, as again that is what my LAC told me to do. I would also contact one either LAC or LLL as they can help you more. but this worked for me and after they are 'even' then you can switch sides for each nursing session. good luck! happy nursing.
I logged in to answer, but I'd only be echoing what everyone else has said about supply and demand.
But I will add this: I nursed my son for 18 months and one breast was so much larger, it was very noticeable. I'm not a vain or self conscious person at all but it did bother me. So much that I actually nursed on that breast for some relief and so they'd look normal before going out a couple times - which of course only made it worse! But after I stopped nursing, it took some time, but they evened out again. One is still larger (always has been), but it's not that noticeable.
So long story short, even if they aren't close to the same size while nursing, there is hope they'll return to "normal" when it's all said and done. Purely aesthetic, I know, but you got good "supply" answers from the other mamas.
I definitely think the increased pumping will help. Your body makes milk on demand so if there is more demand on one side over the other, I would think that your breast would produce more milk. I also think it is very common for one breast to produce more milk. My left breast was the "milk maker:" If I remember correctly, I think my left breast produced about double the amount of my right.
It is true, demand the breast to produce more by pumping longer than you feed will help. The breast produce on a needs base...so if you only breastfeed for 5 minutes, it will only make enough milk to last for that 5 minutes. If you demand more, more will come.
It is also normal to have one side produce more than the other side. No worries there. It happens.
Most women have a preferred side for their child to nurse on, whether they know it or not, and always tend to put their child on that side first or nurse them longer on that side because it is the most comfortable for them (I don't know if this is you or not). When women do this it tends to make that breast produce more because it is getting more stimulation. When this happens it is best to ALWAYS start nursing your child on the side that produces less and try to keep them there as long as you can. After you have finished nursing your child you should pump the side the produces less to 1) stimulate the breast more, 2) get any additional milk, and 3) try to create a second let down. At all other times you should let your baby pacify on that side which will also help to stimulate more milk to let down. Always give the side that produces less the MOST attention.
I had a similar issue when I was nursing. It worked itself out. Make sure you still put your daughter on the right breast because her nursing is more effective at encouraging milk production than pumping. When I was dealing with that, I think I always started nursing on the breast that produced less because the sucking is more vigorous when they first start eating. Then when my daughter was done I also pumped on the side that produced less, and eventually things evened out. My daughter even went through a phase where she would only latch on to one breast, so I had no choice but to pump. That breast did start to produce less. This lasted for a couple weeks, and then she went back to both sides.
Our bodies are amazing - they adjust as needed. As long as your daughter is getting what she needs, don't worry too much about it. Just enjoy this special time!
how do you know that your baby is not getting enough on the right side? pumping is not actually an indication of what the baby is getting. the best thing is to always start the baby on the right. pumping eventually decreases production.
