Breastfeeding Problem

Had that problem with my second. The lactation specialist asked to put her on one breast for each feeding.....and see if she was not just full when she got to the other breast. Contact the lactation specialist at Northside. leave them a message....explain exactly what you are doing, which breast it is etc....they will call you back and help you over the phone. Whatever you do don't quit!!!

Have you pumped that breast?
Maybe you ate onions, garlic, or something that
he just didn't like. That breast could be so full
that it is not easy to latch onto. Sometimes a baby
could even be cutting a tooth.

It could be possible that you are not producing as much milk on your left side as your right, so he isn't satisfied with it. Maybe for now you could nurse with the right side, and pump with the left afterwards, and see if it will increase your milk supply on that side. I know when I nursed my middle child, it seemed that I had one side that really produced a ton of milk, and the other barely produced any. I was recommended to give it a try, and it seemed to help.

Hi K.. My little guy did this and it turned out to be an ear infection on that side he was laying on. Weird I know, but it could be something like that. Just a suggestion. I'm proud of you --Breastfeeding Mommy! Just keep on chugging along, you are doing great. ;-)

Hugs,
T. Blackwell
Pampered Chef Recruiter and Trainer
###-###-####

A little about me:

I'm 36 with two handsome boys, Tyler is 16 and little Brody is 4. I have a fabulous career with the Pampered Chef and I love every minute of it! I will get to be home this fall when Brody gets off the school bus. Yeah me!

Hi K.~

Are you experiencing any pain or discomfort on your left side (other than maybe being engorged from him not nursing there)? I was just wondering if maybe you were developing an infection and the milk on that side tasted different (?). Are you right-handed? If so maybe he's feeling that you are not supporting his body well with your left arm/hand. Are you using a nursing pillow? I tried a Boppy pillow for a while, but felt like it didn't give enough support. I found that the My Brest Friend pillow was worth its weight in gold. It actually wraps around your body and fastens securely with velcro (kind of like a belt), so it frees up your hands and your arms don't get tired. It totally supports the baby. I highly recommend it. You can buy them at Baby Depot and online. I know that nursing issues can be so frustrating. A lot of times local hospitals have lactation consultants that give free advice and nursing help. Maybe you should try contacting the hospital where you delivered to see if someone there can help you. In the meantime, if he won't nurse on that side you should probably try pumping or hand-expressing some milk to keep up your milk production until this gets resolved. I hope things get better really soon!!

A. M. : )

This absolutely happened to me! It's like a nursing strike, but only on one side. I don't know why it happens, but my daughter would only do it for a day or two at a time. I would just pump that side when it got too full of milk. Also, I found that a lot of times even if she wouldn't latch onto that side, she would still drink, from a bottle, the milk that I pumped out of it. I didn't worry too much about it, but if you do, talk to your Dr. Let me know if I can do anything else for you. Good luck!

Lots of babies do this- do you offer both breast at one nursing? Is he a slow or quick nurser? Babies can get all they need by spending 5-7 minutes at each breast in one nursing (rouhly 5 on the right- burp diaper change- 5 on the left)
There may be a few reasons why he is preferring one breast over another. Your milk will not dry up- however the un-used breast will decrease its productivity and you will eventually end up with very lopsided breast as one will be much bigger than the other (including the years to come when you are nor nursing)
If you could give me some more info I could help troubleshoot with you. In the meantime keep offering both!

don't stress, if he won't eat from one just pump it so you don't go dry and he still gets his milk

Hi, I can't help with the question b/c I never got to nurse with either of my 2 boys...I admit I was bias towards the easyness of the bottle but with both boys they had to be in the hospital a week after birth, my first being b/c he had jaundice and the other being affected by my strep B and becoming infected during birth and had pnemonia but with my first I tried as soon after my second come home and both times they always seemes to have a problem with latching b/c of my nipples being small so I just went with bottles but I really just responded b/c I noticed u called ur son a chunky monkey...it's what my mother in law calls my 9 month old, thought it was cute.GL

I would definately contact a lactation specialist right away. They can give lots of valuable help. But, this happened to me with my daughter-she preferred my left side as opposed to the right side. I would start her off on the right side and massage her face as she nursed then when I felt like it was emptied enough I would switch her. Or you can allow him to nurse from the side that he's most comfortable at and just pump the other breast. Hope this helps. Good luck!~

Hi K., I had the same exact problem. It was that one side let down slower and did not produce as much milk. The other side would let down so fast that he would choke. I started him on that weak side everytime he ate. When he started crying, I moved him to the other side to finish. The more often you start on that weak side the more milk it will eventually start producing. But after a few days of starting on that side, alternate starting on that side. But always feed on both sides. It is not how long they eat, it is how often they eat that increases your milk. Let me know it this does not make sense and you can call me.

I have 2 boys now and the 16 month old is still nursing at night before bed. (trying to wean but he loves it)

Sincerely,

Hi, maybe you put some lotion or cream , and now he is repelling the smell, and if i was you i would be pumping so, your breast won't engorge or dry. Good luck

could be that the milk is maybe coming out too fast or too slowly for him. Try expressing a bit before getting him to latch on
If he still won't take the breast you could pump that one while he eats from the other one. You'll have milk in the freezer in case of emergency and your supply won't dry up on that side.

My little girl is 4 1/2 months and she did the same thing about 2 weeks ago. I really do not know why she did that, but I just thought I would write to let you know that happened to me too and she is feeding fine again. I did start her on the side she liked and once she was eating good, I switched her. I figured that would make her want more and not care which side she was on. This worked really well for me. But it seems like it is the opposite way to solve the problem than what I read below. I hope you can figure it out because I know it is frustrating for feeding to be working so well and then all the sudden you come to a hurdle! (-:

Hi K.-

That happened with me. My daughter refused my left breast at about 6 months. I was very concerned and my lactation cosultant said that she would get enough nourishment from the one breast. It could be that the nipple is not as efficient as the other so she doesn't get enough milk or if you are right handed it is probably easier/more comfortable to hold her in the cradle position for your right breast and more difficult for the left....who knows. You will be lopsided but get the breast enhancer's at Dillards that go in your bra to compensate.

K.,
Does it (breast) hurt in general? Does it hurt when he doesn't eat? If it hurts in general, you might be getting mastisis (spelling?) and he's not getting anything out. If it doesn't hurt when he doesn't eat (feel full, etc) then it could mean that that side has dried up - and yes that is possible - my left side did mainly b/c my child prefered the right side. However, my right side produced more from the very beginning.
If neither of these is the case he may be weaning himself off the breast all together. My son did at 8 months.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

A. C

my son prefered one of my breast to the other. The flow was better. Just make sure you are pumping from the one he doesn't want as much from, and you won't dry up. Always try and give him the breast he doesn't prefer first...hopefully if he's hungry enough he'll take it. Good luck.

Hi, My name is D. and I breastfeed my daughter for 13 months. However, I don't remember my daughter choosing one breast over the other. Well she is two years old now. Maybe you should pump your breast and freeze it; so, it will have on hand or put it in the fridge. If i remeber correctly breastmilk last 48 hours in the fridge. Lastly you pump it and bottle for him to drink as soon as you finish pumping. You can email if you have any questions. D.

P.S. I'm sure if he is really hungry; he won't have any problems being picky.

Hi. That's an interesting problem. I've never heard of that before. It seems like it's the moms who favor on breast over the other. I know you said you tried different positions but did you try lying on your side? Maybe too, if you tried to get the milk flowing a little before you offered it to him.