My month old son will only nurse on the right side every time I put him on the left he screams and spits it all out. Its a little tender on the bottom and a slight pink color. Do I have a problem?
So I did end up with mastitis. My doctor said with him favoring a side it's easy to get it. He told me to pump it and freeze it or dump it if I don't want to keep it. He told my that a lot of babies favor one breast over the other but some show it more than others too.
One thing I will say is I don't wish mastitis on anyone. I've seen what it does to cows and what it does to humans. Its not a simple process.
Thanks ladies for all the help.
You need to see a Dr asap. Call your ob-gyn on call as they may want you to pump until you're seen. Could be mastitis, clogged milk duct, etc. You DEF need to seek medical care.
One of mine was like this, and my sister had the same thing.
I had them check to make sure there was nothing wrong with that side - there wasn't. I continued to offer it, but the most we got was snacking.
I had a baby with torticolis - which is that the neck muscles were not very strong on one side, and he went through this too. I adjusted my hold and fed him a bit differently than the other side (e.g. foot ball hold versus cradling, etc.)
Just to let you know - the baby that mostly/only fed on the one side for me was absolutely fine. My other side produced more (I was very lopsided) and she put on weight and grew as the others did. I just tucked a few nursing pads into the other cup for the lopsidedness.
I would just check out those two things - that your breast is ok (no infection, ducts working, continue to pump to make sure not clogged), and that baby is ok in different positions. My doctor told me it does happen - she'd seen it before (baby only nursing on one side, or preferring one side and then crying on other).
I agree with the others it sounds like mastitis. I would pup at least that side and throw it away at least till you get to the dr and get meds. It's probably sour.
That has to be very frustrating!
I think you really have 2 things going on. First, your son prefers one side. That really stinks, but it's not going to hurt him. If you just stick with that side, it will produce enough to feed him. It might annoy the bejesus out of you! But he will be just fine.
The tenderness on your breast is something you might want to ask your doctor about. Just give the office a call and talk to one of the nurses. The nurse will likely ask you several questions about it to help determine what's going on. Remember, they've heard it all before!
Do you pump on the left side? You could pump on that side and save the milk for a date night or to let Dad feed him. It would probably also help you to feel more comfortable and less lopsided :-)
Remember, as annoying as it is for you, it's ok that your son only wants to eat on one side. He is doing just fine!
My firstborn had a nursing issue that showed early on as side-preference and was actually because of a neck injury caused at birth that we didn't discover until he was 2 months old. This might not be the case, but see a doctor who will take a serious look. Our first pediatrician thought that because he could manually move the babies head, he was fine. That's not how muscle control works. We got a second and third agreeing opinion on the injury.
The lack of other-side nursing can cause a problem for you. If you're not pumping that side, so do. See a doctor for yourself if there is pain, swelling, or heat.
Please go see your doctor and rule out mastitis. I will just bet that's what is wrong with your breast. The real question is why he doesn't want to nurse on that side. That is more unusual.
Has he always only nursed on 1 side, or did he suddenly stop nursing on the left? If he simply prefers one side, it's fine and he can get plenty of milk nursing on just 1 side. If it were me, I'd probably pump the other side once or twice a day and store that milk in the freezer. A simple and easy hand pump can make quick work of pumping on one side while your baby nurses on the other.
If this is new or if you have any pain (and it sounds like you do), call your OB. They will probably want to check it out. If you think, even for a second, that it might be mastitis, call right away because that is an infection that can make you ill pretty quickly if you don't get it treated.
Once you are sure it's not mastitis, you could also make an appointment with a lactation consultant - I found that my local Le Leche League knew the best lactation consultants in my area and they (the Le Leche League moms and the LC they recommended) gave me great advice when I had breastfeeding concerns.
