Change in Breast Size

Yep! 5 years later, mine are STILL different! Oh, well. I get a bra to fit the bigger one and, ahem, adjust the smaller side to match as best I can. The molded-cup bras help them look the same.

I had that same problem. My son favored the right breast over the left. Now, over a year after I have stopped breastfeeding, the right one is still bigger than the left where they used to be the same size. I guess with the next baby, I will try and even them out. :)

I nursed my son until he was 20 months. At around 12 months he began a very strong preference for one side until he was only nursing from one breast all the time and milk production all but ceased in the neglected breast. The quality (including color) of milk was different from each breast as he changed his preferences, as was the size and "feel" of each breast. I was worried that there would be lasting changes but now that it has been about two months since we finished breastfeeding altogether, my breast have returned to being the same size, shape and "feel".

L.

Don't freak out! When you stop nursing they will go back to a normal size. P.s. one side is always bigger but shouldn't be that noticable!

YEP!! I'm lop sided too. My son is 7 mos and I have pumped since he was about 3 months. I hate wearing a tight fitted shirt and can't find a bathing suit to work. Do I wear a small or a large?? lol.. I feel your pain ..

Sometimes I start to get a little lopsided too! We all have an arm we prefer to use more and when you cross your arms, you have an arm you prefer to put on top. We're all a little skewed. When you're nursing, that natural imbalance can influence which side you nurse on more frequently. As can which side you prefer to sleep on, if you night nurse. And baby's preference plays in, as does initial milk supply- sometimes let down is better from one side, or masititis or sore nipples on one side make the other side a preference and the habit stays around... And all these things conspire to make supply, which responds to demand, just a little bit different on the preferred side.

Hathor the Cowgoddess even did a funny cartoon on this topic sometime in the last year or so. Waking super-cow-mama is shown with one side way bigger than the other- I think it was captioned Oops!

The good news is you can increase your supply on the one side and decrease it on the other. Nursing more on the smaller side will help it pick up supply, and nursing less on the larger side will help it ease off. This is what I've been done to help keep my boobs balanced, through 11 years of nursing 5 kids. Don't let the larger side stay full too long, you don't want plugged ducts, but try to make sure there is still some milk left when your child is done nursing, don't "empty" the breast. If your child is still wanting to nurse more, switch them to the smaller side. Unless the larger side is getting too full, start on the smaller side. Switch to the larger side, but don't stay there long enough to empty the breast. If your child still wants to nurse more, back to the smaller side. Your body will get the hang of it. One side may still be a little bigger but it won't be a whole cup size!

Incidentally, my 17 month old still loves to nurse too, and I don't anticipate her weaning any time soon! You might enjoy some of Kathryn Dettwyler's comments on a natural age for weaning:

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

Absolutely! The same thing happened to me. It was most dramatic when I couldn't breastfed from one breast due to medical reasons (abscesses!). Now that I have finished breastfeeding, my breasts are pretty much back to the same size. My left breast is slightly bigger still but that was true before I breastfed!

hi there i have had the same problm but i am one of the unlucky few i breastfed my daughter which is about to turn 5 in aug i only nursed her about 6 months i spent equal time on each side and did the thing where you start with the one you left off with and to this day i have one that is a cup size bigger than the other one and cant for the life of me get them back to their original size they are bigger now than when i started off 5 years ago hope you get to be one of the lucky ones where they shrink back

OH Yah, I was lop sided for a while, your right side is producing more so this can happen. I wouldn't worry about it when all is said and done they will go back to the same size....I wore baggy shirts for a while so nobody would notice!

P.S. Great job on continuing the breast feeding, it's amazing what our milk can do for their little immune system!

E.

Hi L.,

Breastfeeding is supply and demand so I'm wondering if when your daughter nurses on the right if her nursing sessions seem longer than when she's on the left side. I would think that with her nursing 3x on the right that the right one would be smaller. Have you tried starting her out on the left side to even out the nursings sessions? In 9 years of breastfeeding, I always have to chuckle during those times I'm lopsided.

I think it's great you're still nursing your 15m/o. My lo is 19.5m and still nursing strong. I've nursed all mine until they self weaned.

J.

Hi~
I nursed 4 babies for at least a year each. They're all grown now, but I always heard that you should start a feeding on one breast and when the baby slows down, finish up the feeding on the other breast. Next feeding, START with the one you used LAST then finish up on the other. Back and forth like that. Some info said to put a safety pin on the last breast each time so you know which one to start with next time, but I never needed to do that (I just remembered). This should even out the amount of milk produced by both breasts and may even out the size as well.

P.S. Almost all ladies have one breast a little larger than the other having to do with fatty tissue, not milk volume. It's just that if the breasts enlarge (with milk production) or we gain or lose body weight, it becomes more or less noticeable.

Yep! With all three kids I had one that was noticeable larger than the other. I nursed each child for 12 months, so I had the long-term size change like you. It will take some time, but it should balance out after you wean your daughter.

Hi!
The same thing happened to me. After nursing 4 kids, and always producing more milk in my left breast, I noticed it was bigger than the other one. When I stopped nursing my last child, I thought it would go back to normal. It did get a little smaller, but it's been 5 months since I stopped nursing and it is still a little bigger than my right breast. I asked my doctor about it at my last check up and he said that unfortunately, that it happens sometimes, and my breasts may permenantly be different sizes. Hopefully, that will not be the case for you! Maybe it will go down after you stop breastfeeding. I didn't notice it on me until I finished nursing my fourth child. My suggestion is to pump on that side and try to make sure you use each side equally when you breast feed with this child and any future children!

I always had a better producing breast on the right and it was bigger while nursing. What I did to keep the left side production up is that I would always start with the left side and finish with the right. This way the left side always got the more urgent suckling which seemed to help with maintaining production. This worked for everyone except my daughter who was no fool as to where the best milk was to be found. Believe it or not, I understand your reference to the color! With my daughter, the only thing that made a seriously positive impact on milk production at this age was nursing through the night for a few nights in a row (comfort nursing during a sickness). The production issue may be too far gone to increase the production of the left breast, but try getting her to use it more. You may also try pumping (an electric pump provides the best suction) after she has nursed and while still nursing her on the right. Doing this you are taking advantage of the let down reflex on the right breast to help increase the production of the weaker breast. This is definately not an easily managed task and brings a whole new meaning to ambidextrous. Another way to encourage let down when pumping is to use a warm compress or even a whole shower! Take heart, once you have decided to wean, your breast should return to equal size. Remember your lessons from this baby and try some strategies early to keep production even the next time round. NEVER nurse on only one breast! If your new baby sleeps and you've only half nursed or even skipped a feeding - pump, pump, pump. When the milk is starting to come in and you get engorged - pump, pump, pump. Your total instinct when engorged is to slow things down - but you really don't want that to happen. The effects of slowing that initial demand lasts for months. Sorry to go on so. One final word, after 4 happily nursed babies, I'm saving for a boob job! You might want to start that sooner than I did, too LOL!

I have always produced more on my left than my right. I have been noticing lately that I am one sideded again although to a lesser degree than with other nursing times. My oldest nursed until 14mths and my second until 13 mths. They both weined more or less on their own. I am now nursing 5mth old twins. I am curious as to how long they will want to nurse, but I hope to continue them until they are at least a year. I hope that my size will even out (or at least get somewhat closer) when these stop nursing.

The fact that one breast is bigger than the other is quite normal.Especially since you tend to feed from the larger breast more. My daughter is 21 months old and still nurses through out the day and especially before bed time. I am trying to wean her off by her 2nd birthday but I am not stressing it. More nutrients for her!!

Its all supply & demand. Spend more time nursing from the smaller breast, nurse from the larger one just enough to relieve engorgement, no more. They will even out in time, then you can go back to equal time on each breast to keep them that way. Your baby may be a trifle cranky, preferring to nurse off the "easy" breast, but she will adapt. You can also try pumping more from the smaller breast to stimulate it to produce more

Even though I didnt breast feed either of my boys..had lot of trouble with my first..and because of that didnt try with my second and could have fed twins if I had..lol..but any way yes I have experienced what you are going through also..one breast being larger then the other..opposite of yours..but the samething.Once hormones settled down and I dried up my breasts returned to the same size..but have to say this take awhile.I think its because you use one breast more then the other and it is compinsating for making more milk...??

As for the milk being different color from one breast to the other.I would check with a doctor or see if anyone else here as had that happen.Hate for it to be something to worry about...good luck
S. B

Well I have read some of the other responses you have gotten on this question and I guess I am the one that is either not normal or I have the "bad news"!! I nursed my son and my daughter but for only the first 6 monts or so for both. My youngest is 8 and my left breast is probably a whole cup size bigger than my right!! I have a really hard time finding a bra that fits but I can say that noone notices unless I say something to them and then pull my shirt tight. My husband jokes with me all the time about getting a "boob job" but only on one side.
Hopefully in your case I am still the odd one out...I'm used to that anyway!! lol I just wanted you to know that there is someone out there still lopsided so it could happen!!

the left may have stopped producing all together. when you decide to ween all together, they will probably match again, at least a little better. until then, make sure that your bra fits the big one, and find a way to fill in the other, like with a silicone push up filler. by the way, awesome that you are still nursing. i wish i had been able to nurse that long.

Hi L., I'm a first time mom to a 5 and 1/2 month old, and I have one dominant breast too. It has always been a little bigger, but is more noticable now that I am breastfeeding. I think your color issue might be related to how much capacity each breast has for milk storage. I pump during the day, so I notice my milk color differences. The dominant breast has more of the skim or blueish milk in it, while the other tends to be yellower with more fat. Way to go nursing that long! I hope to make it to 2 years or whenever my son self weens!

change up your routine. Your feeding habits are actually encouraging this. You're putting a higher production demand on your right side than your left. (my sister did this too and it shows still - 17 yrs after the fact!) Increase the production demands on the left side by feeding there more for a while, then level them off. Equal demands means equal breasts. You can correct it now while you are still nursing your baby. My sis thought that she needed to feed more off the larger one to "bring it down" but it only became larger.
Do just the opposite to make them come back into balance.
Good luck!

Hi L.,
Do not be ashamed about the fact that you are still nursing. I nursed my 2 until they were 19 months and 17 months old. I probably would have gone longer if my mother-in-law had not harrassed me so much about it. Do not listen to others about this unless they are a doctor or a lactation consultant. It is a common thing for breast sizes to be different due to nursing, especially if baby prefers one side over another or if you just tend to feel more comfortable on one side than another. My first child preferred my left and I am left handed so it might have had been something I did on my part as well. My nipple on my right breast just didn't "do" like my nipple on my left. As far as the color of the milk, I don't remember that happening. My sister is nursing right now. She has a 5 month old baby and a 5 year old, and she has nursed both of them. My kids are 10 yrs. and 8 yrs. old now. She has never mentioned her milk being different among the 2 sides. You may want to seek the advice of a lactation consultant. I know the name of a wonderful one in Monroe, NC, but don't know where you live. 'Sorry I could not be of more help with the milk.
A.