My left breast doesn't make much milk (I pump about 2 oz), but the right one has more than enough (I can easily pump 6 oz in a matter of minutes). I nurse my baby on both sides, (although the left one doesn't get much time in before he has a fuss fit to switch) and the milk supply on the left doesn't seem to come up with more feedings and or pumpings so I was thinking of just stopping altogether on that side and only using my right breast. I have heard it is ok to only nurse on one breast, have any of you done this?
My daughter is now 6 months and only nurses on the left side. The doctor said your body will adjust and make what is needed. The only down side is im lopsided. My hubby even made a song up, " 1 big boob and 1 small boob". MY daughter is also in the over 50 percentile for weight so it is working well
Hi A.,
I had similar issuses, but continued to work both sides. However, a close friend resorted to one sided nursing after getting fed up with her milk production on the one side. Using only one side was not a problem, but it did leave her "lopsided" until she stopped nursing her child. It was a bit embarrassing for her, but (more importantly) it never affected her daughter's feeding.
Good luck!
C.
I have somewhat of the same situation. My right side doesn't produce as much as my left. When my 6 month old nurses on the right, he is ready to switch to left in a matter of minutes. I keep nursing on both sides out of fear that my breasts will be 2 different sizes if I didn't!! Silly, huh? Maybe talk with your obgyn about nursing only one side. Maybe they could suggest something that would improve the production on the left.
Sorry I didn't help much, but I am sure we are not alone with this milk thing! :+)
Hi A. :)
I think you'd be sorry if you stopped feeding on your left side. Your left would still produce milk and be effected by let-down (opening yourself up for clogged milk ducts and infection) and your right breast would start producing even MORE milk, potentially causing problems on both sides. :(
I used to have the exact same problem you speak of but switched. I called my left breast my "mega-milk" breast and my right "desert-breast". My left always seemed to be huge and full of milk and my right never to have enough in compairison.
What I discovered tho, was that pumping was a bad way to tell how much milk my baby was ACTUALLY getting out. Her mouth is designed to get the milk out and does a "professional" job of it, whereas the pump is only a substitute of the real thing and just doesn't have the ability to get the maximum amount of milk out.
A better way to tell is to listen to your baby swallowing on your left side and his hearty burp afterward. ;)
I would just keep nusing away on both sides and think of your right breast as "the main course" and your left as "desert". Don't skip feedings on it or anything, just keep going back and forth. :) Your little guy will get PLENTY of milk, I promise. ;)
If you do still feel that you arn't producing enough, I would highly recommend eating a lot of oats. There's just something about oats that ups milk supply like you wouldn't believe! Try eating two big bowls of cheerios a day and watch what happens! hehe :)
Best of Wishes!
M.
Pumping is by no means a way to tell how much milk you are producing. It didn't matter when I pumped (morning noon or night) I never got more than an ounce on either side yet I would leak all day and my son would have no problem getting anything out. I did have a side that my son choose to nurse on more, my right side so my left did not produce as much as the right. I ended up having clogged ducts on my left side 2 or 3 times because of his preference to the right side! My breasts were lopsided until I weaned and when I did wean only the right side got engorged, the left just stop producing milk with no problems. Although it is possible to only feed off of one breast I would not suggest it, I would just always let the baby nurse off of that breast first then try again after feeding off of the breast that produces most of the milk just to try to the supply back up(though it may never happen). Go luck with your choice, if you do decide to nurse with one breast, I hope it works for you with no problems....clogged ducts are awful!
you can't judget your milk productino by how much you pump. have you had a chance to check out the breastfeeding resources at kellymom.com or the jack newman articles? I was like that when i worked full time and pumped ... I'd sometimes be able to pump about half as much on one side... but in the grand total of things, at the end of the day, i had enough for his milk for my next day away from him. are you exclusively pumping? the best bet for you is would be to let your baby nurse at the breast. baby is better and more effective than a pump... even if he fusses... let him nurse that side 2nd and let him stimulate production on that side even if it's comfort nursing.
on kellymom.com they have a message board that is strictly devoted to pumping moms... that board was always a lifesaver for me during my days of pumping... good luck and i hope that check out their site....
I always had one breast that I could pump way more milk from than the other - most women do, its completely normal. Just continue to breastfeed on both sides so that (1) you dont stop making milk completely on one side and (2) make sure one side doesn't become engorged if you really are making more milk than you think. It's not recommended that you nurse from only one side - plus, would you really want to risk the chance of having noticeably different sized breasts? Nursing on one side only can easily do that.
yes you can do it, i did. and you know what happens.. your breast that you are not feeding her with will shrink and the other will stay full..
just keep feeding on the one that is less full and it will produce as much as it can. always start with the less full one first then go to the next
