Her least favourite boob is getting very sore!

[tracefo]

My daughter feeds fine, for the most part, on my left side.  When she starts bobbing I know she's full or has gas.  My right side is a whole different story.  I can't get her to stay latched for more than 5 minutes to start and then every 10 seconds she's off.  My docter and everyone else I know says that "all babies have a favourite side".  Fine, how do I get her to enjoy her not so favourite side so that she still gets enough to eat and I don't get raw in the meantime?  I mean it's doesn't look that different to me than my left boob!  Is is possible that she's just REALLY efficient on the right side?  Can I go to feeding her exclusively on the left side and pumping the right side?  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep her latched?  The room is quiet, I've turned off the overhead fan (her favourite thing to look at), it doesn't matter if it's dark or light in the room.  What do I do?
Tracey

[GraceKellysmom]

How old is your baby now? How long does she feed on the left side?

[Luke-n-Me]

Tracey,

My lo is the same way.  She's fine on the right side, but I have a much faster flow/let down on the left side so she's constantly on/off.  I was sore for a few days too when this started to become a problem.  She still doesn't feed as well from the left side, but I've adjusted.  Hope this helps and just hang in there!

[tracefo]

Hi, Micah is now just over 11 weeks.  She feeds anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes on my left side.
Did your nipples get better after a while even with the latching and unlatching and does your daughter still do this?  I'm just worried that we're getting yeast again.
Thanks, guys,
Tracey

[Joey'sMom]

Tracey-

I had an extremely similar situation when I first had Joey.  For whatever reason, he didn't latch on to my one side the right way. On the other boob, he was perfect.  When I went to the lactation consultant she watched me BF (very uncomfortable, btw).  She noticed that he tucked his lower lip in on the "bad boob." That caused him to pinch the nipple and not got enough milk, hence the bobbing on and off.  Watch your LO's mouth when she eats.  Are both lips open around the nipple and part of the areola?  They should be, and if they aren't, that's your problem.  I had to use my finger to pull Joey's lower lip down as he latched on.  After a few days, he did it on his own and my poor boob finally felt better.

Also, if it IS slow let down, they tell you to massage up that boob before you put your LO on.  You'll know if it worked because when you squeeze, milk will come out (my DH was fascinated by this)!

I hope I helped, and I hope I don't sound like a know-it-all.  That's just what worked for me.

[Luke-n-Me]

Tracey,

My nipples did get better and she's still doing the latching/unlatching.  They were pretty raw for about 4 days, but got better.  Hope you get some relief and get the problem solved!

[GraceKellysmom]

I've always had to relatch Max on the left side, even now I have to reflip his lips when he is teething. You could also try feeding in a different position. It could be that the non-preferred side has less milk too - you may need to try starting with it more often to increase production. (If it doesn't hurt - yeee-OUCH!)

[tracefo]

Thanks, everyone, I really appreciate the input.  I went to the bf clinic today and apparently I have overactive letdown on that side and she's just coming up for air.  The consultant suggested pumping before feeding her on that side for 5 minutes, trying a different position and feeding her when she's sleepy.  Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Tracey

[Luke-n-Me]

Tracey,

Those are the same suggestions that I got and the football hold seemed to help some.  I was also told to always start on the slower side so she wasn't gulping so much and it would also help decrease production a little bit.

[GraceKellysmom]

I don't know that I would "pump for 5 minutes" but maybe just pump through the heaviest part of the letdown. Or, let your dc suck to let down, and when the breast is spraying milk hard just let it run off into a towel. I did that with my first so I wasn't constantly washing pump parts. Unless you're saving ebm for something.

[Luke-n-Me]

I totally agree with the pumping thing. I was given that advice, but that would be way too time consuming.  Annika still has some trouble taking from that side, but I just deal with it I guess, and as I told you I'm no longer sore on that side and hope this will happen for you.  I pump once every morning anyway and can't imagine doing it before every feed, hope things get better for you.

[tracefo]

The only reason I'll pump is because I hate wasting the golden nectar and then I can save the expressed breast milk for her father to feed her when I'm out.  (I play ball hockey at least once a week and I like to have a bottle here just in case he can't console her while I'm gone.)  It's also not that often as the lc suggested that feeding only one breast at a time was a way to help the problem as well and it's usually just in the morning that I'm really bursting so it would only be two or three times a day that I would have to pump.  I've also seen some other unique bf positions on kellymom.com.  I tried the downunder position this morning but I don't think her neck is strong enough yet to keep her little nose free of my boob!