EBF - one boob has totally dried up, how can I fix this?

[ExpatMrs]

Just as the title says, I'm exclusively breastfeeding my 9wk old baby and one of my boobs has more or less dried up.
I struggled to feed on this boob when my lo was born as it was slightly inverted and admit that it was so much easier to latch her on the other side. I could express from it no problem but was pretty lazy at that which is obviously why it's given up the ghost.
I'm not bothered from an aesthetic point of view - one boob is grapefruit sized and the other is like a melon , however, as my baby gets older and needs more milk, will this one remaining boob be able to keep up with demand?
Are there any ways that I can get my rubbish boob up and running again? I can currently express about 0.5oz at the moment.
Any advice/suggestions would be really appreciated. TIA

[AssassinatedBeauty]

I've not done so, but you can successfully feed off just one side. If you want to try and get it back up to speed I would keep trying to stimulate supply. So I would always offer that side first, and see if your baby will persevere with it for a little longer each time. Express if you can manage it, even if you don't produce much actual milk. The stimulation from the pump will help even if you don't get much milk out.

[ExpatMrs]

Thanks AssassinatedBeauty
I initially thought I'd be fine to feed off the one boob as child weight gain is all as it should be at this stage etc & Paediatrician very happy with lo, however, she said the older my baby got and demanded more milk then my sole boob wouldn't keep up?
I'll keep trying to express rather than actually feed from it I think. I say this because I'm just not sure how much she gets from the crap boob and she looks for the other one within half hour of feeding so it can't be much anyway. If anything, I think she just comforts when latched to it.
Appreciate your reply as I'm researching this (aka Googling) during an insomnia moment and getting so much conflicting info.

[AssassinatedBeauty]

If you think about a mum feeding twins then they can keep up with supply no problem. I've seen several posts on threads here where women are successfully feeding off one breast too.

Maybe you could give her a set amount of time on the smaller side, and then feed as normal from the other side? Babies are better at stimulating supply this a pump is, so the more you can get her to latch and feed the better really.

There are some useful tips in this article from KellyMom:

kellymom.com/hot-topics/pumping_decrease/

[Jenijena]

Twins get ebfed, ergo one boob = one baby can be done. I had a four year age gap, and my left hand side still 'underproduced' second time round which I put down to similar circumstances with my first. However if you always start off with your 'low' side, remember that expressing does not equal 'what the baby gets', and keep on going, I hope you'll even up over time.

[RockCrushesLizard]

Feeding one sided is absolutely fine. Your supply will increase with your little ones demands, just as two would, no problem.

Loads of women do this, for various reasons, with no issue whatsoever.

You can try to build it up if you'd like, by feeding or expressing, but you don't need to IYSWIM.

[furryelephant]

Almost 7 months into one boobed feeding here exactly the same situation as you! I was desperate to get the other side going at least to express as baby wouldn't feed at all on it, but after getting advice it seemed that to get a full supply back it would take expressing religiously every 2 hours (3 at a push) and I just don't have time for that! But we've had no weight gain issues, she does feed very frequently but not sure if that's due to only using one side or if it's just her snacking

[ExpatMrs]

Thanks so much
*AssassinatedBeauty
Jenijena
RockCrushesLizard
furryelephant
*
Great point RE: twins only getting one breast each and they manage totally well.
I'll also offer her the poor breast first each time going forward now as when I latched her this morning she seemed to be consistently swallowing for a good 7 mins.
I hadn't come across the kellymom website but looks full of good info so will check it out.

[furryelephant]

Oh yes kellymom is fab! If you're on Facebook there's loads of support groups with breastfeeding peer support workers who can help too, I'm a member of "can I breastfeed in it? Support group" or something like that and they're so helpful, I asked a similar question there about one boobed feeding and got so much advice and reassurance

[Believeitornot]

I fed from one side until dd weaned at 3 years old

[ExpatMrs]

Believeitornot you're a better woman than me as I know I'll never last that long but just shows it can be done!
Cheers ladies

[Believeitornot]

Haha well dd couldn't have cows milk and I was too stubborn to get prescription formula.

Also by the time she got to that age it wasn't every day thank goodness.