Using one breast for feeding....?

[mossycow]

Sorry if this has been 'answered' before but...

i'm finding it much easier to feed with my right breast than poor leftie. Possibly due to problems with my arms that cause pain and possibly due to how I;m sitting on couch/bed etc.

When I feed on the left breast I am less relaxed and baby seems less settled so I was wondering if its necessary to use both. Would one explode.....are the milk demands of each breast independant of each other.

Also thinking I could use one breast for feeding and the other for expressing.

Would appreciate any thoughts

[BroccoliSpears]

I would say it depends on how much you're feeding. A friend of mine switched to only using the 'good' boob when her dd dropped down to just one or two feeds a day at about 12 months. Worked fine for her, and she didn't mind too much the in-use boob being a bit bigger than the retired boob.

I also stopped using my bad boob for the last few weeks of BFing, but again was in the wind down - was only feeding about 5 times a week.

Couldn't tell you about the practicalities if you're still feeding full time.

[vole3]

Have you tried feeding from that side whilst lying down? I found it more comfortable lying down to feed from my 'not-so'comfy' side when sitting up.

The baby is much more efficient at getting milk out than a pump and this has managed to even me up to a degree and I have lost my list to port

[slim22]

why dont you try this:

-sit comfortably on couch with left arm on armrest
-Put a couple thick pillows on you lap
-prop baby on pillows lying sideways
-lean slightly and bring him gently towards your breast without actually carrying him on your arm.


also feeding from side whilst lying down very good idea.

[Jas]

I agree with trying different positions first, but if you still find it hard, then yes it is totally possible to exclusively bf from one breast only. I did it for ds, andthere are others on mn who have.You need to gradually reduce the feeds on your bad side to avoid mastitis etc and you will have uneven breats if you do it (but mine have returned to normal now I have stopped bf)

I did only a night (lying down) feed on my bad side from a few months and stopped it altogether at 6 months.
He was bf until he self weaned at 14 months