BF help needed for breast that wont satisfy

[Wills]

Despite changing positions and really working at it my right breast fails to satisfy my dd2 and my left breast is forced to make up for it. I'm not keen to have lopsided breasts for the next year and wondered what I could do to resolve this. I've tried expressing but that just reduces the nipple back to red/sore and bleeding! I've only just found a position with dd2 that doesn't leave me in pain throughout the feed so I'm a little cautious about expressing too much. At the moment I leave her on the breast for up to an hour during which I normally have to wake her two or three times. Even then she still needs up to 15 minutes on the other breast to satisfy her. Has anyone got any advice on how to make my right side work a little harder?

Please don't assume you aren't satisfying. The need to suck is very powerful and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with nutrition. My ds loves to such and suck and suck. At nearly two he still adores his dummy. How old is your dd? Breast engorgment tends to subside even if the breasts are feeding regularly. Why is expressing causing you pain? How are you expressing?
Remember the huge benefits you are giving your dd and keep at it!

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No advice- but ds1 wouldn't ever feed from the left hand side at all. He had a hard time latching on corectly on the LHS right from the beginning- I became sore and bled and I wonder whether he didn't like the taste.

No advice though- but I did manage to feed for 13 months on just the right hand side - so don't worry if one side isn't working too well!

OK. On my LHS dd2 feeds for approximately 15-20 minutes. Sometimes she falls asleep sometimes she comes off of her own accord - either way she is normally obviously satisfied (if asleep she remains asleep or wakes up contented). On the rhs the "big" sucking never stops. Although she will fall asleep when taken off she wakes up rapidly and roots and is obviously still hungry. We can do this for up to an hour, but until I put her onto my lhs (where she will feed for a further 10 minutes) she will not stop rooting etc.

Admittedly its taken me a long time to find a position on the rhs that is not painful but we've achieved that now and the lack of pain would suggest that she is on properly yes/no? I feel really close to success her but thwarted at the final fulong ! Agreed that the left breast works fine and I could just rely on that but I did this last time and really looked odd (I'm not a particularly small size at the best of times).

Wills - I would say don't worry - it will probably sort itself out. I had what sounds like a similar problem. Bfeeding was extremely painful to start with - but after a few weeks the right hand side sorted itself out, dd seemed to prefer that side, stayed on longer and of course I was more comfortable with her on that side. Then of course the right side was stimulated to produce more milk, so she fed even longer again on that side, etc etc. So I got REALLY lopsided - to the point where people noticed and commented! But gradually, over the next few months, the left side got less painful (it did take a good 3 months to stop being sore - I think because I have eczema) and the milk supply seemed to go up and I was back to having a "balanced bosom"!

So - it took a little while, but it did just work out of it's own accord!

Ugh - today has been a nightmare. Ignore what I said about being sated by the rhs she's fed all day much to the annoyance of dd1. I'm now red raw on both sides and dd2 is screaming - think she's got colic but I didn't spot it and kept feeding. Whilst I do feel far more confident second time around I've still felt flashes of pure panic. Not sure that at only 17 days dd2 should simply be left to cry so kept letting her find solace in my nipple thinking that she must be going through one heck of a growing spurt.

wills i'd agree with the others, shes looking for comfort and perhaps your boobs havent settled into their new job just yet! i'm sure its pressurising because you have antoher dd, but the others seem to have lots ofgood advice, i am still only on no.1!

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Wills - it really will get better. Be careful about positioning all the way through the feed. Sometimes babies start off correctly latched but then they slip off. Your nipples should not get sore when she is on properly however long she is feeding. Remember to keep her facing you 'tummy to mummy'. Try feeding one side at a time if you think she is colicky. By that I mean let her feed, wind her and instead of swapping sides, put her back on the same side. That way she will get more hind milk. Worth a try. HTH.

Wills - I had exact same problem as you with my one & only ds (now 10 weeks). He has a tongue tie so found it extremely hard to establish BF, but he got the hang of it at 5/6 weeks.

I have one nipple larger than the other and ds preferred only one. To build up supply I did little feeds often, so 15-20min on good side, 5-10min of pain on the "not so nice side" and eventually my supply increased. I also had mastitis at 2.5 weeks on the "not so nice side" but again got through this with little & often plus two express sessions of 10mis each. I took the insert out of the pump as I found it just chewed up my nipple. The nipples lost their soreness with exclusive expressing for two days each (I mean feed off one breast for two days and express the other breast after the feed - this gave the nipple time to heal).

Our ds is also very sucky and gives himself love-bites from his wrist to elbow as he can't find his thumb or take a dummy. I read on another website that sucking after a feed also helps a colicy baby (ours had this) digest its meal and releave wind, so it might also be this..

Hope this helps, but only continue with what is less stressful for you and the baby. Sore nipples for more than six weeks can get you very down...and there are alternatives. Don't feel guilty to use them.

BTW, The other latch-on advice I was given was to imagine a straw coming out from the centre of your breast and straight out of your nipple. The angle of the babies mouth should be exactly so the "straw" goes to the top back of their mouth. Otherwise it will be like feeding from a bent straw, uncomfortable and not getting much milk. Experiment with raising or dropping the head to get this angle right. Seemed to help me..

Sorry!! one final thing - little and often was every 1.5-2hours during the day for about a week..

Wills - how are things going?