Please help! How long would it take for supply to dry up on one side if baby won't feed from it?

[JeewizzJen]

Hi all - my DS will only occasionally feed from my right side at the moment - just screams when i put him near, but fine on the left. He used to be fine with both sides. I've tried different positions but no joy. I'm worried that I might start losing supply in the right side as I've not pumped as frequently as I would have fed on there.... how long would it take for this to happen, and what can I do to fix it?? I'm so worried, I desperately don't want to stop BF!

First, don't panic!

I think it's impossible to say, but also it depends on a bunch of things - how old is DS? Has he been happy to feed from that side before, and this is recent?

Thanks for the reply!

He's 17 weeks, and he's never had an aversion to it before. He had a cold for a few days last week which has largely cleared up - I thought perhaps it could be that, perhaps a blocked ear making it uncomfortable or something, but he hasn't improved on that side since the cold has got better, and different positions don't seem to have helped :(

Well, by 17 weeks your supply is well established, so you've got quite a lot of leeway here.

I think your primary concern is not losing supply on one side but getting a blocked duct while he gets back to it. He will get back to it, I'm sure it's the cold; perhaps he had a blocked ear, and now associates that side with pain? Who knows.

If you have a pump, use it. Don't worry too much about whether you are pumping as often as he would have fed; again, at four months your body is really good at regulating supply and will bounce back when the demand resumes.

The other thing is that four months old is a time when Strange and Mysterious Things happen in baby brains. They tend to experience a sleep regression, and often act a bit differently, because they're having these huge cognitive leaps (which you won't necessarily see the effects of until the regression is over). So his sudden refusal to feed from one side might even be connected to that.

Thank you for your reassurances, Tortoise :)

I'll try and pump as much as is feasible - shame that DS refuses a bottle as I'm gutted to have to dump it!

As for the 4 month shenanigans, I think we're already starting to experience them! (up every 90 mins at night for one! - !)

Have you tried tricking him into feeding on that side, for example using rugby ball hold so he's lying on the same side as he would be with the boob he prefers?

Yeah - he doesn't seem to like that position - or perhaps I'm just rubbish at it! I'll keep persevering though!

Oh and if you can frezze it rather then dump it you can then use in cooking when you start weaning, or in a sippy cup.

Ah! That's a good idea! :)