10 mo refusing one side!

[madam1mim]

Hi everyone,

Thought i would post on here as my 10 mo DD has been refusing to feed off the left side for the past couple days or so. I've been getting engorged as a result and am a little worried as i'm prone to blocked ducts and have had mastitis 3 times! She has a cold at the moment which i'm wondering could be to do with it...I've tried diff positions and feeding her in a quiet room but she just turns away. In fact, she hasnt been feeding much at all (usually 6/7 times a day) and doesnt eat much either which i've posted about before. Will my supply dry up on the left if I cant get her to feed? Am doing bdtime feed as I type but she suckled for about 3 secs then fell asleep. Any ideas?

This might be something you've already tried, but if mine ever refused one side, I used to 'trick' them, try feeding her with her under your arm (did you say it was your left?) In which case, with her body under your left arm so that she's latching as if to the right. Hope that makes sense! If she has a cold, it will affect her feeding, rub some vicks on your chest for her to breathe in while she feeds, I found this helped with my 4.

was going to suggest the same. also put her to the breast she is refusing at the begining of feed and just be patient she will soon latch on, may take a while. If that fails and she fretts, just get her on the right breast for a few moments and quickly swap her over before she has time to protest this helped with my dd refusing. massage your breast in downward stroke towards the nipple prior to feeding and try to let a little off before she latches on. I had this problem with my right with dd and the massage helped with the flow.

thank you for your suggestions. Will give it a go today!

update: feeding her under my arm worked! thank you for that one. is a little tricky with such a long baby but am relieved that I am feeling much less swollen!

Yay! Glad it helped!