Aargh - one boob is broken?

[WhoahThereCrazyHorse]

Ds is 3 weeks and after a rocky start bf had been going ok, with the odd oz of formula here and there just to take the pressure off. In the last couple of days ds often seems really unhappy feeding from the right side - thrashes around and gets in a right tizz, and when I try and express (though I can barely get anything from either side anyway) the 'jets' seem much smaller from that side, so I think milk comes out much slower.

Is it possible that I have one malfunctioning breast?

It's normal to have one breast that produces more milk than the other. Much as we generally have one breast that's larger than the other.

What do you mean by 'to take the pressure off'? Using formula on a regular basis in the first six weeks isn't a great habit, I'm afraid. It can lead to you stopping breastfeeding earlier than you want to.

I've found that my baby prefers the left boob. I think it's more a comfort thing rather than a problem with milk. She's better now but I found the football hold better for that side. Hope it helps!

As far as giving the odd bit of formula. Completely up to you I say. I wish I'd actually given a bottle now and again and DD will not take much from a bottle an dim in work in a month. :((

Thanks both. NotQuite I give literally 1 oz of formula when ds refuses to settle after having both sides of boob. Doing this is probably the reason I'm still bf now to be fair, so I'm relaxed about what it might mean for the future - I would prefer to mixed feed and him get some breast milk than me lose my marbles completely - which is what happened with dd. you sounded a bit stern in your post - did you mean to? :)

With my DS1 I could only express out of one side, yet DS2 happily feeds from either side. Right hand side also has a faster let down causing more wind so happy to either confirm this is normal or to join a mismatched boob thread

My right hand nipple is a lot flatter, and doesn't do the same mad sprinkler effect as the left. It also produces less milk, regardless of pumping, block feeding etc. I wouldn't worry.

I like that you're so comfortable about mixed feeding. So many mums worry far too much about formula. I'm still mix feeding now. I could have EBF if I wanted to, but I never did because I've always wanted the baby to be able to take both a bottle and something other than breastmilk.

I have the exact same- right hand nipple is a lot flat so DD struggles to latch on, so I feed from my left and express as much as I can from my right. We give a bit of formula too in the evenings to give my boobs a break! No need to feel guilty about it, DD is only three weeks old and I felt really down about not being able to feed from both sides for a while but now I just want to enjoy my beautiful baby and as long as she's healthy (which she seems to be!) I'm not going to beat myself up about it.