Baby can't latch on one side. Coughing and drenched in milk

[noblegiraffe]

DD is nearly two weeks old and has always had a preference for my left side but it's becoming nearly impossible to feed her from the right.

I think there is an issue with oversupply on the right. It doesn't spurt or anything, but when she tries to latch on, the nipple floods with milk and she just slides off. If she does manage to latch on (rare and can take ages of trying) she sucks for a minute or two, then coughs and splutters and comes off, then won't go back on.
She feeds from the left brilliantly and the temptation is to just feed her from there. But then my right breast gets full and sore and I'm worried about it getting blocked up.

Any ideas how to make the right side better? Expressing beforehand doesn't work, it doesn't seem to be just a letdown issue, and I've tried a variety of positions but none seem to make a difference.

My daughter prefered the left too, so I just expressed from the right until empty every time she refused the right one, and eventually with perseverance she managed to sort it all out and is now fine (5.5 months old). It didn't take long, days if anything, but she's had preference issues since then that I've just "ignored" to a certain extent and she and I get through it eventually.
Persevere is my advice, as what seems like a huge prob today will soon fade away and all will be fine.

Have you tried feeding lying down? I found that really helped when my ds had a side preference in the first few weeks. Seemed to be easier for him to latch on comfortably. Also helps with the oversupply problem as it slows the flow down I believe. Lie on your right hand side, arm above baby's head, legs tucked round and baby nestled against you, just below breast.

After doing this for a few days I was then able to feed normally from both sides.

Oh yes lying down is a fav of my dd too!

I've just tried feeding lying down and it ended in frustration, she was trying desperately to latch on and I just couldn't get the boob into her mouth at the right angle! I couldn't crack it with my DS when he was this small either, although we managed it when he was older. Annoying as feeding lying down means you can steal a nap!

It sounds like your letdown is faster on that side with her coughing and coming off. Have you tried the rugby ball hold on that side? It can fool them into thinking they are feeding from the other side if they have a preference. If it's just a fast letdown, expressing a little off first until the flow slows or letting baby latch and come off when the letdown happens and letting the milk run off into a breastpad or bowl etc until the flow slows (this was what I used to do).

I've got a really fast letdown which my babies struggled with when they were tiny but as they get bigger they can feed fine and it makes feeds really quick when they are big enough to keep up with it

Have you tried the "laid back" position? For some reason I often get a sore latch on the right so I tried different.positions til I found one that worked. It's also sometimes called "biological nurturing". The NCT Bf support group I went to gave great hands on help with that position, and La Leche League volunteers would know about it too.

Thanks, I like the sound of the laid back position, will look it up!

For some reason this morning she has managed to latch onto the right side with no problems, which is good. I wonder if the supply has settled down on that side because she hasn't fed properly from it for so long, or maybe she's getting the hang of it.
She only fed from it for about 3 minutes but there was major gulping. It felt completely soft afterwards, is it possible that she has managed to empty it in such a short space of time?