Breastfeeding exclusively from just one breast - is it possible?

[ButteryJam]

My left breast has had mastitis 3 times and thrush twice just in the space of 8 weeks

I was wondering whether it is possible to breastfeed exclusively from just one breast and dry up the other breast?

Theoretically I don't see why not but won't you end up with one side bigger than the other?
Also what if you get mastitis in your remaining breast? xxx

Yes, it is, buttery, and people do it for reasons like yours or sometimes because their baby refuses one side for mystery reasons.

You need to work out a plan rather than just stop on the 'bad' side....call any of the breastfeeding helplines and they will support you with this.

glossy, one side will be temporarily bigger than the other then it settles down :)

She's unlikely to get mastitis in the 'good' breast - three time in one breast only indicates there is something in that breast that predisposes to it.

Yes, DS always fussed more on one side than the other so at 9mo I stopped feeding from that side ( anticipating that I would only feed him for a few months more). He is 3 now and still feeding from one side and they are pretty much the same size

The majority of woman can not only breast feed but feed twins. So there would be no issue with you feeding from one side with one child. I have known someone who has done it. And there are many women who do so for a variety of reasons. My advice if you are doing that though to to ensure that your latch is ok. If your nipple get sore then you won't have the restbite of the other side

I did it with ds1. For whatever reason he just wouldn't/couldn't latch properly on right side so I fed him exclusively from left breast. I expressed from right side to begin with but soon got bored with the faff of expressing two/three times a day. Never had any problems once supply to right breast settled down.

I've done it twice now. Dd1 insisted my right breast was broken from 3mo and would only feed on the left. Dd2 lasted until 4mo before starting the same.

DS had tongue tie which wasn't diagnosed until 3 months. Feeding from the right breast was always much less painful so I gradually tailed off feeding him on that side. It was a massive relief to stop the pain TBH! I never really noticed any difference in breast size.

Hope it goes better for you, poor you, both mastitis and thrush are horrendously painful!

I do it, DS is 16 months old. My left side is bigger than my right. My right side nipple is flat and off centre. I've been wondering if DS has a lip tie and this has prevented him from latching on that side. He has a big gap between his front teeth and has ever been able to bite into any food.

Yes, you can. I dried up my left side after getting mastitis 11 times and I wish I'd done it sooner! I've been feeding exclusively from that side for 15 months now and plan to tandem nurse from that side only when this baby is born.

I feed on the left only about 80% of the time as dd3 is very fussy on the right if tired/grumpy/anything other than perfectly happy. Mine are different sizes but I think they have been the whole time I've been bf anyway (6 years so far).

Thanks everyone! I am currently just feeding from one as she is refusing to take a bottle and I have no idea if she is getting enough or not. Also my nipple is getting sore too. Any advice?