Supply and demand...one big boob!

[cantbelieveImquittingcoffee]

DD is 9 weeks old and EBF with the occasional al expressed bottle just to get her used to it. After a bit of trouble at the start everything is going smoothly with feeding now, but she has gone through a 2 week development leap which led to cluster feeding (on a few days she was feeding all day with 30mins between ending one feed and wanting the next!) but this seems to have settled down now.
Problem is, I have somehow ended up with my right boob massively increasing in supply so it's almost constantly really full and painful. I don't think I was offering her the right one more than the left, but now that's my instinct because it's always uncomfortably full, but I think if I do that it will continue to be making more milk on that side. Any suggestions?

Oh and also - I don't express every day, though I do want to build up a stock for the freezer so that I can eventually leave her to get some time to myself, so what I'm wondering is if anyone has any advice as to how to level things out, and also perhaps how to build expressing in to our normal schedule?
I know the advice is to express in the morning but that doesn't often work for us as she has a mini- cluster feed most mornings.
Any suggestions will be gratefully received!

Hi Cantbelieve,

I also have the occasional problems with one big boob! I just try and make a conscious effort to use the other one more. A hot shower usually helps with any pain, also my giant boob will eventually start leaking and deflate.

Sorry can't help with the expressing question as I've never tried ( am lazy and don't fancy the washing up!)

Hi There,
I have a similar thing, but it's my left that always seems a bit overfull if it's been awhile since my son's fed (for example overnight). I also express every day - I do it first thing in the morning, but you could try just expressing from your full breast when it feels over full, and just feeding baby from the other one. That way you can build up a stock for the freezer, and I'm pretty sure babies draw out more milk than pumping, so I think that it would actually stimulate the supply a bit less to pump than to feed...however I'm no expert on this!
I went for a night out after about two months I think and it was amazing - I was euphoric! I hope you get the chance to get out there and see friends or whoever soon, it really made me stupidly happy, and I am still on cloud nine when I get to go out every now and then.
Good luck
A

Thank you both!
Am making a conscious effort now to feed from the non-full one (I am sure it must be empty by DD sticks around so I assume it isn't!) so hopefully that is going to sort things out if i can stick with it. And thanks cubed, it's a good idea I think to just pump a little rather than expecting to get loads each time, and fingers crossed I can plan a fun outing or a whole day sooner or later!

I had this too cantbelieve - one side was significantly bigger/fuller than the other even though I didn't think I was feeding from it more. I called it the Superboob! I just got used to it and it was very reliable for expressing

Both boobs went back to their usual (small, even) size once I finished breastfeeding.

With DC2 I have made a conscious effort to feed from both sides evenly and Superboob has returned.

I am pretty sure I could have fed both kids exclusively from that side!

Try to alternate breasts more evenly, do you offer both breasts each feed?

Have lots of skin to skin, and demand feeding to get poor lefty back up to speed.

Completely empty big boob once a day, (to start with you might need to do it twice a day, or 18 hours apart... Whatever is comfortable.) That should help you manage an oversupply in the right, fairly quickly. (As long as the left is keeping up..)

The only other reason you might have one big one little (apart from little being a bit under stimulated) is if you have differing amounts of breast tissue in the breasts. If lefty is not a good producer then you might find the right is bigger to compensate,and you might have to keep it that way to maintain your supply... From what you've described though it sounds more like you've neglected it a little?

All good food for thought, thank you! To try and let lefty catch up I fed mostly on that side today (always starting with the left), and did a quick bit of expressing on the right at lunchtime to take the pressure down a bit (and got 3oz just like that, bam!!). I'm going to keep going like this for a bit of I can (favouring the left side) to see if I can let it catch up with the right! Interestingly when I was feeding DD in the left this evening she started really fussing and writhing around so I thought she had wind - I kept trying to wind her but nothing was coming up, so in the end i put her onto the right side and she fed really calmly for a long time, so I wonder if th left side was empty and that's why she was fussing?

You want to try to equally offer both sides as otherwise you might find the right gets engorged and/or blocked. (Or under stimulated). Plus you don't want to affect the supply on that side.

If she's really fussing with the left how about some expressing on the left a few times a day after feeds I do think though if you can rest up for a few days. Lots of skin to skin and equally offering them the left will come back up.