Breastfed newborn only taking one breast at each feed

[Tigerpig]

Hoping for some advice please. I’m breastfeeding my newborn (2 weeks old) and she feeds really well from the first breast, then I will offer the second breast and she’s rarely interested, maybe once a day she will take some from the second breast.

Weight gain is doing great. At day 5 she had only lost 1% of birth weight and when weighed at day 10 she weighed more than her birth weight, so I’m not concerned with her intake per se. But two weeks in my breasts still get quite engorged between feeds and wondering if the one side at a time feeding is contributing to that or is it normal for breasts to still be engorged 2 weeks in?

Any advice would be appreciated as my first DC took milk from both sides at each feed so this is unknown territory for me!

DC3 never took both breasts at any feed and fed for 15 months. Babies are all different, don't worry about it. Particularly if she is gaining weight. Also your breasts will get used to it.

My DS has only ever fed from one breast per feed and he's never had any problems with weight gain etc.

It took until he was about 8 weeks for my supply to settle down, and the Health Visitor said this was perfectly normal.

I'm no expert but it sounds like you're doing a great job!

I can’t help with “normal” breastfeeding as I only ever fed my twins.

However I just wanted to say that when feeding twins each baby only feeds from one side at a time. So there’s nothing per se with a baby just feeding from one breast.

Your issue will be that you are still full on the other side so you will need to strictly swap between sides at feeding times to balance it out.

I never offered the other one with either of my two, didn't know it was a thing until recently. Your body will soon adjust.

A friend of mine does 5 mins on each, that seems a lot of faff though.

My dd is 3 weeks and only feeds from one breast at a time..... She is putting on weight rapidly x

Normal to still get engorged at that stage. It didn't settle down for a few more weeks for me, maybe 6ish? My first fed from both sides for 45 minutes per feed; second only took one breast for 5 minutes. Both gained well. It's astonishing how big the range of normal is!

Mine only ever fed from one side for the first 3 months or so. I always offered both but they never took it so just alternated the feeds. The engorgement should settle down but it took a few weeks to adjust to demand. If they are growing well and seem satisfied and well then it will be fine, you can always try expressing on the other side and building up a bit of a supply while you wait for it to settle.

As pp have said, totally normal and was the case with both of my two. Often happens when you have a really good milk supply as baby is getting enough milk from just one side. It can take a while for engorgement to settle down... I'm 12 weeks into feeding dd and only just settling down!

DS2 never wanted the other breast after he'd finished with the first one. He gained weight well and kept BF for more than 4 years, so it obviously worked for him! Whereas DS1 would drain both during most feeds yet gained weight more slowly.

Thanks so much for the responses. Good to know it can normal, I will keep offering second breast but won’t worry if she’s not interested in it.

I think I do have a lot of milk this time round so it’s probably just that she’s satisfied from one side at a time. Thanks for the tips re making sure I swap sides each feed etc.

Thanks again everyone, appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Mine never did for a long time as I was erm 'blessed' with LOADS

Then once or twice he did and projectile vomited as there was so much so quickly

It wasn't until after he was 6mo probably that he'll have both at bedtime and occasionally on a VERY hungry/ growth spurty day

Yep just one side per feed here too. Engorgement eased about 7-8 weeks in. God it was horrible while it lasted! One normal boob and one that made me look like Jordan!