Milk come in and DD struggling with one side in particular

[Waffleblock]

Establishing breastfeeding DD who is 4 days old. My milk has come in really quickly it feels. DD is latching and feeding nicely on right hand side. But left hand side is engorged and she is struggling to latch for very long. I think because boob is hard and her mouth is small. I've tried hand expressing a bit before feeding just now. It worked a little but she was on and off and just fussed mainly. Any tips, do I need to express more to soften it up enough for her?

I had this with both of my children and in the end ended up feeding them mainly from one side..... and being a bit wonky boobed!
You can feed from only one breast perfectly well.
I was advised to start off on the least favoured side each time.
This was 10 years ago though so there might be more up to date advice now.

But yes, try expressing a bit to soften up.
Also a hot flannel will reduce the engorgement (if that's the word).

Have you tried a different position on the tricky side? My ds could only feed in a certain way on the left. Took him for cranial osteopathy and it turned out he had stiffness down one side and discomfort from birth trauma.

I’ve just had this with my 2 week old. I worked out quickly after lots of tears (mainly from me) to express before a feed. I used my electric pump only for maybe 1-2 mins and was enough to soften my boob for him to latch.

Just wanted to say thanks all for you advice. DD wasn't gaining enough weight at the 3 and 5 day checks so we have had an extra weigh in yesterday. Still not enough gain so another review tomorrow. The midwife who came out was fantastic in helping me address the issue with this dodgy side though and DD has been feeding so much better from it since. I did have a cry about it though. Feel like I have let her down by not helping her latch properly until now. Fingers crossed for a good weight gain tomorrow. Thanks again.