boobs making different amounts of milk?

[trishpops]

dd is 5 and a half wks, BF exclusively for last week or so, prior to that having odd bottle of formula from DP so i can sleep. since exclusively BFing i have noticed that right breast becomes engorged quite a bit more than left, and although DD sems to feed well from it amd it does seem to 'empty', it doesn't ever 'empty' like left breast. so i have expressed from it twice, once a few days ago with no probs, then yesterday. my breasts seemed to be completely empty by evening, DD drank all expresed milk, thne i latched her back on to both breasts, she latched on keenly but kept breaking off after a few minutes and crying. eventually gave her a botle of formula which she drained and fell asleep at midnight. (prior to last nights formula she had not had any for over a week and that was beacuse she was refusing it). she woke again at 5.30, fed from left breast, fell back to sleep until 7.30 when my right breast was visibly larger than left, rock hard, and still is hardly any different after her feeding from it (she is fast asleep again now)i'm reluctant to express from it because i don't want to perpetuate the problem, but then i'm scared of getting mastitis. also, the side of right breast is quite painful when she feeds. her latch is fine, my nipples are not cracked or sore.

It is normal for the breasts to produce differetly, trishpops. Some people notice a marked difference, too.

You don't need to bother expressing from either breast unless you want to, or feel one side is uncomfortable. You certainly don't need to express to equalise the supply - pointless In fact, when you do this, you are doing your body's and your baby's work for them - an engorged breast naturally slows down its production if you let it. If you artificially remove the milk, you're telling it to speed up its production and possibly making the engorgement worse...as you have found

On the evening your breasts felt empty, they probably weren't. Your baby kept breaking off and crying - could be for any number of reasons. The least likely one is you had no milk. Yes - she glugged down the formula but that's what babies often do with a bottle teat.

At the moment, very gentle hand expressing is all that's needed on the right side, and only then if you are uncomfortable or feel that it's lumpy. If you do nothing, it will settle down over the course of today, is my bet

My left is the same as your right! I just try to feed from it the same as the other side, otherwise i just encourage the milk more.

thanks tiktok, i didn't know this could happen. i was owrried that there was something wrong with thhe flow on that side, but she does appear to be satisfied equally from both breasts. my boob is v uncomfortable tho. will expres just a little to ease it.