She's gone off the right one! Help! Very long

[wrigglershouse]

Hi - can I have some advice please (Tiktok?)

My 16 week old daughter is exclusively BF and I love it and have had no problems up until the last few days. Her latch seems fine and she's growing well, although she did have an ear infection over Christmas at which time she dropped from the 25th to the 9th centile in the (no diferentiation between ff and bf I know...) red book. Since then she's followed the 9th beautifully although not crept back up to the 25th. I'm very happy with this and so is HV etc. So no apparent problems there.

She feeds on demand and until the last week or so that's been 1 1/2-2 hrly in the day and long periods latched on while I sleep at night, mainly to the right breast (co-sleeping carefully). Because she's attached to the R a lot of the night I wasn't too worried that she definitely prefers the left during the day and when she was cluster feeding in the evening.

Now, she has suddenly gone to 2-3 hrly in the day, shorter feeds and started sleeping in the evening (good) which is obviously normal. Unfortunately she has also started spitting out the right one. She sucks for a minute then starts letting go then frantically relatching again and again. If I give in and offer the L she latches normally and has a good old guzzle. I suspect that a lot of the time I was latched and sleeping so was she so I have been understimulating the R and now I have crap supply. Breast compression seems to help for a minute but then even with breast compression she is the same.

I'm going to try pumping, I'm offering the right one first at every feed (as of today), I'm going back to it when she's finished with the left in the hope that she will be happy and full therefore comfort suck for a bit even though not much is coming out. Is there anything else I can do to help? I don't want to bugger up the left one trying to improve supply in the right or make DD prefer the left even more by trying to pester her all the time with her less satisfying one.

Aaaarrrggh

I'm no expert but it sounds like you are doing the right things to correct any problem with supply that you may have. The only thing I could suggest is that maybe she doesn't like lying on that side so trying a different position might help eg have her on a pillow under your arm so that she is lying on the same side as she would be feeding on the left.
If it is just a supply issue I'm sure it will sort itself out within a day or so.
I'm sure my ds had a preference for the left for a while but I just kept persevering with both sides and now he doesn't seem to have any preference (he's 24 weeks)
Good luck

Hi my DD3 is also 16 weeks and is doing exactly the same! Does not like my right side and after a few minutes of let down she won't carry on so have to swap to left. Have been starting on that side each time, she will feed happily from that side at night though??? She feeds every 3 - 4 hours during day, bed at 7, dreamfeed at 11 and wakes at about 3 - 4 and then 7. She often only feeds for 5 minutes in total at a time so have been worried but her weight has been steady so stopping worrying so much. Have been taking fenugreek capsules last few days to increase milk supply and does seem to have helped. I will give different positions a go as others have suggested. It's a mystery though as never had problem with DD1 and DD2. Personally I don't think leaving her latched on all night is helpful. I have fallen asleep a couple of times to wake with her still latched but then waking not long for a feed. Find it better to sit up and cajole into having a good feed then get more sleep! Will bring her into bed from 5'ish onwards but other than that she goes back into Moses basket.

My DS is 18 weeks and for the last couple of weeks he's often refused both right and left during the day. I know this doesn't seem like the same problem, but it was just that yummumto3girls said DD3 will still feed from the right side at night. My DS will feed happily at night (or during the day if he is sleepy and we lie down.....tres connvenient when you're out!)It is a bit of a coincidence that we,ve experienced this at the same age. I'm just pumping away as much as poss and when he refuses I give a bottle (EBM or formula). I'm paranoid that my supply will really suffer in spite of pumping as I can't always do it every feed he misses. Good luck and hope they at least stick with one side. I'm trying to reconcile myself to the idea that even if he all out refuses bf during the day, my supply will allow me to continue at night at least unril 6 months,hopefully a year.Downside is he feeds every 2 hours at night so not a lot of sleep.

Bopper- that's the problem isn't it, they make up for it at night bless them! I have tried expressing too as worried about supply but I just can't get the hang of expressing. Supply seems to be ok for the minute, not ready to give up BF yet. With last two DD's started cutting down on BF when they went through the night, unfortunately this one seems to be dragging that out so could be some time before I give up!