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Original poster

Breastfeeding, visibly uneven boobs

19 replies

KinderWild · 09/04/2022 20:05

My baby is almost 1 and he is exclusively breastfed. He has a boob preference and while I alternate which boob I offer first and always offer both, the less favourite boob takes longer to let down and so isnt fed on for long/less milk is taken from it. As a result the preferred boob is noticeably bigger. I am wanting to wean my baby of the breast soon, before I am back at work. Is there anything I can do to even up my boob size before I stop breastfeeding? I've been thinking of just pumping unfavourite side....

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RandomMess · 09/04/2022 20:10

Only offer the unflavoured side every time first, and sometimes only that one?

Hangingtrousers · 09/04/2022 20:12

Mine were uneven at the same point as my done stopped feeding from one side and nothing I would do would get him to feed on that side...so I had one massive and one tiny boob.
I've been stopped over a year now and happy to report that my boobs have returned to the same size. I didn't do anything to help it along. .

BorderlineBob · 09/04/2022 20:45

@RandomMess

Only offer the unflavoured side every time first, and sometimes only that one?
This cracked me up Grin Maybe flavour the other one and he might prefer that one! Grin

Seriously though, I’m pretty sure mine were uneven when I stopped due to preference and they evened up pretty quickly!

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Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 20:02

@KinderWild did you have any luck evening out? My LO has been EBF since birth, she’s now 11 months and I’m going back to work in a couple of weeks.

In the last few weeks I’ve noticed one side has become much larger than the other. It was always a little larger even pre-pregnancy, and my LO has always seemed to get more milk more easily from it. I haven’t noticed a difference in her feeding from it recently but the smaller one is tiny now in comparison.

I’m feeling very self-conscious about it going back to work, especially as I’ve had issues with blocked ducts and can only really wear tank tops or those stretchy fabric bras 🙁. Thinking at the very least I’ll need to pad that side out!

Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 20:03

Should have added that I plan to keep breastfeeding when I go back to work, and just pumping enough for a cup of milk during the day on the days she’s in nursery.

jenn88 · 25/06/2022 20:13

I exclusively fed from the left after about 1 month, it was the preferred boob! I had very wonky boobies for sometime!
I can report they are now both back to the same size but a little less full in appearance!!!!! DD is now 2

jenn88 · 25/06/2022 20:16

Sorry while I was feeding/pumping they were uneven and it was more noticeable to me as I returned to work due as I was becoming engorged between feeds and pumps! I think it was about 6 months or so after stopping feeding they settled into a more even pair

spiderlight · 25/06/2022 20:29

My DS only liked my left breast. I tried offering the right first etc. but he was having none of it, and by the time he was a year old, poor Righty had given up almost entirely and my DH had started to refer to them as Laurel and Hardy 🤣 They did even up as he started to reduce his feeds from the left though. I fed him one-sided for a long time - at 14 months he started to use the word 'mambo' for breastfeeding, and he later christened them 'Big Mambo' and 'Slow Mambo'!

shivawn · 25/06/2022 21:13

I breastfed for 7 months, the last 3 months of that was mostly from the left side. I think the left side must have been at least 3 cup sizes bigger at one point and I was sure they'd never go back to normal but happy to report that they are even now (well as even as they ever were).

Overall I'm really happy with my post breastfeeding breasts, I think it had very little effect on them in the end. I stopped breastfeeding around 4 weeks ago and it's only this week that leftie has gone back to normal size.

Original poster
KinderWild · 25/06/2022 21:21

Thanks for these posts they are so reassuring. There is hope!

@Seahorse87 I haven't got it sorted yet but little one is refusing to feed on the right at all and so the left is now even bigger - or maybe the right smaller and the difference just feels bigger. I am down to one feed a day and hoping to be fully weened off in the next month or so. I am wearing a lot of loose shirts for work to try and disguise it. And briefly looked into used extra padding on one side to even things out.

OP posts:
Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 21:25

Thanks for the replies, guessing I might just have to pad up on one side so it’s not so obvious 😊

It’s weird that it’s suddenly so noticeable as there have definitely been times where she has leaned way more towards one side, and at the moment she seems to feed fairly similarly from both sides, but wonder if it could be that her latch suits one side better and is therefore more efficient on that one.

Trying to build up a stash for when I’m at work (although she’s never taken milk from bottle or cup before so she might not take it now) so gonna try pumping a bit longer on the small side to see if that helps at all. The big side does have the oversupply though so I actually get way more from a shorter pump on it so not sure if it makes any difference 🤷🏻‍♀️

Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 21:27

@spiderlight thats so funny about the names 😂! My LO isn’t talking yet but she’s recently started to laugh sooo excitedly when I get ready to feed her! We used to call her the mini milk monster as she’s always been so keen on her milk so will be funny to see what she calls it when she can talk!

GrinAndVomit · 25/06/2022 21:28

I had this and just padded my small boob to even them up. They were back to symmetry a few months after I stopped breastfeeding.

Verbena87 · 25/06/2022 21:30

I just did boxy tops at work until he weaned, and then they gradually evened out closer to my normal (favoured boob grew 6 months before the other when I was a teenager which I found mortifying, and has always been slightly bigger, but it’s no longer noticeable)

Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 21:30

Yes definitely reassuring! I was thinking loose shirts might be a good plan for work. Did the extra padding help at all? I haven’t needed to wear pads for ages so though I’d just stick one on the smaller side, even just to make me feel a bit better!

Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 21:31

Sorry @KinderWild meant to tag you in last post!

Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 21:32

Just out of curiosity what age did everyone’s LO stop breastfeeding? I’m intending to let her go as long as she wants but could mean another year or two of wonky 😂

Original poster
KinderWild · 25/06/2022 21:45

@Seahorse87 I used the pads that came in my nursing bras and just put two in one side! It helped a bit. I am back in a normal underwired bra now and it is much more noticeable (to me) as the boobs are separated.
I am planning to finish BF by the time DS is 16 months. That's in 2 months. It may be sooner, trying to wean off gently. But it feels like the right time for us.

OP posts:
Seahorse87 · 25/06/2022 21:49

Thanks @KinderWild. just a little nervous being back in the office at meetings etc but I’m hoping it’s much less noticeable to other people than to me. We have only just dropped to 3 feeds but she loves her food so no idea how long we’ve got left. Best of luck with the rest of you BF journey 😊

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