One working the other's not.....

Ok my daughter is 3 wks. I have been feeding her on one breast. My other breast at first had many issues. For one it is inverted and I was using a nipple shield, my daughter would barely suck and would often get frustrated bc the milk came out so little compared to the other side. It started to bleed twice and she stopped taking it all together. So I stopped using the breast shield. The breast with the inverted nipple is twice as small as the other breast and supplies no milk except to leak when my daughter feeds on the other side. I have tried to pump and get my daughter to suck but even when she latches on and ***** nothing comes out. My lactation specialist is stumped and so am I bc I really want to breast feed my daughter but this cant work on one breast plus she cries so much. He doctors say her weight gain is good but could I be the reason why she cries so much? How can I get the other breast to produce milk?

[peekawho]

I'll have Andij78 come over and comment, or you can send her a private message about it.  She successfully breastfed all 3 of her children with one breast.    

It can be done.

[AndiJ78]

Peek is right, I nursed 3 very big boys on only one breast without a drop of supplementation and almost no solids for my middle and youngest and only some for my first. It does require you to feed twice as often, but it is very possible.

Where most breastfed children would nurse every 2 to 3 hours, mine would nurse more often and it did take longer for sleeping through the night, but I coslept so it was not difficult at all for us. It was daunting for a few months, espcially during the growth spurts, but it became like second nature very quickly. My boys all remained over the 95th percentile the entire 14, 15, and 19 months they nursed.

[1wrkingboob]

Were your babies very fussy. At first it wasn't bothering me, the one breast thing bc the pediatricians said she was gaining weight well and that it was apparent she was getting enough but my baby cries alot, I thought it was gas but I'm not sure this is my first baby I dn't really kno what to look for. She will eat contently until she begins to get full and sleepy. She gets angry when I take her off to burp her. She falls asleep on the breast but cries herself to sleep reluctantly all the time.

[caellie]

crying might be due to colic since most newborns get it so dont be too hard on yourself. breastfeeding takes a lot of patience. I breastfed my baby with both breast even though I had no milk at first. Like you, both my nipples were inverted before. My mom who also happens to be my lactation consultant just told me to force the baby to feed even without any milk.I had to feed my baby with formula milk on his first day, but still made him suck on my nipple. One nipple protruded (is this the right term?lol) first then the other followed 1 month later. I wasn't even using any nipple shields.

It hurt a lot during those days, my breasts feels like pin cushion especially during the let down. It took all my patience to go on and now my baby is as healthy as can be. Its definitely worth it.

[AndiJ78]

My babies were fussy during the growth spurts, which are almost back-to-back during the first 3 months of life. They are constantly growing and they will continually challenge your supply to encourage it to keep up with their demands.

Keep at it, burp when your baby breaks the latch and try to keep baby upright after feeds.