twoTwo different milks???

[flipsforfun]

So the milk out of my left breast is normal, and milk from the right is super watery (and much less plentiful.). Is this ok? Normal? Thanks for any answers!

[sweet.p]

How old is your baby?

What part of nursing is "painful" or is the milk as it comes out of your body forceful to make it feel painful?

"Watery" is the foremilk (normal) but if you have an oversupply of formilk it can be creating a hindmilk/foremilk imbalance on that side.

How does the baby nurse on that side, can the baby keep up with the flow ?

How do you know one side is more watery?

[flipsforfun]

Thanks for the reply . Well, I figured it out when I was pumping at work. I poured the two bottles into a milk bag and saw such a big difference in the consistency.

There is no pain, but on the watery side, I only pump about a third as much as the other side. My son is five months old and doesn't sem to mind at first, but gets frustrated after awhile - I would guess bcause the milk has stopped flowing. I would say that you are right in that the hindmilk is not coming for some reason, but don't know how to fix it.

Thank you for any knowledge that can be shared!

[CookAMH]

That is exactly what mine is like. Most often, when I offer the low side first, he needs the other side a little bit to fill up except at night. I'm ok with it that way, I feed more often on the fuller size since it's been fuller.

[wanderinggypsy]

Well, I've never pumped except occasionally so I can't testify to much there but I can say for sure that my right breast is my super boob. Way more milk, more forceful let down, and it's bigger too. (Also a bit more sensitive, which I attribute to it's larger size)

My left definitely doesn't produce as much. Anyways, judging from the responses to the original post here, it looks to me like all this is normal!

[JamieCatheryn]

Sounds like the watery side is harder to strip the last milk out of, less responsive to the pump and harder for your son too. (Sorry I think strip is a dairy term for milking the last creamy milk from the cow). There's hindmilk in there but since that's harder to get out, it doesn't come so much and just gets filled back up with thinner milk between feedings.

[ASusan]

Here's a thought. Soy lecithin is an emulsifier that was recommended to my by LLL for plugged ducts. It has worked for me. The reason it works is that it emulsifies and breaks up the fat molecules and allows them to release from the walls of the duct. Perhaps soy lecithin would help "strip" the hind milk from the breast? Never heard of this suggested before, but it kinda makes sense, doesn't it?

(of course, if you or DC is sensitive to soy, this is probably a bad idea. We seem ok with it.)

[sweet.p]

Originally Posted by flipsforfun

Thanks for the reply . Well, I figured it out when I was pumping at work. I poured the two bottles into a milk bag and saw such a big difference in the consistency.

There is no pain, but on the watery side, I only pump about a third as much as the other side. My son is five months old and doesn't sem to mind at first, but gets frustrated after awhile - I would guess bcause the milk has stopped flowing. I would say that you are right in that the hindmilk is not coming for some reason, but don't know how to fix it.

Thank you for any knowledge that can be shared!

I would try breast compression while nursing your son on that side.
http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/15pdf.pdf

Let us know if you had any surgical procedures on the affected breast or visible different tissue development in that breast (pre lactation). That can and does affect milk output.

It sounds as if you have managing with whatever it is, and he is thriving.