10 days and still having some trouble....

[organicmom3]

My first two were not like this....but baby does NOT like the right side....it started in the hospital where I noticed the right nipple seemed flatter than the left and he had trouble latching on....used a little suction cup thing the hosp gave us and that seemed to help a bit until the 3rd day when the milk started coming in...we both cried through the 2 plus days of engorgement when he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the right side....since then he roots for it and acts like there is nothing there when the right nipple is right in front of him....he will latch on , suck once or twice , let go and root again...over and over and over...sometimes after 5 or ten minutes he will take it and suck for about 5 minutes.... with the left side, he occasionally does this but for shorter periods of time (one minute) or not at all and just digs in and will feed there for 10-20 minutes without problem..... it's driving me nuts...I know its not the nipple shape any more as there seems no difference since engorgement is over..... any other ideas as to what could be the issue? I know some babies have a 'preferance' but this seems to be more of an all out war against this side???

[marge234]

This sounds really frustrating. Someone with more experience will hopefully answer you soon but fwiw: First thought is he might not be comfortable--like maybe he was a little torqued and has some discomfort in his neck or jaw that acts up when he's on your right side. He might benefit from some physical (occupational?) therapy or at least might be worth talking with a therapist.

It might also be worth checking with an LC.

I hope this resolves for you soon.

[Megan73]

Have you tried different positions, such as football or sidelying? It could be that a new position will make it more comfortable for your babe.
Could one side have slower letdown?

[organicmom3]

I have tried different positions....while occasionally the football hold has a 'little' success, it's not at all enough to convince me that is the problem...it's only occasional, and not much more than other positions....

He sounds slightly 'stuffy' sometimes...I'm wondering if being on that side makes it worse for him...but again, the other positions don't seem to make much difference and I would think it would....

I'm not sure about let down, but I do know that there is definitely milk there....and seems to be the same amount/spray, etc. as the other side in my observational opinion....but who knows what it's really like for him??

There's not much of LCs in my area....the ob nurses supposedly had training but were not a whole lot of help while I was there, so I don't know that they would be much help now....

It's interesting though..... the last time he fed REALLY well was several hours after I had pumped that side I think on the 4th or 5th day....today I did it again and a couple hours later when he woke up he. after only fighting about 3 minutes, did actually feed for about 10.....not a super great feeding but pretty good for that side....coincidence? Or does it mean something? Something to do with the flow???

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

Originally Posted by Megan73

Have you tried different positions, such as football or sidelying? It could be that a new position will make it more comfortable for your babe.
Could one side have slower letdown?

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

Originally Posted by organicmom3

I have tried different positions....while occasionally the football hold has a 'little' success, it's not at all enough to convince me that is the problem...it's only occasional, and not much more than other positions....

He sounds slightly 'stuffy' sometimes...I'm wondering if being on that side makes it worse for him...but again, the other positions don't seem to make much difference and I would think it would....

I'm not sure about let down, but I do know that there is definitely milk there....and seems to be the same amount/spray, etc. as the other side in my observational opinion....but who knows what it's really like for him??

There's not much of LCs in my area....the ob nurses supposedly had training but were not a whole lot of help while I was there, so I don't know that they would be much help now....

It's interesting though..... the last time he fed REALLY well was several hours after I had pumped that side I think on the 4th or 5th day....today I did it again and a couple hours later when he woke up he. after only fighting about 3 minutes, did actually feed for about 10.....not a super great feeding but pretty good for that side....coincidence? Or does it mean something? Something to do with the flow???

soz i must have x posted, i'm not sure if flow has anything to do with it but i suppose if your lo isn't feeding as much on that side it could effect the flow, do you have a breast pump? maybe you could pump a bit between feeds to increase supply on that side just to see if it helps, or even pump a very small amount before feeding to get the milk flowing before lo starts to feed this may help if the flow is slower.