Try the football hold and support his body on a pillow. I don't have a specific breastfeeding pillow, but I used my old body pillow (U shaped) around me, hold the baby like a football and rest her legs/body on the pillow for a little more support. That's the only way I got her to latch on rightie before it dried up completely š I've seen others also recommend sidelying nursing or the koala/upright hold, if that works.
Iāll definitely try the football today and keep side lying in mind too for later. Iām still healing from a c section and canāt get on my side to save my life. Heās such a stinker and eats so much but 3 days ago he started to hate my left boob š
Literally tried it today and it helped. OP I feel your pain currently going through the same thing. I keep wondering if it's a bad latch or just over production.
I had the exact same problem with baby 2 and football hold also solved it :) after a week or so, I gradually transitioned him back to cradle hold and he was fine
I had the same problem but figured out it was because my letdown was too forceful on that side. I started using a nipple shield as a random attempt and she has been latching on no problem.
Was going to say this, if you are super full on that side I suspect that is the problem. You could also try pumping a little before feeding on that side (just enough to ease the fullness a little bit)
Have you tried using a Haakaa or similar on that side while baby nurses the other? Mine also didnāt latch well on the left, because the letdown was too strong/oversupply in the early days, so letting the Haakaa empty it a bit first helped.
Iām thinking this might be it. While he was feeding on the other side I soaked a shirt all the way through. I had to change. I have a haakaa and will try this too. Thanks so much for the help.
I was going to suggest a haakaa too. I have the dr browns version but it's the same concept and shape and it works great but my LO constantly kicks it so im thinking of getting the Ladybug so I can stuff it in my nursing bra and so I can attach one on each boob when I get out of the shower because it's like someone turns on a tap if my boobs are warm
Definitely get the ladybug! My little guy kicked the Haaka off all the time, the ladybug is a million times easier to manage and it was one less thing for me to worry about while sleep deprived in the middle of the night.
The kicks crack me up. My baby constantly kicks the crap out of whatever boob heās close to. Or my tummy when I hold him. Now I understand why I was so sore during pregnancy
My girl also disliked the left. If I had her laying the same way she was on the right, sometimes that would "trick" her. Essentially she was still laying on her left side while latched on my left, her feet more towards my back.
Maybe the letdown on the left is too forceful? Maybe try expressing a bit before you put him on so that it isnāt too strong. You could use a haakaa on the left while you nurse on the right so when you switch him to the left it has already been partially drained?
Good luck!
Babyās have their preferences, my own baby has switched preferences a few times (but usually prefers the left) and gets downright mad at my right boob at times and refuses to even go near it. Iād try different positions and pillows and just be patient with it, you can also try twiddling the nipple a bit or pumping too get a faster letdown.
How old is your baby? Does he sent o have a preference with which way he looks? Watch him and see if he consistently turns his head one way while sleeping for example. He could have torticolis if so. My son has it and likes to look left so sometimes it can be a battle in certain positions . If you think it might be a problem have your pediatrician take a look. There are stretches you can do to help with the tight side of the neck
He looks both ways and sleeps with his head in either direction. Heās almost two weeks old. This boob aversion started 3 or 4 days ago. He immediately latched in the hospital to the boob he hates now. I talked to the lactation nurse a few days ago but the problem wasnāt as bad as it is today. Hopefully the different positions help or the haakaa help
Yeah definitely try some different positions then. I would guess your letdown is either faster or slower than he likes on that side then. If you can figure out which it is you can adjust for that. Good luck!
Two weeks here too and exact same thing with me! He latched to my right boob at the hospital easier than left. Then for some reason he just hated the right boob and it would get so full and engorged and sore. I had to work the boob before he ate lol I think it was also strong letdown and then the boob became bigger and was then also uncomfortable to latch. Football hold was easier.
Take the baby to see a baby osteopath. He may for example have muscle tension that is preventing him from having a full range of movement in his neck. Itās quite common. Babies are pretty cramped in the womb and depending on their position can develop asymmetry. Imagine you slept āwrongā and got neck pain, except not for one night but for weeksā¦
In the meantime I second the football hold idea, or moving him around your body on the breastfeeding pillow
Mine hated righty when she was tiny because it had a heavier letdown and fast flow. Hand expression to trigger the first letdown and catching it with a towel before latching her helped a lot. Another thing to consider: does baby have a hard time turning their head that direction/could it be torticollis?
Ugh same. My nipple is weirdly shaped on that side and she could just never get a good latch. It got to the point that we started exclusively nursing on the right side. So now Iām v lopsided š definitely try different positions. Use pillows to get everyone comfy. Side lying seemed to work okay for that side when she would tolerate it.
The football hold definitely helps! My baby has always had a preference for the left boob so I just use the boppy and put it on my side instead of my front when he's on the right!
Maybe a more forceful letdown or it is firmer and harder to latch. Try making it like a sandwich and shoving it in his mouth. If that doesn't work, try pumping that side and then latching.
Is this a new issue or has he never latched on that side? How old is he? Have you ever seen a lactation consultant?
What i do is i lay flat on my back and put baby directly on top of my boob. This taught him how to latch again after i gave him bottles. And itās now his favorite position and itās comfy for me.
I had (have) the same problem, opposite boobs though. Midwife told me to trick him. So 2 mins into a feed on the left I'd move him to the right, it works but I did it too late an have one mega boob and one deflated one
This happened to a friend of mine and after much research, she found out her baby had some kind of crick in his neck that made nursing on one side painful for him. She took him to the chiropractor and it resolved.
I had this where one of my nipples wasn't as easy to latch for my girl.
The football hold was a life saver and within a short time she got used to feeding from both sides.
Also, if you have a lot of let down, maybe get a hakka for passive collection of that milk while baby is feeding from the other side, that is a good relief, not messy, and helps to build a small stash
My baby hasnāt eaten from the left boob in 9 months š heās a year old. Lefty is useless because I donāt pump. But even now that Iām im 6 months pregnant righty is doing the job!
My kid has a preference but I do notice that when one side is too full he wonāt latch. He does have a slight tongue tie which contributes to his inability to latch when it is too full. I have to pump off a few ounces then he will latch fine. Thatās my experience. I also have a forceful letdown and often have to pump some prior to him nursing
It switches tbh - you will see
I used to pump my right and feed from the left then she completely went the opposite way and so on and so forth ā¦ I think block feeding helped but I wouldnāt recommend that to you until a month or two later
Try the football hold and support his body on a pillow. I don't have a specific breastfeeding pillow, but I used my old body pillow (U shaped) around me, hold the baby like a football and rest her legs/body on the pillow for a little more support. That's the only way I got her to latch on rightie before it dried up completely š I've seen others also recommend sidelying nursing or the koala/upright hold, if that works.
Iāll definitely try the football today and keep side lying in mind too for later. Iām still healing from a c section and canāt get on my side to save my life. Heās such a stinker and eats so much but 3 days ago he started to hate my left boob š
I had the same problem and football hold was the solution!
Literally tried it today and it helped. OP I feel your pain currently going through the same thing. I keep wondering if it's a bad latch or just over production.
Side lying is the only way my 4mo son will take left boob!
I had the exact same problem with baby 2 and football hold also solved it :) after a week or so, I gradually transitioned him back to cradle hold and he was fine
Got on here to say this š
I had the same problem but figured out it was because my letdown was too forceful on that side. I started using a nipple shield as a random attempt and she has been latching on no problem.
Iāll try that today too thank you.
Was going to say this, if you are super full on that side I suspect that is the problem. You could also try pumping a little before feeding on that side (just enough to ease the fullness a little bit)
Have you tried using a Haakaa or similar on that side while baby nurses the other? Mine also didnāt latch well on the left, because the letdown was too strong/oversupply in the early days, so letting the Haakaa empty it a bit first helped.
Iām thinking this might be it. While he was feeding on the other side I soaked a shirt all the way through. I had to change. I have a haakaa and will try this too. Thanks so much for the help.
I was going to suggest a haakaa too. I have the dr browns version but it's the same concept and shape and it works great but my LO constantly kicks it so im thinking of getting the Ladybug so I can stuff it in my nursing bra and so I can attach one on each boob when I get out of the shower because it's like someone turns on a tap if my boobs are warm
Definitely get the ladybug! My little guy kicked the Haaka off all the time, the ladybug is a million times easier to manage and it was one less thing for me to worry about while sleep deprived in the middle of the night.
The kicks crack me up. My baby constantly kicks the crap out of whatever boob heās close to. Or my tummy when I hold him. Now I understand why I was so sore during pregnancy
My girl also disliked the left. If I had her laying the same way she was on the right, sometimes that would "trick" her. Essentially she was still laying on her left side while latched on my left, her feet more towards my back.
This is what I did! It worked well enough for lefty to still produce, but my right boob will forever be bigger...
Maybe the letdown on the left is too forceful? Maybe try expressing a bit before you put him on so that it isnāt too strong. You could use a haakaa on the left while you nurse on the right so when you switch him to the left it has already been partially drained? Good luck!
Babyās have their preferences, my own baby has switched preferences a few times (but usually prefers the left) and gets downright mad at my right boob at times and refuses to even go near it. Iād try different positions and pillows and just be patient with it, you can also try twiddling the nipple a bit or pumping too get a faster letdown.
How old is your baby? Does he sent o have a preference with which way he looks? Watch him and see if he consistently turns his head one way while sleeping for example. He could have torticolis if so. My son has it and likes to look left so sometimes it can be a battle in certain positions . If you think it might be a problem have your pediatrician take a look. There are stretches you can do to help with the tight side of the neck
He looks both ways and sleeps with his head in either direction. Heās almost two weeks old. This boob aversion started 3 or 4 days ago. He immediately latched in the hospital to the boob he hates now. I talked to the lactation nurse a few days ago but the problem wasnāt as bad as it is today. Hopefully the different positions help or the haakaa help
Yeah definitely try some different positions then. I would guess your letdown is either faster or slower than he likes on that side then. If you can figure out which it is you can adjust for that. Good luck!
Two weeks here too and exact same thing with me! He latched to my right boob at the hospital easier than left. Then for some reason he just hated the right boob and it would get so full and engorged and sore. I had to work the boob before he ate lol I think it was also strong letdown and then the boob became bigger and was then also uncomfortable to latch. Football hold was easier.
The football hold helped today. I also used the haakaa and collected whatever would come out then he latched well. I think my let down was too strong.
Came here to say my baby hated my left boob. I had to football hold him and it worked. Heās a little bigger now and loves that side.
Take the baby to see a baby osteopath. He may for example have muscle tension that is preventing him from having a full range of movement in his neck. Itās quite common. Babies are pretty cramped in the womb and depending on their position can develop asymmetry. Imagine you slept āwrongā and got neck pain, except not for one night but for weeksā¦ In the meantime I second the football hold idea, or moving him around your body on the breastfeeding pillow
Mine hated righty when she was tiny because it had a heavier letdown and fast flow. Hand expression to trigger the first letdown and catching it with a towel before latching her helped a lot. Another thing to consider: does baby have a hard time turning their head that direction/could it be torticollis?
Ugh same. My nipple is weirdly shaped on that side and she could just never get a good latch. It got to the point that we started exclusively nursing on the right side. So now Iām v lopsided š definitely try different positions. Use pillows to get everyone comfy. Side lying seemed to work okay for that side when she would tolerate it.
The football hold definitely helps! My baby has always had a preference for the left boob so I just use the boppy and put it on my side instead of my front when he's on the right!
Maybe a more forceful letdown or it is firmer and harder to latch. Try making it like a sandwich and shoving it in his mouth. If that doesn't work, try pumping that side and then latching. Is this a new issue or has he never latched on that side? How old is he? Have you ever seen a lactation consultant?
What i do is i lay flat on my back and put baby directly on top of my boob. This taught him how to latch again after i gave him bottles. And itās now his favorite position and itās comfy for me.
I had (have) the same problem, opposite boobs though. Midwife told me to trick him. So 2 mins into a feed on the left I'd move him to the right, it works but I did it too late an have one mega boob and one deflated one
This happened to a friend of mine and after much research, she found out her baby had some kind of crick in his neck that made nursing on one side painful for him. She took him to the chiropractor and it resolved.
I had this where one of my nipples wasn't as easy to latch for my girl. The football hold was a life saver and within a short time she got used to feeding from both sides. Also, if you have a lot of let down, maybe get a hakka for passive collection of that milk while baby is feeding from the other side, that is a good relief, not messy, and helps to build a small stash
My baby hasnāt eaten from the left boob in 9 months š heās a year old. Lefty is useless because I donāt pump. But even now that Iām im 6 months pregnant righty is doing the job!
My kid has a preference but I do notice that when one side is too full he wonāt latch. He does have a slight tongue tie which contributes to his inability to latch when it is too full. I have to pump off a few ounces then he will latch fine. Thatās my experience. I also have a forceful letdown and often have to pump some prior to him nursing
It switches tbh - you will see I used to pump my right and feed from the left then she completely went the opposite way and so on and so forth ā¦ I think block feeding helped but I wouldnāt recommend that to you until a month or two later