Can you breastfeed/pump successfully only using one boob? I'm stuck EPing again again because neither girl was able to nurse one side. I'd like to transfer back to BFing again, but the thought of that pain on the one side is terrifying. Anyone heard of just BFing with one of your boobs?
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i don't have personal experience but i have heard that some people don't produce milk on one side so they just use the other one. I also find that my LO has a preference for the right side and i always pumped more out of it, so i feel like he only takes the left sometimes because i offer and want to even it out.
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I have uneven output, and at one point worried that one breast was losing supply. When I talked to our ped about it, she said I have two breasts to nurse twins and it's okay if one "doesn't work". She said I would look lopsided but if I don't mind then there's really nothing wrong with it.
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I have one inverted nipple and I gave up on that breast at 10 weeks due to pain. Before that I was only using it once per day. I continued to nurse & pump on my good side. LO was EBF until a year and we weaned at 16 months. Yes, I was ridiculously lopsided but nobody mentioned it to me. Three months post weaning my boobs are approximately the same size.
Let me know if you have any questions.
ETA: technically I did pump my non-producing breast from months 4-12 since I was pumping the other side but nothing came out.
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@swurlygurl: This is not exactly what you're looking for, but at 14 months, K is nursing on just one side 99% of the time. She's been doing that for about a month now. I am definitely lopsided, and the other side is basically dried up.
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I know it's not fun but you could always BF one side and pump the other.
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I have a girlfriend who only produced milk in one breast. She is exclusively breastfeeding with great success.
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My sister did! Her DD refused her left breast so she only nursed on the right for 1 year!
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I use my left side more than my right, simply because I'm able to get more things done while nursing. I'm a little lopsided, but that's only a temporary problem. Once he's weaned, they'll go back to being even.
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I used only one from when DS was a year until he stopped around 18 months. I don't know if it would have worked before that, but there are no long-term impacts.
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@californiadreams: That's how I am - the painful side only produces 50% of what the good side does, and that's even after EPing from day 2!
@Mrs. Jump Rope: @Mrs. Oatmeal: @Dandelion: I would definitely be okay with lopsided. Plus, my chest is so large anyway I don't think it would be noticeable at all.
@Corduroy: I wish I had started this from day 1! K is 7 weeks, so my supply is probably too established to try to get a full day's worth from 1 side
@HolisticMama: @Mamaof2: I'm so glad to hear it worked for other people! I'm going to have to remember this for baby #3, and not stress about trying to force the other side to work.
@Jess1483: It's good to know that it works later on too, in case I power on and try to change it up later
I wish the LC I saw in the hospital had mentioned this to me - it would have saved me so much grief! She just kept telling me the pain would go away and that I needed to use both sides
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yup! i stopped BFing on one side at around 4 months? we're now still going strong BFing one side at 10 months! she had a distinct preference for my left, and fought me every time i tried to latch her on the right, so i figured why bother.
Yes, i'm lopsided, but really, who cares?! I do still pump both sides at work because why not? i'm sitting here anyway and i figure maybe it will make me slightly less lopsided (probably not, but whatever). i don't produce anything from the right anymore. when i pump at home (rarely), i just pump the left.
when i fully stopped offering the right, the left still produced enough to satisfy her. and i didn't do it from day 1 either, so i definitely don't think it's too late to make a change!
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@T.H.O.U.: That's probably what I would do if I try to switch. I'm wanting to switch though because we're going on a long trip in December, and there's just no way I can maintain EPing. I'd like to switch to BFing, but I'd probably have to dry up the other side first, if I'm not going to be able to pump for 10 days
@Pirouette: That's definitely encouraging! I tried BFing after pumping last night (first time since she was 2 days old!) and it went well, so I might be ready to try switching
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@swurlygurl: that's great! i hope it works out for you! btw, when i stopped nursing on the right, i found that i pretty much never NEEDED to pump that side - i wasn't engorged. so you may not need to pump that side on your trip, as long as you don't pump on that side constantly until then!
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