my right breast pumps 4 oz my left only 2 oz . my baby boy is 3 weeks old. how do i get my left to pump more?

Question

i tryed to get him to lach on but he just won't. he's a big boy 10p 8oz at birth so when he wants to eat it has to come fast or he cry's his little heart out so i give him Bmilk in a bottle. i drink lots of water and eat well.

Answer 1

How often are you pumping? If you're pumping every 2-3 hours, the amount you're getting is fantastic! Breastfed babies need only an average of 25 oz. of breastmilk per day, so if you're pumping even 6-8 times, you're getting 36-48 oz. per day.

If you still want to breastfeed with pumping, it's not too late. He probably has a bottle preference, but you can work on that. Breast compressions will help your milk come faster for him until he learns to work at it. You can also put some expressed breastmilk on your nipple before he latches on so that he realizes that he needs to suck to get more milk.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Breast feeding is based totally on supply and demand. The more you pump a breast the more milk you will get. If you give him a bottle he will get "lazy" as it takes muscles and work to nurse. Get rid of the bottles and just keep trying. If you are having trouble with the milk "letting down" or getting into the breast itself - try drinking beer if you like it or ask your doctor for something to help the milk let down. Call your local Le Leche League and they will be more than happy to help you succeed in breastfeeding your baby. I nursed four and it is worth the effort. If the milk comes out too fast move him away for a second and put a towel or something to get the milk and then put him back on the breast. This problem is very common. But as I said, babies are smart and the more bottles you give him the more he will take from them and not from you. He will be unhappy for a while, but you are capable of producing whatever milk he needs - sometimes it just takes a lot of time and patience.

Answer 3

Have you tried pumping for a few mins, just enough to get a letdown, and then offering to nurse him? He would get a quicker reward at the breast that way and might be more willing to nurse. Have you worked with a La Leche League Leader or a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) to see if they can help?

It's normal for one breast to produce more than another. Just as one hand is slightly larger than the other or one foot is slightly larger, you have a different amount of milk ducts in each breast and they may produce differently. If you are getting a total of 6 oz in a pumping session, that is AMAZING. Some moms might have to pump 3x to get that much!

What kind of pump are you using? A good double electric pump? Have you tried taking the horns off and repositioning them on your breasts when the flow slows down or stops? Sometimes this will help you to empty different milk ducts and get a bit more milk.

Answer 4

One side usually produces more that the other. I had the same problem with both of my babies, 5 years apart. I get tons of milk from the right, I have never gotten more than 2 oz. from the left and there was nothing I could do about it. I expressed my milk for 10 months both times, with a double pump. So, they got equal time. One side just would not produce. It is common.

Answer 5

It's not an issue of it pumping more, but rather the capacity of the mammary glands - during your development, althought they may have looked even, seem to have developed differently; this is common - the best way is to purchase a pump and bottle the breast milk when your boy is not feeding (this is also a very common practice) and breast milk is proven to be better for a child than bottled milk.

Oh, and congratulations :)

Answer 6

I am pumping exclusively, as well, and my breasts do not produce the same amount of milk, either. However, I have talked to my girlfriends who actually breastfeed AND pump, and they say it is true for them, as well. What pump are you using? A dual one? What I am planning to do is to use a single manual pump on my right breast only (this is the one with less milk) in addition to my regular pumping sessions.

By the way, you say your baby drinks lots of water. HAVE YOU TALKED TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THIS? Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water intoxication is most most likely to be seen in infants under six months of age. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking too much water or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. A breastfed baby usually does not need any extra water! Talk to your doctor.

Answer 7

Pump! Pump! Pump! You will probably have to pump 3 x's more on your left side. I had a similar problem with pumping about half on one side as I did on the other. Like the other response said, the more you pump the more milk you produce. But if it hurst when you pump your left side there could be something going on and you would want to call you doctor.

Answer 8

My son has jaundice, he's in basic terms 10 days old yet is already ingesting 2 a million/2 ouncesbottles of breastmilk. during the third week they pass via a strengthen spurt and lower back at 6 weks then at 3 months and lower back at 6 months. So throughout the time of those circumstances he will probable consume lots greater beneficial than well-known!

Answer 9

I had the same problem and it never evened out, which is just fine. You may just have a better milk producer on one side. It's very possible to nurse "one sided" and still be able to give an baby all they need. I am still nursing my 13 month on one side and all's good. Keep it up. You are doing a great job!

Answer 10

Breast milk produces by supply and demand. If you want to make more milk from the other breast you need to spend more time trying to get more milk from it. If you have a breast pump use that. If you don't you can use your hands to massage this breast starting from your chest working your way to your nipple. Do this repeatedly.