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[ElleJay]

I'm proud enough to say I'm giving breastfeeding with DD a go and hoping I last longer than last time!
Now, my question is this :
What do you do if your newborn baby prefers only feeding from 1 side and won't have a bar of the other side?
DD only wants to be fed from the left side and completely rejects the right

And another question : What do you do when baby doesn't show any interest over feeding?


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[The[cookie]Doctor]

These first few days are really important to starting an good breastfeeding relationship. I would spend as much time as you can skin to skin and snuggled up co-sleeping so that the gorgeous Miss K can latch and feed frequently to help stimulate your supply. I am not really sure about the refusal of one side but if you have used Lansinoh on it sometimes they will refuse because of the taste. A cool washer is good to help them wake up, undressing them and 'tickling' their feet always helped to keep baby awake and a little more interested.

[Dansta]

Try the football hold(if you can) which.is holding het body under your arm and her.laching like shes on the other side still

Colder wipes at nappy changes for a wake.up for a feed

[helle]

I was gonna say football hold too. Also, don't wash your boobies with soaps. Just keep it at water for now so they smell all the nice mummy smells haha
Good luck!! You're doing great, it's tricky at first so just be calm and not too hard on yourself

[Ree*Ree]

Excellent to hear you're giving it a go, I know you can succeed!

Try different positions, like the football hold. Maybe give the 'breast crawl' a go. And def loads of skin-to-skin time.
She is probably still quite sleepy from the birth and adjusting to life outside of you, so you may find she will 'wake up' a bit more over the coming days, especially once your milk comes in.
Ask the nurses to send a Lactation Consultant in to visit you asap too to make sure attachment is going well and hopefully avoid those horridly sore nipples!

[PumpkinZulu]

Yep as others have said, little miss would still be sleepy from the csection at this stage. Lots of cuddles and skin contact will help her wake up a bit more.

As to the one side preference, perhaps get her looked over quickly at some point. DD was born extremely squashed on her left side (no more room left!), which caused her neck and jaw issues and pain, and difficulty attaching to my right side because she was so stiff. Is it possible she has a sore neck from being pulled out? A chiro (or osteo, we saw a chiro) can fix that and help with lots of bf issues

[OceanPrincess]

Definitely google breast crawl and check out the clips! If anything turns up! Could be invaluable.

Otherwise give the ABA a ring and one of the counsellors will be able to talk you through it.

[Beach Mama]

La lal la la la laaaaaa...

ETA: I have been awake for far too long and realised I should read posts thoroughly before posting. My post was completely irrelevant as I thought you meant bub was feeding one side at a time, alternating sides. Chiro sounds like a good idea as it could be neck pain etc. Football hold could work as well xoxoxo

[sloane]

As to the one side preference, perhaps get her looked over quickly at some point. DD was born extremely squashed on her left side (no more room left!), which caused her neck and jaw issues and pain, and difficulty attaching to my right side because she was so stiff. Is it possible she has a sore neck from being pulled out? A chiro (or osteo, we saw a chiro) can fix that and help with lots of bf issues

i was going to suggest this as well. they get pretty cramped in there anyways & then when they get pulled out, it can't be too comfortable! so could be worth looking in to if the problem persists. you could try feeding from that side first to see if that helps/

definitely ask to see an LC if they have one & heaps of skin on skin time.

and when your milk comes in, feed more often - sometimes they will tell you in hospital that you should feed 4 hourly but don't tell you that once your milk comes, you should feed more frequently (because they're hungry & if you don't your breasts get too full & it's hard for your baby to feed).

good luck

[Calluna]

We had heaps of issues with Isaac being sleepy. I woke him 3 hourly to feed, tickled his feet and face, cold face washers, undressed him so he wasnt too comfortable, changed his nappy mid feed, lots of skin to skin. Can't think of any more, I'll come back if I do.

Don't forget that it takes a few days for the milk to come in after a vaginal birth, and can be even longer after a cs. Try not to get disheartened.


YOU CAN DO THIS!

[peanutter]

sometimes one boobie has a quicker let down than the other, so they learn to prefer the one which comes out faster ...

sometimes they have a bit of stiffness in their neck or shoulder, so positioning is less comfortable on one side ...

sometimes they are just so sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy and you have to tickle them and unwrap them and change their nappies half way through and blow on their face to keep them awake!

sometimes one of your boobies is bigger than the other, and therefore trickier for them to latch onto.

sometimes it helps to express the "non preffered" boobie by hand a little, so there's a bit of milk already out there to stimulate them, and the flow has already started, to make it easier while they get used to that side...

DS always preferred my left side - no idea why - and I'm not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg, but that side always produced more milk. we started to call her "old faithful".

[Nai]

As Tanstar said, it could be that one side more comfortable for her. Maybe try some different holds and also get her checked out as she may have some neck issues.

[ElleJay]

Thanks everyone! I'll be taking everything on board.

Last night, she started cluster feeding - so on top of having had no sleep cause of the hourly obs the night before, last nights sleep was non existent cause of her just wanting to always feed, and didn't matter what side either (Glad bout that though!)
She's attaching properly (according to the LC I've already spoken to) but it's starting to get sore when she's been feeding and sucking for a while

I've got a student midwife that's making me feel cr@p because she wants to send me home already but I just told her I didn't feel like I was ready and wanted at least one more day (I've only had her 36 hours ago! I mean come on!)

I wanna get BFing right this time, so I want to stay as long as I can and talk to the right people bout it.

Right now, all I want is DH here


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[Ree*Ree]

You sound like your doing really well Liz
Stay strong and don't let them bully you out before you're ready!

Might be worth getting a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th lol) opinion on her latch if you are getting soreness. Try to let your nips air-dry when you can, and don't wear a bra.
Miss K sounds like a natural with the cluster feeding, fingers crossed your milk may be in soon!

[peanutter]

You sound like your doing really well Liz

...

Try to let your nips air-dry when you can, and don't wear a bra.

yeah that, to both of those.

and after each feed, squeeze out a little extra, and rub it into your nipples, and let it dry. best moisturiser ever

[skybie]

Maybe she just doesnt need it?
DD2 would only feed off one side each feed, wouldnt take both until she was about 5-6 months old. she put on perfect amounts of weight even though she only took the one

[HotI]

Have you tried feeding lying down? it can help you rest while bub feeds. If it is starting to get sore, take bub off and attach again or swap sides. It is even more important when you are tired to pay attention to how bub attaches to protect your nipples.

When your DH comes, can he take bub for a walk so you can take a nap?

[Tuesday's Child]

The cluster feeding is likely to be her stimulating your breasts to produce milk. DD1 was a shocker from day 2 until my milk came in and I ended up with cracked and bleeding nipples. I found alternating between the cradle hold and football hold helped as it changed where the pressure is on the nipple slightly. Also expressing a little and rubbing it into the nipple after a feed is wonderful to promote healing.