Why a sudden dislike of one side?

Hi all,
Again I'm here, one-handed typing, seeking advice from those who know!
My DS2 is 3 months now and is generally happy and growing like a weed. I have a lot to be thankful for.
However, over the last few days he has developed an intense dislike for my right breast. There are probably two or three questions here.
I guess i am a little concerned that there may be a problem with him - i.e. sore ear, sore neck? But i can't seem to see anything obvious. Ideas??
Also, I'm being careful, having had mastitis once already - but could this cause me any problems - aside from lopsided breasts! They were never all that shapely to begin with!
He is not sleeping well, but I guess it's because he's never really feeling full. So he is unsettled and crying a whole lot. And he just screams blue murder when i try to attach him to the right side. This is causing DS1 a lot of grief (he hates the crying, like we all do).
The thing is he will sometimes feed ok if i change positions - although there is never one clear winner. And i doesn't seem to matter if it's the first side being offered or the second. And sometimes after all the screaming and crying and struggling, he just latches on and feeds. And he's pretty happy to feed from the right side during his night feed. It's puzzling.

I guess I just want reassurance :redface:

TIA
Jo (not bad at typing with a baby in one arm, aye!! ;))

:hug: It's so stressful when they scream while you are trying to feed them! Have you tried holding him in a different position on the right side? Like if you normally cradle hold him, have you tried the football hold?

I'm no expert, but I wonder if he has an issue with his neck? A lot of babies with neck issues start refusing one side. I only know this after years of taking my babies to a paediatric chiro LOL! I highly recommend taking your little man to one to get check over JIC. I see a fantastic one that I'm happy to forward on the details to you if you'd like. Just let me know :)

I hope thing improve for you both soon :hug:.

For the night feed, is he lying down? That might be why it's ok then.
Or, is there any difference in volume or speed of flow on the right? I know for a while DS refused the left as there was less milk and a slower flow. Again, he might not mind so much at night so that's why it's ok then.

I'd get him checked out to eliminate any physical problems on his end.

I think so long as you don't get blockages, your only problem would be lopsidedness...

ETA - yes, great typing

I would definitely get him checked for any physical reasons but like Marcellus I wonder if it is a flow thing so through the day your DS wants a faster speed that your right just isn't giving him at the moment but at night he is happy with the slower speed (hope that makes sense) I know my right side was always my 'dodgy' side. Hope you find a solution soon.

For DS2 it was because he had a tightning of the muscles of the neck and head on one side - according to our Chiro- due in part to his C/Section delivery...

hey!
Not sure what you have tried so i will just throw some things out there!!
My DD had some issues when she was about 2 1/2 months just decided she wasnt going to feed from one side
I found that if i did the football hold she would latch on
if i layed down she also would suck so it was just if i sat up and held her

i took her to the chiro and they adjusted her neck and she feed like a trooper after that!
I really hope that helps!!
good luck!

I had a similar thing happen when my DS2 was about 5 weeks old. Had been feeding great, then wham ... just kept coming off on one side and wouldn't settle down easily for a good feed on that particular side. This happened regardless of a fast flow or a more regulated flow, day or night - it was unpredictable but often.

I firstly went to the dr to get DS2 checked - he was fine. My next step was to take him to a chiro that was well practised in adjusting infants. Long story short, part of his skull bone (near his neck) was slightly out of place. After two adjustments within a week, he was back to his old self re: feeding. Possibly a coincidence, but I firmly believe infants benefit from chiro work, and our paed said he's "never not seen a baby benefit from chiropractics". I take DS2 back to the chiro monthly for a check and he's had various adjustments done to his neck, sacrum and shoulder. It's debateable whether it's all been totally necessary, but all in all I think DS2 is the better for it. All I know is DS2 doesn't suffer wind, sleeps through the night and is generally a settled, happy baby.

By the way, I figured if all else failed with the dr and chiro I'd see a lactation consultant, but fortunately I didn't have to.

It sucks when this happens and I found I couldn't hope for the best and wait for the situation to improve - I honestly felt like I needed to do something because my boob on one side continually felt full and heavy. And I was worried about my milk production on that side too.

What ever you choose to do, if indeed you do anything atm, I hope you/your bub are able to get back to "normal" soon :).

Andie

I had this twice with my son... The midwife I asked said it was because after you let them refuse that particular side once, the milk turns salty and the bub will prefer the sugary smell from the other breast (thats why its very important to change breasts each feed) I let my son refuse it a few times and just have the other one until I had one huge boob and a tiny one lol.... I ended up having to express the huge "salty" boob and let the milk come in again. Which he took straight away next feed. I hand expressed btw

Try expressing the breast that is being refused.... Best of Luck

Thanks everyone for taking time out to reply.

I did say when i posted that i had tried different holds, but that none seemed to be a clear winner. Well, I think that i was trying different holds, but he was already screaming and stressing (and I was screaming and stressing too!), so nothing seemed to be ok. But, if i either lie him flat on his back, or football hold, it seems to be ok. It seems weird to lie him on his back hover over him - but hey, whatever works right!

Hopefully he starts to get 'full' and sleep better and then stress less etc, and then DS1 will be happier, and I will be happier. If it continues to seem like a problem, then I'll call an LC i think. One of the mum's in my mother's group is an osteopath, and she's always offer to do treatments on the kids - i just feel weird about that, in case something went wrong YKWIM.

Thanks again for your help,
Jo

Does your MG friend specialise in babies? If not, I'd be hesitant to use her (but that's just me!) and IKWYM about if something went wrong, it would be a bit awkward.

We see a paediatric chiro who is based in Ivanhoe and Ringwood. He is brilliant with babies and is one of the kindest people I have met. If you do want to go down that path eventually, just PM me and I'm happy to give you his details.

Hopefully it all sorts itself out by itself though! It's awful when they get so worked up and won't latch on no matter what. You both end up stressed, not good :hug:.

I'm glad that things are going better hun :hug:

Sometimes mums with babies who don't like lying on one side find that osteo or physio can help a lot, especially if the problem has been there since birth. I can understand you being concerned though, and it might just be something to keep in the back of your mind if this doesn't settle down in a couple of days. If you do go down that path, there are some osteos and physios who specialise in babies.

Given that this is more recent, another possibility is that he has an ear infection on one side. Sometimes this makes them uncomfortable on one side and could possibly also explain the unsettled behaviour.

In the meantime, if you are not sure whether or not he is getting enough milk, the nappies will be able to help you out. 5 or more heavily wet disposables (or 6 - 8 pale wet cloth nappies) in 24 hours means he's getting enough.

To answer your other question, many babies feed from one side only and there is no problem with this - the mum might be a bit lopsided but she's probably the only one who will notice! However, because you have been feeding on that side, mastitis is a risk when he's not feeding from it. Expressing regularly will help with that and also checking it regularly for lumps.

I hope things continue to improve hun :hug: