Left breast twice

My left breast is double the size of my right and is producing twice the amount. The let-down on the left breast is a lot compared to the right. I find myself still having to get up in the night one time and pump to relieve myself, but when I do the left breast is full and extremely hard while the right one isn't at all. How can I even up my breasts so the left one isn't so big? Do I nurse more on that side or less? Help. I'm tired of wearing nursing pads in my bras all the time and being limited to clothing that I can wear because of this problem. I leak all the time also. Is there any solution?




 

My first question is: When you get up in the middle of the night to pump, how much are you pumping and for how long? I would recommend you only pump to relieve the pressure, no more than a few minutes. Try not to pump in the middle of the night, or try to wait a few more minutes each night until you are pumping later and later and then not at all.

Remember that the breast will make as much milk as is taken out of it. You obviously have two very different breasts, which have very significantly different milk producing and sensitivity capacities. All women have breasts of different capacities. Some women have an over abundance of milk in both breasts. If your breast stays hard and uncomfortably firm for most of a day, try putting some cabbage leaves in your bra to relieve the engorgement. The other thing I would do is to call La Leche League, for a referral to a sympathetic leader who will invite you to a meeting with equally sympathetic members. I would try to nurse equally on both sides, if possible.

Sometimes, when a baby is on a nursing strike, the baby will only nurse on one side, and moms become lopsided like this. Don't worry about the way your breasts look- believe me, you are the only person in the world who would even notice the size difference. Some women have an overabundance and leak like this on both sides. But there are twenty moms for every one of them who are not making enough milk, and are at their wits end to feed their baby. They would love to change places with you and have too much milk. This may be of little consolation to you, but do not give up. Get the support you need to look at the big picture here, and see how well your baby is growing on your milk. Call LLL soon.

Debbie Rabin, OTR, CLC





 

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