Is it ok to pump one breast and feed from the other?

Nadine - posted on 01/09/2009

Yes it is fine to pump from the other breast and feed from the opposite. Most babies do have a preffered breast inwhich to feed from, I myself found this with my second child. Have you tried different possitions on your left breast, even put him on the right breast and quickly transfer him on your left breast, I found that this helped, I also suggest you go back to basics, skin to skin helps with your bonding and your milk production, lie down in bed with him also, most breast fed babies cluster feed in the evening especially, this help increase the composition of your milk, ie helps it get heavier..

I hope that this helps, and they do get over being fussy on one side eventually, so do keep offering him the left side.

Annie - posted on 01/09/2009

Yes keep offering the less favorite boob.  You can try to pump enough to pull out the inverted nipple and then quickly latch.

Krista - posted on 01/09/2009

It is OK to pump one breast and feed from another, but I wouldn't give up offering the one he doesn't take. It can be so hard to breastfeed when they are first born, but once they get bigger and get the hang of it, sometimes they'll learn how easily they can draw that nipple out. And I agree with Annie, it really sounds like he's cluster feeding at night, so that is when I would try to introduce the inverted nipple. Cluster feeding is completely normal and very common at his age, just keep feeding him and he'll eventually get enough to be full. I also agree with Kristy, if you're going to continue pumping the "off" breast do make sure you have a good pump because that will help a LOT. Good luck mama!

Kristy - posted on 01/09/2009

I did that with my son while I was recovering from Mastitis (every time which I got like 5 times) and he went back and forth from breast to bottle beautifully. I did enlist the help of a lactation specialist to help me and in the end I was able to feed from both. BTW, for my daughter, I only nursed for the first 4 months and then pumped for the next 4. Make sure you have a good pump if you intend to do something like that! On a side note, I think there are really good formulas out there too. Stick with it as long as you can-every day counts, but the important thing is that you're comfortable and happy. It is very normal for a child to favor a breast-both of mine did. My daughter never seemed to have eaten enough either!

Annie - posted on 01/09/2009

It is okay to pump from one breast and feed from the other.  (there are some moms who BF from only one breast and make enough to ebf).  The night time feeding, to me it sounds like he wants to clusterfeed.  I'm not sure if the amount is usual as I don't pump.  But alot of babies will eat non-stop for a few hours before bed so they can sleep. Also there is a small growth spurt about 4 weeks and then a really big one at 6 weeks. 

If you have babes like mine the first 6-8 weeks are like one giant growth and that's okay just hang in there and it will pass.

If you have a question on supply just watch for wet diapers.  Plenty wet diapers=enough milk. 

Good luck, Momma you're doing a great thing for your little person!!