Well I am leaving my baby for the first time over night, so I went out and bought a elestic breastpump. And I had some milk frozen from when I first started BFing (7 weeks ago) but it was not enough for a whole night, so I pumped some more and out of my right brest I got 2.5 oz. But out of my left breast I barley got .5 oz. Now I have always noticed that one breast made more milk than the other, becasue of how the baby reacts when he is nursing. But I never relized that it was that much of a difference. And the left breast was not the last breat he nursed on. Is this something I sould be conserned about? Should I try to increase milk in that breast? It's kind of ironic cuase my left breast is my larger one. In fact it's a full cup size larger. Dose it make any difference that I mainly sleep on my left side, thus putting preassure on the side of my left breast.
The main thing that will effect your milk supply is the frequency of nursing. If he is not nursing as effectively on that side, it will naturally produce less, but that really isn't anything to be concerned about. Some babies prefer one side to another and the mother's breasts adjust to this. Women with babies who nurse on only one side, are able to produce enough milk on that side to completely feed their baby. In fact one woman even nursed twins on one side alone because she had had surgery on the other side and was unable to produce any milk on that side. You can try positioning your baby in different holds on that side and make sure the he is taking the nipple deep into his mouth, and not just sucking on the tip of the nipple. If it seems to be a real problem you should probably have board certified lataction consultant take a look. To get more when you pump, I would suggest that you think about your baby when pumping. This helps with the hormones that produce the letdown. Many women have trouble letting down the hind milk with a pump, since it is so mechanical and doesn't produce the same emotions as a nursing baby. Some mom's like to have a picture of their baby to look at while pumping at work, to help them with the let down. You can also pump on one side while baby is nursing on the other, if you can manage it. Good luck to you, and remember to pump while you are gone so you don't get engorged! Some cool cabbage leaves on the breasts will help relieve the soreness if you do.
i found that massaging the 'back" of my breasts helped let down the hind milk as well. i had to use warm clothes, sit at the same part of the couch i always sat on, and massage my breasts for a bit to get it all out. once i did that, it really helped. i also had to swtich from breast to breast a couple times.
