They say it’s common for babies to prefer one breast over the other. The nurse explained that sometimes baby prefers one side because we have a dominant arm which allows us to hold them more comfortably. In my case, I think it is because my right nipple is partially inverted and very shallow even when erect. I’ve also since discovered that the flow on the right side is a lot faster than the left.

At first I thought the problem was because of the inverted nipple so I used a nipple shield to draw it out. The nipple shield makes it a lot easier for baby to latch on, but he would still fuss a lot and I noticed he would choke on the flow of the milk. It seemed that the nipple shield aggravated the problem because it tended to draw the milk out on its own even without sucking.

I decided to go back to basics. I felt like we had taken one step forward, two steps back. I tried different holds to see if it would help. I switched from the cradle to cross-cradle hold to the football hold. The football hold seemed to work best for me but baby was still fussing a lot. Even after latching on properly, he would drop the nipple again. We would go through a cycle of latch on, release, latch on, release for at least a good ten minutes before he would settle (if he even managed to settle).

I called C for some help. She suggested pinching the nipple to make it erect so it was easier to latch onto. She also suggested standing and rocking baby. Pinching the nipple helped with latching on, but it didn’t stop him from dropping it so I knew the problem was more than just the inverted nipple.

I called Sister Elizabeth at the hospital the next day for advice. She pin-pointed the problem to milk flow almost immediately and suggested I try the following:

1. Use a scissor grip on the breast to help control the milk flow

2. Express a little milk before feeding

3. Use the football hold so it is easier to observe him feeding

4. If all fails, use the kangaroo hold

I tried what she suggested and Gavin was able to latch on almost immediately.

I also noticed a great disparity in the feeding schedule ranging between one to four hours. LLL International breast feeding book: “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” says that the shorter the duration between feeds, the higher the fat content of the milk. Breast milk tends to become less fatty as more time passes between feeds so if baby is hungry, baby will return to the breast more frequently.

It also says that if baby is getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk, baby may appear to be feeding frequently, but you’ll notice that baby is spitting up more often, has greenish stools and is gassy.

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