The tale of two boobs

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At almost 5 months, I am still going strong with exclusively breastfeeding Wyatt. He only gets a bottle if I’m not home which isn’t very often. So far, his Daddy is also the only one to bottle feed him. I’ve got ball season coming up, so I’ve been wanting to get him more used to the bottle.

Last week when I went to our local infertility support group meeting, Wyatt drank 4 oz which is the most he’s ever taken from a bottle.

Tonight, I had a massage followed by a meeting with my softball team. I was planning on being gone for 3.5 hours. To avoid a hangry milk monster, I planned to leave at least 4oz of fresh milk, knowing that there would be extra in the freezer.

Yesterday afternoon, I tried to pump my right boob and only got 2oz.

Say whattttt???

I freaked.

Is my supply was lowering?

Wyatt has been super distracted lately.

Am I dehydrated?

My ta-tas did seem slightly deflated.

This can’t be happening!

I chugged a ton of water.

I baked a batch of lactation cookies.

This afternoon, I tried to pump the right boob again… 

And only another 2oz!!!!?!?! 

I drank way more water.

I ate a few more cookies.

I even had a beer while I was out.

When I got home tonight, I pumped the LEFT boob and got a solid 5oz!!!!!

Conclusion: my right boob is a dud.

I don’t know why it took me 5 months to realize my left boob magically pumps way more milk. It makes sense when I look back and reflect on the time Wyatt was struggling with the down flow on that side.

I only pump when I need to and I rarely pump both breasts at once. I guess I didn’t realize that I tend to always pump the left.

Lesson learned.

I’m glad to say: this Momma’s milk is still in full production. 🙂

Wyatt drank 6oz of pumped milk tonight and even held his own bottle. His progress is amazing, yet bittersweet.

I’m just grateful we can continue on.

13 thoughts on “The tale of two boobs”

  4. If you have a need to pump more frequently, you should look into getting a double pump. Both breasts usually make more milk when you pump both sides together. Also, pump output is not an accurate indicator of what your baby is getting at the breast. Full-term babies are way more efficient at extracting milk than your pump. Also, some women respond really well to the pump and others don’t. It helps to use a heating pad and massage the breasts beforehand, compress the breasts with your hands during let down, and to look at pictures or videos of your baby while you pump. And it’s very common for breasts to alternate which one is a super producer at different pump sessions. My right is normally the leader, but every now and then the left shows her up. 😉

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  6. SUPER common! Also, keep in mind that if you don’t pump regularly, you can become unresponsive to the pump and it can take time to get reacclimated to it.

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