question about my diet and breastfeeding

[addysmom]

I am a bit concerned because I feel like my right breast is not producing near as much milk as it used to. It has become smaller than my left side and she does nurse a bit less on that side, but I am concerned because my daughter is 9 months and I just switched to a vegan diet a couple months ago. I am quite positive I am eating enough and I try to get in all my EFA's and a variety of soy,grains etc. etc. I have, though I am eating a lot, lost quite a bit of weight (I am overweight, so this is not the concern) but I'm worried that I may have lost too much too quickly and could this be affecting my milk supply? I am afraid to ask my local BF support people b/c I don't want them to tell me that I should not be eating Vegan if I wish to continue to BF my daughter.

[Christa]

La Leche League is usually pretty cool about alternative lifestyles, so they may not give you too much trouble. You can judge if baby is getting enough milk by how she is growing more than if you feel like you are producing less milk. It does sound like that one breast may have a lower supply, though.

You may want to try starting her on that side if you can so that it gets a lot of stimulation to produce more milk, so you don't look too lopsided! There are also mother's milk teas that you can drink that are supposed to increase milk supply. Try looking for a book by the name of: The wise woman herbal for the childbearing year - it has a lot of good herbal suggestions for increasing milk supply & dealing with mommy & infant issues herbally.

I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

[VOW]

Breastfeeding is the original supply and demand economic system! The more your baby nurses, the more milk your body will produce.

It could have happened that you were nursing more on one side than the other, so the breast with the lesser amount of feeding gradually reduced its supply of milk.

If you want to build up the supply in one side, then let your child nurse more on that side.

It could have been caused by any number of situations, really. If you are right handed, you may have nursed more on your left side to leave your right hand free!

As long as you aren't running a fever, you don't have any painful masses, and there is no foul-smelling discharge from the "lesser breast," everything is most likely just fine.


~VOW

[go4green]

Thanks for sharing! I have a similar thing happen, one side seems to empty quicker, stay empty and not really fill until I nurse. I think this is the normal side, I have read that women stop becoming engorged around 6 weeks, whatever. My daughter is one year and I still get pretty full on the other side. I nurse first and more on the emptier side to keep my supply up, and if I start to get a blocked duct (from stress/my sports bra, it's happened 3X, the last time, with nursing and massage it was gone in a few hours) it's usually on that side, like it can't handle being very full, since she was about 4 months old.

My daughter still nursed a lot at 9 months, she did start to really eat solids then too. I went to my doctor, who was concerned about her iron level which was on the low side of normal. It came up to perfectly normal within 6 weeks, but my doctor scared the heck out of me over it, (beware). Her growth has always been at the top of the chart and following the normal curve, which I think is the best way to measure.

Strange, Elle just turned 1 year and all of the sudden, this baby who I thought would nurse forever, seems to be eating a ton of solids and really cutting down on her daytime feeding, and finally, I am not getting as full, but I seem to have plenty of milk.

My nutritionist told me that, vegans will eat more and still lose weight, after transitioning. She advised a weight release of 1 pound per week is natural. I have lost 2 pounds some weeks and really felt drained, so I started eating more and I felt better. I have hit a plateau for a while now, and will probably lose the last 5-10 pounds after I am done nursing, when I am not as worried about EFA's and lactic acid from cardio exercise. Vegans get better absorption of nutrients, so you are better off being totally vegan than vegetarian, too, good move. I hope this made you feel better, I too would contact La Leche, maybe someone else there has some more advise, and has shared your experience. ~Jenna

[kaz]

I really doubt there is anything wrong! I have a similar situation with the right much smaller than the left since my son was about 8 months - however I pump most days for the milk bank and I've not noticed much difference in the amount of milk I can pump from either side - it seems that my right side is just more efficient! It's a pain to be lopsided but just one of those things!

[HoneyNBen]

:( Just to let you know, lopsided breasts are really quite the norm. It's very rare to meet a woman whose breasts are completly equal. ( I use to work in a lingerie department) You'll notice the difference more now due to their usage being increased. Also, your baby may prefer on side to the other. They normally love the heart side, so it'll be bigger and used more. If you're worried you could pump but always start the baby on the smaller one adn let him/her stop, you know don't take him off until he's emptied it then after a week of always starting on the small one first rotate back and forth each time...Last one nursed on is the first one nursed on next.

I remember when I was nursing and Rhea was starting to wean...I looked in the mirror and noticed my nipples were different from one another. I just started crying. My dhal (darling husband and lover) wanted to know what was wrong...my breasts are walleyed! and kept crying. He lovingly explained what was going on, reminded me about breasts and feet never being the same size, mentioned maybe hormones were swinging around, and showed me that even if they were/are walleyed he and the baby love them just as much as the perfect ones! :)

[bachlva]

Ditto everyone...

Also, make sure you're drinking plenty of water and not getting too stressed about it - my LC said once after asking her a question about if my supply would be affected by [I can't remember what], and she said, 'If your worried about it, it would! So, lessening stress is a big deal. ;)

If it helps, I'm lopsided too ... DS is 8.5 months - we started some solids, but not tons, and the last couple of days he has been so *busy* with his new skills 'n' such, I don't think he's much interested in nursing OR solids - during the day anyway. But when I started him on solids, I think I did have a drop in supply... I think it's normal to some degree, you're body is adjusting to the baby's needs. I do believe that if the demand goes up again, so will your supply, as long as you're heathly otherwise.

Anyway, you don't need to feel full to be producing milk. If you're eating enough, and not *dieting,* only just changed *what* you eat, you're probably fine. Do keep nursing as much as you can on the 'smaller' side, if you feel like your supply is less there.

HTH! I don't know about anyone else, but as much as I know all the facts, I *still* worry about my supply from time to time... So in that respect, too - I think that's also normal! ;)

[HoneyNBen]

Worrying about supply, what they'll grow up to be, if you're teaching them the right way...just one more of the things all good honey's and daddy's worry about.

[capersmama]

I wouldnt worry about the supply in that breast. At 9 months babies learn "preference". They prefer a certain breast. The other breast will get more stimulation and compensate.