After Breastfeeding....

I breastfed all three of my kids and with each one my right side produced a LOT more than the left side. Now that I am no longer breastfeeding, apparently my breasts have gone back to "normal." Ha ha. The new normal anyway. I do see a difference in the size but since I have to wear a heavy-duty push-up bra to counteract the sagginess it isn't apparent to anyone else.
Just wanted to say way to go for continuing to pump and breastfeed- you're doing a great thing!

I have the same problem mama, but worse! My left side is an F cup, while my daughter has completely abandoned the right and it has returned to a C! It was hard to find a swim suit this year to hide that!! The same thing happened with my son, and they return back to being the same size again. Don't worry!

If I remember correctly I think your suppose to pump the smaller, lacking in milk, breast more and try to get it up to speed again. Good luck.

No need to worry!!! The same thing happened to me. It took a while after I stopped nursing for them to even out, maybe a month or two. I really don't remember how long, but one day I looked and they where the same again.

C.,

You have nothing to worry about. When I was breastfeeding my son I had more milk in my left than my right so slowly he rejected my right side and only fed from my left. I had to wear some serious padding on my right side when I left the house because it was totally lopsided. Once he was weaned and my milk dried out, I was even again. So don't worry at all and keep up the good work feeding your son!

Hye K.

I am no expert on breast feeding, except that most of the people that I know who have breast fed say that their breasts shrunk down to nothing after all was said and done. What I do know is that pretty much all women have one breast bigger than the other, some more noticeable than others. Usually it is the right that is bigger, but sometimes it is the left. I would say that there will probably always be a difference in size that is noticeable to at least you and maybe your husband. the rest of the world will probably never notice! and you can use a padded cup bra, or even a gel falsie in your right bra cup if the difference is so dramatic. and no one will ever know! Good luck with that baby!

Yep!
With my first child my right side tried to lose its milk and my left stayed going strong. After weaning I went back to normal. I have since nursed 2 more baby's and had no problems with either one of them and I was no longer lopsided either! It will work out!
T.
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Hi C.,

You are not alone - when I nursed both of my girls they would only nurse the left breast, so I was very lopsided for the entire yr I nursed for each. Now that I have weaned my second, my left brest is getting back to a size more in line with the right, they are by no means the exact same size, butthe difference is not so apparent ant more - only you and anyone who sees you naked would know :)

The milk will eventually dry up and both breasts will become the same size. It did this because you feed more out of the one. If you do it again, make sure to start feeding on different breasts each time. Use a diaper pin on your bra strap to remind you which one you should start with.

C.,

After my first was born, I was a member of a bf support group (basically, a bunch o' moms that sat around chatting, and we'd usually have one topic of the day that revolved around bfing). One of the topics was uneven breasts, and the lactation consultant explained (hopefully, I'll recall this correctly) that for most women, one breast produces faster (quicker letdown for hungry babies) and the other is the bigger producer, always seeming larger than the other.

Those of us in the room, sat staring at each others' chests, comparing the two. ;-) You tend to notice it more because you're kind of focused on "the girls" right now (and see yourself naked), but nobody you pass on the street is going to drop their jaw in disbelief and call you a "freak show" because one is bigger than the other.

It can also vary if you alternate feedings. It's good to make sure that the breast is emptied with each feeding (to avoid plugged ducts, etc.), so if you feed on the left for the morning feeding, of course your right one will seem HUGE for a while.

Additionally, some of us tend to feed more on one side or the other, based on our dominant hand (I'm right handed, so I prefer to nurse on the left, so I subconsciously go there first). With increased usage, this could very well lead to the aforementioned larger producer.

Oh, and they DO go back to normal after weaning. Well, usually a lot more saggy, but at least their even! ;-)

Congratulations on your fabulous boy, and good luck with the continued nursing!

M.

I have lopsided breasts right now. My right is way bigger than the left and had always produced more milk. I found that after I stopped nursing my first child, my breasts returned to normal and presume (and hope!) that will be the case this time. My son clearly favors one breast over the other and that is the issue. I think it's pretty common and have heard several of my nursing friends say the same. Some days are more pronounced than others. While it is something you may notice nobody else really does apart from your spouse. On the days where it is more pronounced, I tend to wear more flouncy forgiving tops to cover it up. Hope this helps.

It's common for women to have uneven breasts (up to a cup size!) even when they haven't nursed, so it's hard to say. But my guess is that they will be closer to normal then they are now.

Try pumping longer on the smaller side and not completely emptying the larger breast.

S., mom to four girls ages 1-5!

This happened to me, too. My little girl favored my left breast over the right from birth. I talked with my ob/gyn about it and she suggested to pump for longer on the smaller breast to send a message to the breast to produce more milk. It seemed to help a little bit, but there was still a slight discrepancy in size and my left breast always produced more than my right. My doctor assured me this is normal, so I just tried to ignore it! Good luck!

I experience it WHILE nursing! My right one was HUGE! It stayed that way for months after I weaned, but now I think they're the same size again (or only as lopsided as they were).
I think it's pretty common. I could produce 5-6 oz with my right and only 1-2 with my left. That happened at about 5 or 6 months. ODD.
K.

I was just talking about this to my husband last night! My son is six and I nursed him for almost 13 months, but both breasts were about the same (I think most women have a small difference, children or no children). My daughter nursed for a year, and I was very embarrassed because my left breast was half a cup size or more larger than the right one (she preferred the left). And when I was in front of a mirror with no bra, I knew that my husband could see it too. Although, to be fair, he says he didn't notice. I stopped nursing a month ago, and now they are back to normal! It's a happy happy thing!

And I applaud you for pumping and continuing to use breastmilk once you went back to work! It's not an easy thing to do, and I think that's wonderful.

It's completely normal. With all three of my kids, the right one was the favorite, so the right one is bigger most of the time, especially if it's been awhile since the baby's nursed! Don't worry, though--after you're finished nursing, they'll be the same size again, though not necessarily the same size that you were before (I have been significantly smaller than my pre-baby size after my 2nd and 3rd children), and probably a bit more saggy (an understatement). It's worth it, though, to have nursed each of my children for more than a year and given them the best food for them. Or as I tell my mom, if the choice is between great perky breasts and nursing my children, I still choose nursing hands down.

I also had the same problem with both of my children, but everything normalized onced I stopped nursing them. Don't worry, you will be fine. Also do not worry about how you look now. YOU are probably the only one who notices the difference sizes unless you start pointing it out. Also if you have not been told, your breast will be quite different after nursing, I guess more droopy is the best way to describe it. I do not mind though, breastfeeding is THE BEST GIFT you can give your baby even if there are sacrifices we have to make!

my right breast is much bigger than my left, and always has more milk in it, why that would be i have no idea.
with my first son it was the same, they went back to normal after i stopped feeding, although my breast were sadly not their former girly boobs.
this time around its the same, i went from a b cup to an e cup and my right is much bigger, it must just be there are more milk glands one side.

yep. I agree with everyone else too...it happens. Especially I think when pumping, because pumping is obviously not the same as nursing and one side tends to be "dominate" as well. When I was pumping, I would get a ton of milk on one side and only a small amount on the other. When you nurse, you switch starting sides, so it tends to event them out. When you are pumping, that's not the case. It will all even itself out over time. you can try pumping more evenly--like if you were to get 3 oz really quickly on one side and oly 1 oz on the other side. Stop with the 3oz and continue on the other side until you get close to 3 oz. That may help. good luck. Hang in there!

You will always have one bigger than the other but you have that all over your body- it is only obvious to you (and maybe your husband if you have pointed it out to him). But you have a foot bigger that the other, same with your hands, ears, eyes, even your nostrils. It is perfectly normal and a heck of a lot less obvious when you stop nursing. I have nursed 3 and am in the process of nursing my 4th and last. My are not as perky but they always go back to almost the same. Get a great bra fitter when you are completely finished and hold your head high. You did something great for that baby and you should be proud.

I'm glad someone has asked that question, cause the samething is happening to me. I have been nursing for 7 months now and my daughter prefers the left side. Everytime i put her on the right she squirms and cries until i switch..so now one side is bigger than the other...Im glad im not alone in this lol...good to know that i will one day even out lol

I think its great that you've gone back to work and continued to breastfeed. I had the same issue when I was breastefeeding, once the milk dries up completely your boobs will return to normal. Don't worry, you won't be lopsided forever. :-)

Take care,
S.

isn't tht strange... to have a double d on one side and a mear b cup on the other. ha! don't be self-concious about it, i can pretty much guarantee no one else notices. and you will even out. and, if you have another child some day, the other side might be the biggger milk producer. it really is a grand experiment, isn't it?