Baby Not Eating Much and Definately Favoring One Breast over Other

There are SO many things this could be, from totally nothing, to an issue with you and/or the baby. Start by giving your breasts and your baby's mouth a good exam to rule out thrush or any other type of rash. Check her temp, check your temp. Have you had a period since her birth? Sometimes babies will begin to reject the breast due to hormonal changes(but that would typically be both breasts...), or due to a change(increase) in exercise. Are you drinking enough? If you're dehydrated, and baby is having to work harder, she may just be getting aggravated and deciding it's not worth the trouble. She may have an ear infection on one side that makes in uncomfortable to lay that way, she may be cutting a tooth, etc. But honestly, at 3 months, every 4 hours is not unreasonable - so if hse appears full/satisfied/happy, try not to stress about how often she's eating. I'll tell you, I had to pump and bottle feed my first child, he never could latch on due to several issues, and I had MUCH more milk in the right breast(typically got double the volume off that side every time I pumped), and it let down and flowed much more easily. With my latter two children, thank God they were able to nurse, but both began to reject my left breast around 3 months of age. I think that's the point they were beginning to be aware that it was much easier and more satisfying to nurse off the right side. I pushed it for awhile, and ultimately nursed both children exclusively off the right breast for many months. I do have a small fibroadenoma on the left breast, that may or may not have something to do with why they rejected it, who knows. My OB isn't sure, nor is my breast surgeon who monitors the lump(for the time being, we are leaving it alone, it's been there unchanged for 4 years). If you are more comfortable with it, get checked by your OB and have your little girl checked by her pedi - it certainly sounds like it could be in the normal realm of breastfeeding, or it could be the beginnings of some sort of infection(mastitis?) for you or her. good luck and try to relax!

There is a checklist of things that could be the culprit. Watch for a fever, maybe she has an earache that causes her to not want to lay on that side to feed. Or maybe her growth spurt is over and she just doesn't need as much. I know freaked out when mine went from a forty minute total every two and a half hours to a twenty minute total every four hours. I have an almost four month old, ebf, and he has started favoring the opposite breast too. In my case, for some reason, the other boob started producing more milk so he likes that side first. Once it's drained, he may or may not want the other side. I have an over production of milk (I know I am lucky as some don't have enough ) so I have to make sure I at least try to switch sides. I also thought he was not eating much, but when I fed him a bottle, he took 6.5 oz., so I guess the longer time span between feedings is yeilding more for less feedings.

Don't worry too much, check for the ears, check her weight, and ask the doc at her four month checkup.

I agree. Make sure your baby is healthy.

For the non-preferred breast, try changing your baby's feeding position. During the early months, I switched between football and cradle holds constantly. Maybe your let down is more delayed in this breast. You can prime your breast by pumping a short time before your daughter latches on.

After my son's growth spurts, he would sleep longer and extend the intervals between feeds. Then went back on his normal routine.

In the first year, your baby will constantly change. You are a good mom for being so aware of your daughter's behavior. Keep track of her wet/dirty diapers and how often she eats. Hopefully, you will see a new pattern to her routine. Good luck

Not to freak you out but I just read an article where the baby refused a certain breast and it's because the mom had cancer in that breast. Turns out that can be a sign -- again, it's probably not that if she was feeding there before but maybe call your doctor and get it checked out just in case...

Many things could be going on ear infection, breast infection, just uncomfortable . try changing positions and check out Le Leche League home page for more info. Good Luck

I saw the same article that SS mentioned. I would see a dr. just to be on the safe side. Early detection is the key in anything major.