Forceful let down ?

[babyjan]

I notice that baby struggles with breastfeeding at times. I can hear him gulping and then he gets out of breath and unlatches with my milk spraying everywhere.

What exactly can I do about this? Poor baby even chokes on it

 

[happynewmom1]

I notice that baby struggles with breastfeeding at times. I can hear him gulping and then he gets out of breath and unlatches with my milk spraying everywhere.

What exactly can I do about this? Poor baby even chokes on it

This has been happening with us from the beginning too. The only advice I can give is to have a burp cloth ready to catch the spray or to pump a really small amount before feeding. My letdown is still strong but she handles it better. She doesn't choke, just still pulls off quickly spraying everywhere if I'm not ready lol once she goes back on it is usually much better from there. The initial let down is what gets us. Sounds the same for you.. Pumping in the early days did help us a lot but was a bit of a pain to go every feed. Not much... Just enough to hopefully make it not so full when the let down happened or maybe even catch the let down so it didn't hit her full force. Maybe someone else has better advice but this is all I could figure to do. I started hating to nurse because of it.. I hated she would choke just to eat and milk would go everywhere... But it's gotten a lot better. Good luck!

 

[noon_child]

Can you try feeding in a reclined/semi-reclined position. This way the milk has to work against gravity to make its way to baby's mouth. It can be a real lifesaver when there is strong let down and means less air swallowed too!

LLL or a local bf group (if you have one) can help you master the technique if you are unsure.

 

[DaisyDreamer]

There are different positions you can try like side-lying (so extra milk can spill out of their mouth if need be) or reclining (working against gravity.

Expressing a little bit before a feeding could help too, or unlatching LO and just letting it spray into a cloth the first couple let downs will make things easier.

I've heard that block feeding (feeding from one side for a few hours then the other) can help with that, but the best advice would be from an LLL counselor

Eventually your baby will be able to handle that volume of milk and have an easier time sucking and swallowing. Hang in there, you're doing great!

 

[rose.]

Hi there! I used to have this. We had a difficult start to breastfeeding - my son struggled to latch and therefore we had to nurse in different positions to usual. My son learned to cope with the let down - I would always make sure I had a couple of Muslins handy to catch the spray if he let go. Your baby is still really young and will get used to the speed as he gets older. Your body will also get used to producing a more appropriate amount of milk as it gets used to your baby's needs. I would say stick with it, don't be tempted to pump etc to try and get rid of the initial flow as this will make your body think it is needed. My son bf until he was 13 months and when he got older my fast flow was actually a blessing as it meant his feeds were done nice and quickly. The only negative was that if he was extra hungry, and wanted 2 sides he would get far too much from the second side within a short period and would be sick. I learned to keep a blanket on the floor at bedtime to catch any milk he would throw up straight after feeding.

Good luck

 

[Elsa50501]

I had a forceful let down for the first 10 or 11 months. When i felt it coming on i was advised by the lactation consultant to remove DD from the breast and let the milk spray onto a towel or burp cloth until it slowed, then put DD back on after it subsided. That did the trick and helped with the gasping, extra air and gulping. Once she was older (closer to a year) she was able to manage it herself.

 

[Marumi]

We are having big problems with this my baby is very gassy and spits up all of a sudden. What we do:

Nurse side lying or belly to belly cradle hold.
Take him off for the first let down at least, sometimes the second.
Let my toddler drink off a bit of foremilk (or pump off some foremilk)
Block feed to lower the supply and make sure baby gets hindmilk.
I remove him when I notice the flow is getting too fast.

 

[babyjan]

Ok I guess I unsuscribed from my own thread lol!

We still having the forceful let down! I try make sure I have something close by to grab the spillage with. Baby is still coughing, and has to come off of the breast.

 

[babyjan]

I had a forceful let down for the first 10 or 11 months. When i felt it coming on i was advised by the lactation consultant to remove DD from the breast and let the milk spray onto a towel or burp cloth until it slowed, then put DD back on after it subsided. That did the trick and helped with the gasping, extra air and gulping. Once she was older (closer to a year) she was able to manage it herself.

I'm gonna defo try this to help him out.

And thanks to all you other ladies for the advice and tips x

 

[Savannah11]

I have this on my right breast! he definitely has a preference to my left breast due to this but the little man has been sprayed in the face so many times haha xx

 

[impatient1]

I used to have to lean back with her laying on my chest and sometimes when the flow was still too much take her off until it calmed for a minute with a towel so it didn't spray every where.