How long will engorged breasts take to go down ?

[blondebabe]

Hi ladies ! I had my baby 4 days ago and at the end of day 2 I started to feel my milk come in. Well now it looks like I've had a boob job !!
It's very uncomfortable I have been gently applying pressure before feeds to help him latch a bit easier but I am reluctant to pump incase my body thinks that's how much he needs and keeps making that amount.

So how long will it take till my boobs are softer ? He doesn't drain my boobs completely I don't think as he is only little but he does gulp it down when he latches on. I get about 15 seconds of initial latch pain but then not too bad after that xx

 

[noon_child]

It is different for everyone but full milk regulation (where you don't seem to get engorged unless LO misses a feed) doesn't usually happen till between 6 weeks and 3 months. However you won't feel as full as you do now for ALL of that time!

However during growth spurts (1week, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months) there will be times when you feel like you are never engorged and have no milk! This is normal, your body will still be producing milk.

Frequent feeding is the best way to ensure less engorgement. Sounds like you are doing everything right by not pumping and doing reverse pressure softening.