Oversupply + forceful letdown problems

[ameliare]

I have an oversupply and forceful letdown and it's causing some problems.

• He has a lot of algae green poop, not every poop - maybe 50/50
• He coughs and chokes with most feedings
• Milk always runs from his mouth during feedings
• He spits up after almost every feeding, then wants to nurse more and the cycle continues
• He is a comfort nurser as well
• He is very gassy. He never burps but passes gas all the time.
• He struggles once or twice a day to poop.
• He delatches a lot while nursing and my milk sprays out
• He eats every 3 hours, unless he's comfort nursing then he eats constantly for at least an hour
• I've tried different nursing positions, sometimes they help and sometimes they don't.
• I only offer one breast every 3 hours unless he demands the other (not common)
• He only nurses for 5-10 minutes because he gets so much, so quickly.
• He is gaining 1-2oz per day and has been since the day he was born.

We saw a lactation consultant and she said my supply was great, that he coughs because it comes out so fast, spits up because he gets too much, nurses for short periods because it comes out so fast. But she said it like it's a good thing to have so much.

I need to start pumping soon because I have to go back to work in a month or two and I don't want that to leave me with even more milk and more problems. I hate seeing my son suffer when I'm trying to give him the best thing for him.

Would it be better to just pump exclusively for him? I'd hate to do that, but I have to do something.

 

[MoominJ]

I had similar issues but it's better to have too much than not enough! Try hand expressing a bit before I feed. The coughing should stop as soon as he gets to grips with ur flow but I used to find the milk spraying everywhere an issue especially for feeding in public... Loads of muslins help! I wrapped one over his shoulder to catch the over spill

It should all calm down soon! And it's great when it does, my lo has 3 mins on one side and 2 on the other so fed and done in 5mins, which is definitely better than a half hour on each!
One thing I did find is that during growth spurts when they are supposed to encourage more milk, there was even more so the choking/spraying got abit worse for a few days. U could try a dummy for the comfort sucking ( I know some people don't like them) to stop the exta milk being produced.

I wouldn't stop bf, ur flow will settle down soon! I also found hand expressing got a lot more than the pump and I think it was easier because of the increased flow!

 

[luna_19]

It will settle down probably within the next few weeks. It's best not to start pumping until he is 6-8 weeks old so your supply has time to regulate. Realistically you don't need much of a stash for going back to work because you will pump the next days bottles each day. If you can stick with it nursing is about a million times easier than pumping and bottle feeding once you both get the hang of it

 

[tinymumma]

I used to have the same issue. Don't stress about the pooping, it's very common for breastfed babies to not poop as much as formula fed. As long as he's getting plenty of wet nappies, all is well. Are his green poops like foam? I mean, when he does them, does it sound like a whipped cream can? If so, it's probably because he's getting too much foremilk. That happens to my DS and since it's so sugary, it gave him a belly ache, which made him want to feed more and just made things worse. So try expressing some of the foremilk before you put LO, that worked for me.
As for the forceful left down (I had it too) try lying on your back and have him lying on his belly feeding. Gravity will help the left down spurt at a mote normal pace. I still do feed sitting up sometimes, so when I feel a let down coming on, I prepare myself (always have a spit rag of cloth nappy nearby) and as soon as he pulls off, I cover it with a cloth nappy. Once it's finished, I wipe his face and reattatch.
Hope this helps