Oversupply or normal?

[WanaBaba]

Hi. My lo is 5 weeks. I'm just wondering if this sounds normal.... Lo feeds quite a lot during the day, some days she will feed none stop but others she will have short naps. My boobs start filling up again after around an hour and after around 2 hours they are really uncomfortable and engorged and its hard to get lo to latch on. Is it normal for them to fill up so quickly?
We travelled to the UK recently and lo slept a lot so I ended up with mastitis (took a week to unblock the duct!) So I've been pumping after feeds to make sure they are empty at least once a day. So not sure if this has made the problem worse? And through the night I have to pump as she sleeps around 4/5 hours so by time she wakes my boobs are like hard painful rocks! And I have to pump to get her to latch on.

I've also noticed that the boob that had mastitis is bigger than the other one, it always has been slightly bigger but now it seem about twice the size! Is there anything I can do to make them the same size?

 

[redlemonade]

Yeah sounds like oversupply. Pumping is making the problem much worse so you should stop pumping. If you're too engorged for LO to latch on, then pump for just a couple of minutes to ease engorgement, no more! Your supply should settle soon but pumping will interfere with that process.

Poor you getting mastitis! I've no idea if it can cause the breast to remain bigger than the other breast - that might be worth getting checked out?

 

[WanaBaba]

Yeah sounds like oversupply. Pumping is making the problem much worse so you should stop pumping. If you're too engorged for LO to latch on, then pump for just a couple of minutes to ease engorgement, no more! Your supply should settle soon but pumping will interfere with that process.

Poor you getting mastitis! I've no idea if it can cause the breast to remain bigger than the other breast - that might be worth getting checked out?

Yeah most of the time I just pump for a few minutes if engorged before a feed as lo is waiting to feed and won't wait any longer than a few mins!
I'm a little confused though, is it neccesary to empty the breasts every feed? I thought it was and sometimes lo will fall asleep before they are empty so I will pump once she is done. So I shouldn't be doing this? But how will I get them to empty? I keep reading that it is import for baby to empty the breasts during a feed because otherwise the breasts will not get the signal to produce milk and also because not emptying can cause mastitis. I read so many dif things on the internet its so confusing!

 

[irish_cob]

No you don't need to empty the breasts, they're never truly empty anyway, there's always some milk being made. Yes your pumping is making it worse. Try block feeding to settle it down. Do 2 or 3 feeds off one side only, then switch and do 2 or 3 feeds off the other side. It will let your lo get to the thicker hind milk and it'll settle your overproduction down. And quit pumping! If you have to pump only pump a minute or so, just to take the excess off, you want your boob that you're not block feeding off to be full so it triggers the feedback loop that says to your body to stop producing milk and slow down x

 

[redlemonade]

It's super confusing isn't it? I'm a FTM and definitely no expert, but I think when they say 'empty the breast', they mean 'let baby fill up from one breast per feed before offering the other breast'. I was always told that the second breast should be offered as dessert - sometimes they have dessert, sometimes they don't

As Irish cob said, breasts are never truly empty but they obviously should be softer at the end of a feed.

 

[WanaBaba]

Ah this is good to know, will save me time not having to pump afterwards!
By time I feed though both boobs are usually quite full and hard so I'm worried if I only feed from one I may get mastitis in the full one! It was one of the worst things ever so can't help but worry about getting it again!

 

[irish_cob]

I know, you'll have to get the balance right, reduce pumping gradually. Your body thinks all this milk is needed so it'll keep making it indefinitely unless you help it to ramp down. But you're right, you don't want to end up with mastitis again so do it gradually x

 

[redlemonade]

Ah this is good to know, will save me time not having to pump afterwards!
By time I feed though both boobs are usually quite full and hard so I'm worried if I only feed from one I may get mastitis in the full one! It was one of the worst things ever so can't help but worry about getting it again!

You could pump a little to relieve any discomfort? But yeah, I understand the worry. I hate the really full feeling. Try cold compress between feeds to reduce engorgement too. I can't link from my phone but there's a good resource on kellymom.com about oversupply