oversupply questions

[icegurl470]

I think I may have oversupply or rapid let down. My baby is 2.5 weeks and she chokes and sputters a lot when we nurse and sometimes she arches her back away from my breast and won't nurse for more than like five minutes. She Gained over a lb in a week and has a lot of poopy diapers. Sometimes her poop is green and frothy and she spits up after nursing but thankfully it doesn't seem to be causing painful gas cramps or anything like that, she is actually a very content baby. I have a question about block nursing though.

If she only nurses on one side for like 5 minutes should I nurse on that side again next time?

Also I find myself getting really engorged at night.. she usually doesn't go more than 2 to 3 hrs between feedings, but I don't wake her up to nurse at night, I let her wake me up. If she goes for longer than three hrs I get really engorged. Should I wake her up to nurse?

And I do pump once a day in the morning after our first feeding. This helps establish a frozen supply which is important to me for return to work and stuff on days I need a little extra i can pull a pouch from frozen. It also helps to get rid of excess milk as I'm usually most engorged in the morning. Is this okay? Or could this one pump a day be causing my issues? Thanks

 

[shinona]

The idea with block nursing is that all feeds in a 2-3 hour period come from one breast regardless of the length of the feeds. I found this helped with the green poos.
As uncomfortable as the engorgement is, I personally wouldn't wake her at night. It will settle down and if she sleeps for a really long time then just express off enough to relieve the pressure a little.
If you're only expressing once a day at the same time, your body will get used to this. I shouldn't have thought that it would cause oversupply at other times.
Well done though....you're doing a great job xx

 

[Lirpa11]

Well done! I was engirged on and off for the first month. It was so painful. After a couple of weeks I let DS eat when he wanted even at night. Sometimes I would be so engorged that I had to express some out in the mornings before he ate. It finally settled down.

Even now, I can still get extremely full if he goes awhile without eating. It. Isn't anywhere near as bad though. Mine settled down after a few weeks so hopefully yours will too

 

[Shandelion]

I had horrible oversupply. I usually only let him feed from one breast in an entire day, for weeks! If I had to I'd let him nurse on the other breast just go take the edge off, and I'd use my hand in the shower to take the edge off. But one point of the process is to ride out the discomfort, so your breasts decrease their production because milk's not being released. Pumping wouldn't help that, as it encourages your body to make more than he needs in a day. Your body continues producing not just for today's needs but for tomorrow, too. That said, I totally understand the comfort if having a supply frozen!

Riding out the discomfort is awful, but it's a wonderful pay off when he stops choking and arching, and has normal poo!!! I was so proud and happy when it happened for us. His discomfort was so heartbreaking. And ohhh, it did take ages to force my milk production down.

 

[misspriss]

In the first few weeks, a lot of people have oversupply. Until breastfeeding is established, your supply is entirely hormone driven (not supply and demand) and most people have abundant milk and some engorgement. This is how your body kind of regulates supply. It's uncomfortable for sure.

If it persists beyond 6-12 weeks, I'd class it as true long term oversupply. I have oversupply, had it with my first, now I'm tandem feeding and really have it. My breasts still are fairly engorged in the AM (5 month old, 2.5 year old). I have to pump if my toddler doesn't feed during the day. My let down still gives my 5 month old a milk facial and chokes my 2.5 year old.

"Block feeding" can really help, feed on one side for 3-4 hours, no matter how often or for how long your LO feeds. This allows the other breast to be "full" for longer. When your breast is full, it signals your body to stop producing. The longer it stays full, the less your body is learning it needs to make. But because the other one is being emptied, it won't tank your supply and your baby will have plenty of food.

Good luck, it will get better. Your baby will grow and be able to manage it better!

My son did have green frothy poops with my oversupply, my oversupply is probably worse with my daughter and she has normal colored poop.

 

[nmpjcp2015]

Following this post.

I'm having this same issue 6 weeks out. It sucks. I try my best not to pump, but the pressure is really painful. My son can't drink nearly as much as I produce and I think he's having a love/hate relationship with Bfing because of the sputtering and choking. Glad to know there is hope for it to settle down.