too much milk

[funkyfish586]

Hi all, Isla is 10 days old today & i have been BF like a dream my son never took to it so this is amazing. She is feeding every 2 hours & all was going well up until 2 days ago i have become become really engorged . Shes not feeding as much & i think thats why, i also seem to have a lot of milk and when she latches she coughs and splutters as there seems to be a lot. I cant get her to drain a boob completely so it always feels hard & i think she isnt because of how much i have. I had to pump yest as i was so uncomfortable & i know that only makes the situation worse but i was desperate. I managed to easily get 2.5 oz out & i know this is way more than she takes i reckon i could have got a lot more too.

I think i have a fast let down so i have been getting her to latch & when she starts getting fussy take her off & let some of it drain in to a towel TMI its literally squirting out its so fast. i then put her back & she is ok.

Now please dont think bad of me but im finding this really hard to keep doing & i really want to carry on but i cant stand the engorgement & the constant leaking.... i actually thought about just expressing for her instead but i feel so guilty.

help!!

 

[Samantha675]

Oh hun, I am so sorry you are having such a hard time. BFing is so hard when you start out.

There are several things you can do to help with your oversupply and forceful letdown.

You can hand express a bit before you nurse her, that way you are not express as much as you would when you pump. Like you said, the more you pump, the more your breasts will think they need to make.

Try block feeding her on one side as well. Stay on one side for a good hour or so.

Here is a great link to Kellymom, and it shows a really great position to help your LO deal with a fast let down so they are nursing 'uphill'.

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

Adjust your supply to better match baby's needs

* If baby is gaining weight well, then having baby nurse from only one breast per feeding can be helpful.
o If baby finishes nursing on the first side and wants to continue nursing, just put baby back onto the first side.
o If the second side becomes uncomfortable, express a little milk until you're more comfortable and then use cool compresses - aim for expressing less milk each time until you are comfortable without expressing milk.
* Avoid extra breast stimulation, for example, unnecessary pumping, running the shower on your breasts for a long time or wearing breast shells.
* Between feedings, try applying cool compresses to the breast (on for 30 minutes, off for at least an hour). This can discourage blood flow and milk production.
* If nursing one side per feeding is not working after a week or so, try keeping baby to one side for a certain period of time before switching sides. This is called block nursing.
o Start with 2-3 hours and increase in half-hour increments if needed.
o Do not restrict nursing at all, but any time that baby needs to nurse simply keep putting baby back to the same side during that time period.
o If the second side becomes uncomfortable, express a little milk until you're more comfortable and then use cool compresses - aim for expressing less milk each time until you are comfortable without expressing milk.
o In more extreme cases, mom may need to experiment a bit with time periods over 4 hours to find the amount of time per breast that works best.
* Additional measures that should only be used for extreme cases of oversupply include cabbage leaf compresses and herbs.

Even if these measures do not completely solve the problem, many moms find that their abundant supply and fast let-down will subside, at least to some extent, by about 12 weeks (give or take a bit). At this point, hormonal changes occur that make milk supply more stable and more in line with the amount of milk that baby need


Also, find your local La Leche League leader in your area and give her a call. You will find wonderful support through the group. It was so helpful to me when I was first starting out.

Good luck hun.