established ebf and oversupply/ pain and engorgement

[ghoulelocks]

dd is 10 weeks and bf has gone very well, no issues apart from a fast let down (just let it spray past for a few seconds). I seem to be making more and more milk, I've started leaking and getting engorged again. DD can sleep 6-7 hours at night and I wake up with concrete breasts, in the day she can go 4 hours between feeds and sometimes I wake her up for relief. I'm getting a slightly painful let down and more and more I'm getting in the day from being full, I need to wear pads again. My normal b/c-cups are in a 34FF and it looks comical on my frame.

Is there anything I can do? Dd never wants the other breast, she barely drains one which adds to the time discomfort between feeds. She's eating plenty, storming up the centile lines and a new fat fold weekly it seems. She eats until she's sick every feed. I've been reluctant to express as I don't want to make even more but I'm considering it for relief. I'm scared of mastitis as I keep going hard and lumpy.

[Littlelot]

I could have written this post and looking foreword to seeing the replies. My ds is 8 weeks sleeping bit longer at night 9-3 and then til 6 but at night only feeds one side and I was awake at least hour before him today with painful solid breast. Its also annoying because every hours sleep is precious! Also second the pain when on let down when they are that full.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread and hope you have a good not too painful day today.

[MrGeresHamster]

There is some really interesting stuffing La Leche League website which I followed when I had the same issues with DS (who is now 6mo).

It involved feeding only from one side for a set amount of time (I think I did six hours) and then swopping to the other side for the next six hours. Expressing only when painful and only for a minute or two to lessen the pressure.

This will help reduce the supply and also helped my fast let down.

Good luck x.

[MrGeresHamster]

stuffing should have read 'stuff on'

[ghoulelocks]

No, it's good to hear I'm not the only one! All advice for me has focused on not having enough, when dd was in hospital with jaundice they were bottle obsessed and everyone from gp to mw to registrar asked if I 'had enough milk' and noone seemed to believe I had the opposite issue despite my little skinny little prem turning into a butterball rapidly. The only thing I've found that helps is avoiding breast pads which for some reason make it worse. In the day I just put up with changing bras and washing in the sink a lot and at night I shove bibs in! The plastic backing seems to be the issue.

[McBaby]

Block feeding worked for me look at guidance on Kellymom.

[NellyTheElephant]

If the plastic backing is the problem, you can buy washable breast pads.

I found that each time mine went a bit longer between feeds or started going through the night I'd have a period of engorgement / pain etc. If really bad I would hand express a little bit, and hot flannel on breast, but I tried not to express with pump (unless really painful) as the aim is to let your supply adjust and settle down.

[Clarella]

I had this problem which at 6 weeks caused lactose overload in lo from which we are still recovering at 12 weeks actually as trying to work out if we still really need colief or not.

block feeding worked but was hard going, it took around 10 days to get back to yellow poos and another few days to get back to switching breasts but I still rarely use 2 breasts in one feed and often return to the same one if within an hour or two. try not to express too much or just a few ml of the foremilk by hand so as not to exacerbate the problem.

over expression in hospital for top ups was the initial issue on top of very easy milk production - I had bad advice on how much to express - and then caused the same issue at 5 weeks trying to introduce expressed bottles for eves. I now steer clear of expressing though we occasionally give a small bottle to keep the bottle thing going.

I'd really call a help line or local lll leader for careful advice. you can try sage tea but again I'd seek proper advice.

lansiloh and johnsons breast pads seem ok for me.