Oversupply? Fast flow/letdown?

[Sardines18]

I've been exclusively breastfeeding my 13 week old and have been having issues with a fast letdown and really just a fast flow throughout the feed as whenever my baby pulls off it sprays everywhere.
I have tried a lot of things for the flow, laid back positioning, hand expressing at start of feeds. It seems he can handle the flow better at night once my breasts aren't as full but late night he slept for 4 hours when usually it would only be 2! And so he struggled with how full my breast was.

I tried block feeding because my breasts still seem to get engorged and full, I'm still trying to do this but it's a difficult balancing act as when I first tried doing this I ended up with a very bad blocked duct.

He feeds frequently, never goes more than 2 hours really without a feed during the day. I tried spacing out feeds to every 3 hours at one point because I was told he wasnt feeding for long enough (5 to 10 mins) and that was just a nightmare!

I get mixed opinions from breastfeeding counsellors, health visitors, midwives and lactation consultants..

I was told by 12 weeks things usually regulate but this had not happened for me and I'm frustrated!
Im finding it difficult to see how uncomfortable my baby gets with wind and I'm constantly worrying he gets too much watery milk.
Im not willing to give up breastfeeding as apart from bad gas and stressful feeds he is gaining well and jumped from between 9th and 25th percentile to between 75th and 91st.
So really I'm looking for people with experience of this. Does it ever regulate/get better?

[Rikalaily]

Baby finds it easier to cope as they get bigger and the wind etc settle down. I found unlatching them when my milk let down and letting it absorb into a muslin/breast pad until the main spurt settled down helped a lot x

[dickiedoodah]

I have had this problem sardines. My fast let down was making my DS very upset. In the first few weeks I was considering giving up breastfeeding because he was so stuffed up and he would choke on my milk at every feed. He is now 16 weeks and things have improved. He also feeds better at night I think partly because he's half asleep and also my boobs are less full. I try and feed him as frequently as I can during the day to avoid a harsh let down. This is tricky though since he has just hit the age when he is distracted by everything!! To be honest I'm looking forward to being able to offer him a bit of food so I'm not his only source of food! He is my third baby and by far the hardest to efb through no fault of his own. Having two other small children means my supply hasn't really settled down because he has no routine. I did what the PP recommends when it was really bad. Let baby start the flow of milk and when you feel the let down coming pull baby off and let a muslin or breast pad soak it up.

[Hyggemama]

Hello! I had/have a similar thing going on. I always had high supply and my DD who is 21 weeks used to really struggle with my letdown. She would choke/splutter and sometimes clamp down on my nipple, my nipples were sore and my breasts felt constantly full (joys of breastfeeding eh).
What I have found worked is like PP said unlatching them through let down so they can cope a little better and saves your nipples if they learn to clamp to control the flow. I also block fed, feeding from only one side for 5/6 hours, then swapping sides. Blocked ducts/mastitis is a risk so at the first sign feed from that side next and rub/apply heat during the feed. I would make sure its empty by pumping after this feed too. In the morning I would feed her from one side and pump from the other until it was empty as other wise I would be way too full on both sides. I didn't find this actually increased my supply at all though I was worried it would. As they get older they do get better at managing it and I found my supply wasn't so high from about 15 weeks, although I do still have to apologise if I spray someone whilst feeding when we are out and about.

[Sardines18]

Thanks ladies. You've given me some good tips/hope!
It''s just so miserable when you dread feeding them. Fingers crossed it gets better.
I like the idea of expressing one side in the morning Hyggemama as I struggle with them both being really full first thing in the morning if he has slept and when I'd tried block feeding it meant the other side got really uncomfortable.

[RubyWinterstorm]

I used to have this! It flowed so quickly that DS needed a bresk and I was like a fountain....spraying us both with milk. I used to bring a tea towel to catch the spills. And gradually it got better anyway.

I always fed one side for about 5 minutes, then burping, then other side.

He fed so quickly!

Theburping is essential, and tea towels. And a hot shower can take off the pressure (it just spurted out)

Only thing is, I never fed in public due to fountaining .

But really, it gets better. Your baby will learn to drink quicker

[Jooni]

I had this problem with DD (now 16 months). I remember being really worried because she had really dark green, watery, frothy poo (sorry, TMI) and the HV said that meant she was getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk. She was also really windy because of the amount she had to drink to get the calories she needed.

Block-feeding was what worked for me. I would feed for at least 4 hours on one side only and then switch over. The other side would usually spurt everywhere while she fed so I did "express" a bit in that sense into a muslin/teatowel, but you want to avoid emptying the unused breast if you're trying to reduce supply. If it gets really uncomfortable or you feel pain or lumpiness, express enough to relieve pressure and massage/apply heat as a PP said and keep a close eye. Obviously if it feels like you might be getting a blocked duct/mastitis then do whatever you need to clear it, but ideally you want each side to stay as full as possible while you're not using it so that your body gets the message to down-regulate supply.

I was worried I would feel full and uncomfortable for ages but my supply calmed down surprisingly quickly. DD was about 8 weeks old at this point IIRC so still needing frequent feeding, but I found supply reduced and the let-down became gentler in about 5-7 days. I EBF DD until 5.5 months and then continued to BF alongside solids until 9.5 months, and I found that for me using one side only per feed after that kept my supply at a manageable level for that whole time.

Good luck! I know how stressful it is but it sounds like your LO is absolutely thriving and you're doing a great job It really will get easier and easier.