Milk has come in and I am in agony - help!

[FlameHasAnotherChick]

I remember being huge, I remember being sore, but I also remember that feeding reduced the pressure....

She has had long good feeds on each side (they felt "right" iyswim), but even moving to pick up a cup is hurting like hell It kicked in in the middle of the night, had very little sleep with the pain, even had a hot bath at 5am to try and express some off.

I'm panicking about a) mastitis where there just seems to be so much and no-where for it to go (my expressing skills do improve, but this early on I struggle) and b) them just getting worse the more she feeds and more is produced.

What do I dooooooooooooooooo?

(Have checked with DH and he is in agreement that I haven't been like this with the other 2)

[FlameHasAnotherChick]

she's having well spaced feeds already

i appear to have a mangled nipple now too. That I can sort though - the others did exactly the same to the same nipple, tis a neck issue that I can fix with a chiropractor

[FlameHasAnotherChick]

had another bath and massaged a lot - made it less hard feeling if nothing else

[luciemule]

Even when you're not feeding, try hand pumping for 30 seconds to relieve the engorgement. By only doing for about 30 secs, you won't increase supply.
Lay warm flannels on the breasts before feeding and regularly massage and then lay cool flannels after feeds to reduce pain.

I really feel for you - it's very sore.
Watch out for flu-like feeling because of mastitis but hopefully with reg. expressing, you'll get through it.
Also, you could try changing positions, especially lying down, as this means your DD will be drawing milk from all around the breast and not in just one place.

[KristinaM]

sorry, doesn't sound normal to me. but i didnt have much trouble with milk coming in as i'd only stopped bf the last baby a few weeks befroe!! but it wasn't even that bad with the first baby

surely the pain should not be keeping you awake? sounds more like mastitis to me.

sorry

[KristinaM]

did you give birth in hospital? what about phoning the lactation specialist nurse there ( or whatever they are called)?

[luciemule]

it won't be mastitits if you're not feeling fluey and poorly. Engorgement can be really painful though but if you keep pumping a bit off into the sink/bottle, it should improve in a day or so.

[Poohbearsmom]

I had mastitis and it def came wit da awful flu like symptoms. Try the age old savoy cabbage leaves n ur bra, from the freezes it gr8 cause the coolness helps the the pain and can also take down swelling... Boil a heap load of fresh corriander for 5min strain off then put the green mush all over ur breast, ul def need to cover the breast wit a flannel of somethin cause its messy but it is super!! Good luck, hope ya feel better soon

[tvaerialmagpiebin]

I went to doc and got 600mg ibruprofen, which really helped. Hot flannels too. You REALLY need to watch it though, I got mastitis by day 5 post-birth and it was hellish.

If MW still coming, she could probably help?

[FlameHasAnotherChick]

It was more a worry of it turning into mastitis iyswim rather than it being it now.

I'm trying to express, but can't use the pump yet as it is too painful, and my hand expressing leaves a lot to be desired

I have ibuprofen, will take some of that too

She had a very long feed from the left which has helped - still huge and sore, but not as scary as it was. The right is still an issue because of the latch, but trying many diff positions to sort that until I can get chiro appointment.

Still seeing m/w, but she's not due til Saturday.

[tvaerialmagpiebin]

Well done. I only mentioned the mastitis because I was so sore I presumed it was engorgement when in actual fact it was mastitis. Do you have a BF clinic nearby? it was a BF counsellor who diagnosed my mastitis and sent me straight off to GP with a note saying exactly what to prescribe.

Cake helps too! If I could post it over the internet I would send you some of the pumpkin cake I have just made. Otherwise I will sit and eat the lot

[TAFKAtheUrbanDryad]

Flamey - sorry mate, just seen this. It sounds v sore.

I found that "dangle" feeding - feeding on all fours with baby lying flat - helped my breast "empty", but then the dc got terrible wind because of my uber let-down.

There's no easy answer, really. Flannels are good, as are cool gel packs/cabbage leaves. The only thing I can suggest is keeping an eye on it and making damn sure it doesn't turn into mastitis, and console yourself in the knowldge thar it'll settle down soon. And take some paracetamol for the pain.

Sorry that's not much help really, is it?

[luciemule]

As well as hand pumping (make a good c-shape with index finger and thumb and place c-shape about an inch above nipple and press the thumb towards the finger, but not pinching), try feeding your dd as often as possible to keep your ducts clear.

[bloss]

Message withdrawn

[lal123]

TAFKA - sorry but the image of anyone "dangle feeding" is one that will stay with me for a while! I take it its not a feeding position you'd want to try in costas??

[ILikeToQuickstepItTangoIt]

If the side you are really engorged on is the same side as the mangled nipple then that all ties together with a bad latch.

If the latch is bad the baby will not be able to feed as efficiently and you become engorged.

If you can get the latch sorted (easier said than done I know) then hopefully that will help.

Maybe let baby self latch? You lay flat on your back, you put baby on your chest, they work their way to the nipple. The weight of their head also ensures they get a good moutful of nipple and breast.

Good luck xxx

[luciemule]

I had this with DD 1 and had mastitis 4 times. I squirted milk across the room as soon as I let go of the breast pad! If she slept for a bit longer than normal, my breasts would be excrutiating but after a few weeks it did settle down. The tip about the fire hose and pumping some off before, is a great one. This can also help with attachment probs - if the nipple is so hard from loads of milk, they can't take a good mouthful of breast tissue.

[RockinSockBunnies]

I'd recommend cabbage leaves too. Preferably ones from the fridge as they're more cooling.

Is there anyway you can visualise the release of your milk? Sometimes that used to work for me. Sit down and try and visualise your milk letting down, then catch in some kind of receptacle?

I know that when I stopped feeding DD (quite unexpectedly and suddenly when she was 2), I was in so much pain that I pumped to relieve some of the milk. It helped relieve the pain and didn't cause long terms issues. But not sure whether pumping in the early days might cause more issues than it could resolve.

[FlameHasAnotherChick]

bloss - i think i love you. the info about expressing is heaven!

I am like Bloss describes (but not up so high )

I have fabulous images of TUD in costa now . My belly is still too sore to cope with dangle feeding atm (I dunno... you squeeze small large children out and your body hurts afterwards??? what's that all about??)

I've done some nice hysterical crying, i have a little mole sleeping on my chest... feeling vaguely copey.

[FlameHasAnotherChick]

thank you so much for all the replies btw. i love mn

[TAFKAtheUrbanDryad]

Is she still all snuffly newborn?

[FlameHasAnotherChick]

yup - and no bath yet so smells "right" too

[TAFKAtheUrbanDryad]

This is insane - dd is not even 8 months and i'm sooooooo broody!

[ScreamingMormolykeia]

My milk came in like an explosion both times, both times I had to pump to ease the pressure. I couldn't hand express as it was too painful, but the pump sucks the milk out and it made all the difference.

Hope you feel better soon, ouch, memories......

[ShowOfHands]

Oh god, the milk coming in. Oh that's the perfect antidote to the the snuffly lovely newborn pics on fb. No broodiness here please.

Lots and lots of brill advice on here. I remember on day 3 sitting with my arms on cushions so they didn't touch my breasts as it was so damn sore. I had rocks with nipples painted on. Big, hot, pulsating rocks.