Breast milk over supply and engorged

[Grassisgreener99]

Hiya,

I had DS2 5 weeks ago and my milk doesn’t seem to be responding to his demand and has not decreased at all. I create a lot of milk and become engorged often. I breastfed my DS1 for 18 months and had the same problem and ended up with mastitis 3 times but it seemed more manageable. Trying to avoid the same thing happening and have really tried not to express to increase the demand but now my boobs are horrendously swollen.

Any advise on how to successfully reduce milk supply?

I'll be honest, I just pumped off the excess until they calmed down. The nurses at the hospital I was in advised this- they reckoned that baby was only getting a shallow latch because basically it was like the poor kid was trying to get a good mouthful of a sheer wall, given how engorged I was. So they advised stripping the breasts- pumped them both until basically empty. Anyway, my breasts then felt much better and baby managed to keep pace with the breasts after that, so they didn't engorge again.

I used to pump off a bit of milk first as DD used to have a shallow latch and would really struggle otherwise.

After a while it settled down a lot

I used to hand express in the shower. Just enough to be comfortable but no more.

It’s a tricky one tbh.

You could try block nursing - feed on one side per feed only (I had to even feed twice in a row on one side at one point - prob not recommended!) until it reduces a little, but don’t let the other side go too long without being drained so you don’t get mastitis. Best if baby feeds reasonably often.

But tbh it can take more than 5 weeks for bf to establish - I had oversupply and mine didn’t settle until nearly 8 weeks, so you may just need to hang in in there with a teeny bit of expressing for relief to avoid mastitis. Good luck OP x

I used to hand pump until it was comfortable and use cold (not hot. Ignore google) compresses if boobs were painful from engorgement

Block feeding really helped me. And feeding my baby what felt like every 3 minutes! Didn't settle down until more than 8 weeks. Very rarely I'd express the excess but tried not to make a habit of it!

Hand express. A breast pump will signal to your boobs to keep making more.

Block feeding worked for me too, but if you can stand it, is probably a good idea to wait until more like 6-8 weeks.

Cabbage leaves can also help to reduce swelling/discomfort a minor amount.

Thank you for all the replies!! I have a Haakaa cup which was advised by the midwife to catch the let down and then you can just express a little with suction which seemed to work for a week or so. Now I just express a little out of each boob at night to make it more comfortable!

DS feeds off one boob at a time so I alternate each feed, he has a good latch and feeds well- he guzzles a lot. But my let down is so strong it chokes him at takes and sprays everywhere! I just don’t remember it being so hard and uncomfortable with my DS1 😩. Hopefully a few more weeks and it will settle, just have to try too avoid Mastitis!

Has baby’s latch been checked? Do you know they are feeding effectively?
If so, I have gone through a lot of oversupply and mastitis and will share what helped for me which was:
“Draining the lakes” - complete emptying prior to starting block feeding
Block feeding - a “set side” for 4 hours
Going bra less and pad less as much as possible - yes everything got a bit wet but it really helped reduce stimulation
Avoided any accidental stimulation of breasts that might increase supply e.g. trying to latch baby when they aren’t hungry, massaging, tight clothes, thinking about feeding.

With the spraying, I also used to latch baby on briefly then remove them to catch the let down so they weren’t overwhelmed and I’d find they would feed for a little longer after that.

@Hyggemama when you say ‘draining the lakes’ do you mean express completely until all milk has gone? I think I would easily do about 5oz out of one boob if not more, wouldn’t that stimulate more?

Midwife and health visitor has checked latch and it’s good, he just guzzles/ drinks quickly (he loves the milk) and basically came out attached to my boob!

At the moment anything triggers my let down and it’s super painful. I’m still wearing very unflattering nursing bedtime bras mainly and as soon as he cries or wakes or even if I think about how long he’s been asleep or needing to feed it sets it off.

I will look into the block feeding too, thank you!

BTW there's a good page at Kellymom:

kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/

But similarly they advise not trying to reduce milk supply until after 6 weeks or so, so you might need to wait it out a bit longer until trying block nursing. x

A lactation consultant told me draining the lakes is what some people decide to do in the hope that it will reduce the chances of milk stasis whilst block feeding. It seemed counter intuitive to me as expressing to empty would stimulate supply. But I think the logic behind it is just to make sure all the milk is “fresh” when the block feeding begins. So it is usually only done once kind of in preparation for block feeding. Great news on the latch and that your LO is happy feeding. Fingers crossed your supply will settle soon without mastitis happening.

pumping might make it worse :(

I had this for months when my little one was born (she’s now 1)

I ended up with mastitis a few times 😭

As others have suggested try the block feeding it worked well for me

:)

Fed on one side for a few feeds in a row

If the other breast was sore or engorged I just hand expressed to comfort

Good luck