could sophable ask some questions?

[Heathcliffscathy]

ds is 10 days old.

feeding really well, and now doing a big feed every 3 hours through the night which is fabulous as I get to sleep in between, last night he did midnight, 3am, 6am and 9am. Am v pleased as am feeding on demand, but he seems to be making his own routine happen.

however, I am leaking like an absolute bastard on the side that I'm not feeding on, and in between feeds.

We are co-sleeping and the bed is a great soggy milky morass. I don't have a bra that is comfortable enough to wear at night so that I can use breast pads.

for ds1, 7 years ago, I had a fantastically comfortable bravado bra but they have changed the design and the one I have is too small (big on the back too small on the cup) and I can't wear it at all let alone at night.

I reckon i'm a 34H or so.

any tips for the leaking? I was wondering if I could express on the other side as I am wasting a hell of a lot of breast milk at the moment on my sheets!

Is it really right that I can't start expressing until 6 weeks? that feels like ages away.

I didn't get the hang of expressing at all last time, would do half an hour only to produce about an oz. just couldn't acheive let down whilst expressing i was using an electric medala pump. would a manual one be better this time?

tiktok? mears? hunker? anyone?

As far as I know, you can express now, you just shouldn't introduce bottles (if you were planning to) until 6 weeks.

My take on it was that you should let your supply get established first before you start expressing.

Sorry can't give any advice on the leaking (never had that problem)...

congrats by the way

Beast shells are a godsend for excessive leaking, you can collect up the milk and freeze for later. Boots do them. You do need to put them inside a bra or hold them on though.

Decent size BF bras are a nightmare to find, TBH I never found one that was actually any good. Sorry. Bravissimo have a couple that at least go uo to the right size. Once you stop getting engorged you can wear under-wired bras (really easy to adapt a standard one for BF).

I think you should wait with expressing until six weeks, so that your body can adjust to the actual demand,not a distorted one so to speak.

I leaked and leaked in the first weeks as well, it is a pain. I think what you could do is get breast shells to catch the milk on the side on which your ds is not feeding - they just catch what's running out by itself. Usually they are held in place by a bra, but you could just hold them there I guess, same as a pump.

Breast shells are not a replacement for breast pads and should only be worn for short periods of time. The pressure on the breast can help relieve engorgement but is also a blocked duct risk...

Oooh, congrats on your new arrival, sophable.

Some mums find that pressing on the leaking breast can stop it leaking. Some mums have had success with these. You can collect breastmilk with a shell.

There are muscles that stop the leaking, they get stronger as time goes on, so this problem should resolve itself.

I used a mothercare sleeping bra with breast pads- it was a godsend.

I leaked for 6 months and wore this at night with pads.

Would you be able to sleep in that?

I slept on piles of towels and pressed the other breast as NQC suggests

if you have a waterproof matress cover thing from potty training ds they are pretty good too

i've got a bravado tank or 3 (thanks to your recs) but can't sleep in it. my boobs are mammoth!

talking of which, when do they calm down (and shrink a bit?)

I actually didn't put on much weight this pregnancy (stress prob), and only have 1/2 stone to lose to be pre preg weight (and i'm only 10 days in) so I look TOTALLY out of proportion...barbie r us!

I think with me the initial 'Dolly P' stage lasted about 4-6 weeks and then they became more manageable.

But I take until 6 months for leaking to stop and in fact had the odd leakage up until about a month ago and DD is now 1.

Go to figleaves.com for bras, they do some soft ones by Anita including sleep vests. I think Emma Jane also do sleep vests, and so do NCT online. Or mothercare do drop cup vests in summer, you might still get one in store.
And try lilypadz, Blooming marvellous did sell them, they are like a stick on clear silicone like pad which is supposed to stop leaking.
Or just use a normal but tight vest and lift it up to feed instead of drop cups???

My boobs are usually a 32E and am now 32G. Figleaves is only place I bra shop.
They didn't really shrink for a long time, but they get softer after about 8 weeks.
And I began expressing at 4 weeks, and introduced one bottle of formula a day at 6 weeks.

Oh and if all else fails, get a toddler bed mat by Huggies and stick it under your sheet! (the ones you use when potty training - next to the pull up night time pants on the nappy shelf)

No advice, other than to sleep on a big towel, but just wanted to say a huge congratulations!

i'm still spraying from the non-feeding side after 6 months. I just clamp a muslin over it and press down hard - it soon stops.

Soph, actually - wear a big t-shirt (one of DH's), and shove a handtowel/terry nappy folded over the non-feeding side. Have a pile of these/muslins, and just shove them up t-shirt.

If you can't find a decent comfy bra, then can I suggest loads of tit pads and gaffer tape. Even better, why don't you tape the LO to your boob.

Congratulations, I remeber your thread about induction.
How did it all go in the end?

Have you tried lilypads? They stick to your boobs so you don't leak?

I sleep in a very plain soft cotton bra. Mothercare still had some of the soft drop cup vests maybe that would work?

Also feeding from both sides at each nighttime feed should cut down the amount you leak. Press the ball of your hand into the other breast when you feed which will stop the flow. Otherwise use breast shells which catch the milk.

soph, I think the reason you are not supposed to express is that it can actually increase your supply so will lead to more leaking!
at your norkage, sounds impressive!
I found Lilypadz good but do remember someone on here saying they got mastitis after using them so don't know if they are the best thing, especially in the early days.

What about [[http://www.amazon.com/Medela-Womens-Sleep-Nursing-Bra/dp/B000JK0FOW this Medela bra?]

Sorry, this

I had some like this:
Carriwell

They were really hard to come by a couple of years ago but now seem available everywhere. In fact I had their Seamless Maternity Bra which was sooooo comfortable for around the house, and the feeding one was very similar. It looks like they've changed the design now - but still the good things were:

• really soft fabric & bands, not digging in
• good compromise between separate cups and one continuous space... kept boobs separate but not holding too tight - so breast pads did stay roughly in place.

Good luck!

cor thanks catilla.

and everyone. :)