My boobs empty themselves

[JellyfishCarp]

Has anyone else had this experience? A breastfeeding councilor told me I have a milk oversupply, but I just wanted to check if this sounds normal-strange or really weird (if you know what I mean) and if people had any strategies for dealing with it.

If I express in the evening so my partner can give her a bottle of expressed milk, I can get about 3oz from one side in a few pumps/less than 5 mins, while the other boob empties nearly the same amount into a breast shell without me doing anything.

My dd (nearly 7 weeks) is a big baby and putting on weight so there can't be anything majorly thing wrong, but she often seems agitated on my breast and pulls herself off. I'm worried she's got used to gulping the milk down rather than sucking properly as the milk comes out so fast, and bit worried she's not getting all the hindmilk as I can still squeeze a bit of milk out when she's decided she's done. When she's decided she's done with one, she'll sometimes take more on the other one - I'm worried it's because it's easier for her.

Am I right to worry if she's not properly emptying each boob?

Also I have to go out and about with a dry night nappy insert in my bra as it's the only thing that soaks up all the leaky milk. I've got quite small boobs so it looks really odd - any suggestions to help me look a bit more normal?

I've got lilypadz, those rubbery things, but don't bother with them, you'll accumulate a nice pool and then it will all spill out in one go.

I have the breast pads with the granular stuff in that will work for a bit, tommee tippee ones are quite good IME.

I stick a muslin down my other side when I'm feeding, and light pressure should stop the other side leaking so much. Does it leak all the time, or just when you feed/ express?

It will be consolation to tell you that it should settle down, dd is 15 weeks now and I no longer hardly ever shoot milk across the room. Provided she's putting on weight i really wouldn't worry. She might be pulling off as supply is too fast, try letting some of the milk shoot into a muslin (or a cup if you want to keep it! :) ) and then put her back on when it stops.

Hi, maybe its cos you're expressing milk? Boobs produce milk depending upon demand. Expressing milk lulls your body into producing more milk than may be necessary.

Try to massage some milk out before feeding your baby, then the flow wont be as fast and she wont feel overwhelmed

Its normal to lose milk from the other breast when expressing/feeding from the other. Don't worry.

I agree that the expressing will probably be making this problem much worse. Check kellymom for oversupply info. Sorry, feeding, so cant link.

I had this problem when my DD was tiny (is now 3) and I wasn't expressing. There was just milk everywhere, it would be pouring down me from the boob she wasn't on. It did settle down though at about 3-4 months. She also fed really quickly and was an enormous baby which I think must have been down to all the milk shooting into her mouth.

I think as long as your baby is putting on weight that it is ok, but I am no expert.

what you're experiencing is totally normal, and does sound like oversupply

so does your daughters behaviour... she may be fussing and pulling off because the flow is too fast for her

kellymom link

Your supply should settle to what you are producing, including expressing if you are expressing at the same time each day which it sounds like you are.

Definitely sounds like oversupply and a fast letdown though.

If your baby is following her centile and seems happy & healthy, then do not worry about how much fattier milk (the old "hindmilk") she is getting.

Thanks everyone, good to know sounds normal and will settle down. Yes am just expressing once a day in the evening, instead of breastfeeding, so I can go to bed early and my partner can give her a bottle, so that shouldn't affect supply.

BTW Boobs never get 'empty' - if they keep sucking (or you squeeze) there should be milk there even if they have fed for ages. If she is gaining weight well, just trust her to take as much as she wants from each side.