too much milk!

[Cha]

What can I do? I keep choking my baby! Is there anything anyone can recommend to reduce the flow and / or amount of milk I produce? 2 month old ds gets really upset as he nearly dies every time I feed him, poor little man. He is quite colicky and takes in tonnes of air as he feeds as he keeps trying to avoid being drowned. It has been like this from the start and wasn't nearly such a problem with my first child.

My midwives told me to feed him lying down (not always possible!) or to feed like he is climbing up me (again, not always poss when you are out). They also said it would get better as he got older. How much older? I have looked at a website page that recommends feeding off the same breast for 2-3 hours (this I do) and even expressing the foremilk off if the breast feels very full (this I do, but again, if I go out I can't whip the Advent out and pump away for a few minutes while ds screams his head off). The website recommended Sage tea - where can I get hold of this? Also Savoy cabbage leaves - bought one today, though it doesn't so far seemed to have worked. Please, anyone out there with similar experience and/or advice? Both mum and baby getting desperate!

Sounds as though you are doing all the right things Cha. Feeding 'uphill' as suggested should help, even if you can just do it when you are at home. When you are at home you could always keep a cloth nappy or towel handy and when you feel your milk let down at the start of the feed, take him off the breast and let the milk flow off into the cloth (or bottle to keep for later). The rest of the milk may well not come out so fast then. It should start to get better as he gets bigger and more able to cope. Sorry I haven't any other tips for you.

Thanks Mears - already do the towel thingy, my 2yr old dd runs to get the 'milk catcher' whenever I ask, bless her. How old is older - are we both going to be suffering like this for months or will it be sooner???

Wish I could give you a definative answer! I have a friend who had this problem which she felt got better around the 12 week mark so hopefully not much longer

I thought the thing which worked best for this was nipple shields? because the milk slightly pools in the shields and then the baby can suck from there at its own speed. I've never had this problem (I wish!) but a friend did and the nipple shields worked brilliantly when her baby was very small. once it was a bit older he could deal with thefast flow better. worth a try?

good luck!

Cha, I'd suggest feeding even less often than 2-3 hours off the same breast...try not to stimulate each breast more often than every 4-5 hours. You will be uncomfortable for a day or so on each unused side, and may need to hand express a little bit for comfort, but in two or three days your supply will settle down.

Nipple shields - no, not normallty a good idea though not knocking the fact they helped with PPH's friend! Too many other drawbacks with shields.

Tiktok - how does that help? Interested to know the reasoning behind it. Is it because it dries the breast out by about 3 hours and ds will find it easier to feed? I'm worried that by the time he got to have the unused boob, it would be so full that he'd drown! I've got one boob bigger than the other (by a lot!) and would be worried that the littlest one would not last 4-5 hours. Could be wrong however...

By trying to space your feeds more, your body will start to reduce milk production because the demand has gone down. It is tempting to keep feeding colicky babies which in turn makes the problem worse. Frequent feeds stimulates more milk production and it sounds as though you have loads already. Try to do other things with ds to keep him going rather than giving him the breast. Singing, bouncing, walk in pram etc. There is a substance in breastmilk called FIL (Feedback Inhibitor of Lactation). When milk is not removed from the breast the levels of FIL increase which triggers a reduction in milk production. As Tiktok says, if you can feed less frequently over the neext 2-3 days, you should find that your supply should reduce accordingly. I should have thought of that

But it's the only way I get any peace! I have a 2 year old dd who is being very 'challenging' shall we say and when ds cries it is about the only way I have of calming him down. That or carry him about everywhere which is virtually impossible during the day as I have dd to look after too. Have tried slings / baby carriers but he hates them and gets even more worked up. But do appreciate the sense in what you have said - it seems like a choice between regular choking and feeding related upset or being left to cry a lot. It is sheer hell! Whoever said it was good to have more than one child????? Oh, it was me. Durr. Thanks for your support - think I will try a path mid way between the two, see how we go.........

How about using a dummy for a cuple of days if he needs the comfort of sucking?

Hi, this is my first time at leaving a message! Cha, I could have written your message myself as I have exactly the same 'problem'with my 9 week old ds. However, I also had exactly the same with my dd. All I can say is that, although I continued to produce the same ridiculous amount of milk for a good 6 months, she stopped being colicky at about 14 weeks and learnt how to deal with the supply! She still occasionally got her head blown off with the sheer force of the milk but it ceased being such a problem. I also sometimes use/used the cloth method described by mears and that works.

Despite these initial problems with my dd, I fed her successfully for a year, hope that gives you some comfort.

Cha, oh how I sympathise. I'd totally forgotten but I had the exact same thing. My milk took ages to come in, but as they say, it never rains but it pours!! My milk shot down his throat like a power shower and the poor boy nearly choked. I also found it really, really hard to space out the feeds. I found a dummy a total godsend. My ds loved to suck but was so upset and frustrated that his 'peaceful' suck was ruined by having this wretched milk coming at him from all angles In my case it did go away eventually - a combination of using the dummy and sleeps to space feeds , the supply settling down and his getting better at feeding and drinking more. I am sure your situation will get better and I do recommend a dummy to help space those feeds just a little. Some babies are definitely 'suckier' than others. I also fed (mixed) for over a year.

I have exactly the same problem with my 2 month old. I feel like I have gone from one extreme to another as with my first there was always a question over having enough milk supply and I had to supplement with bottles initially. This time the poor baby seems to choke all the time and looks so uncomfortable. Again he seems colicky and miserable and I also have a 2 yr old as well and sometimes feeding the baby seems the easiest option for some peace. However he hates being fed lying down (he's got a bit of a cold which won't go away). At the moment I feed him every 2-21/2 hrs but only from one side at each feed. Should I feed him less often and if so how frequently do they typically feed at this age? He also gets tired all the time (every hr approx) and sleeps for about 45 mins and I've got into a habit of feeding him when he wakes up. Again is this typical of a two month old or do they normally stay awake a bit longer? If so, any suggestions for lengthening the time? He sleeps pretty well at night so I always expect him to be happier first thing, but I suppose after he's been choked on milk that is unlikely. I will try a dummy to see if that helps.

It's such a relief to see that there are lots of us out there! I did try the dummy thing a while ago but he hated it, will get one tomorrow and try again. I have only fed off one boob most of the day and just expressed loads off the other. He has still been choked at every feed, poor little mite, but hopefully the supply will readjust itself soon. It seems that this problem gets better at about 3 months, so only a month or so to go........

I had the same problem, My 9 year old used to choke also, I did not leave the house for 5 weeks, everytime I moved, everything flooded, I lived in a bath towel, with a bath robe on top, and I daren't have bent down to pick anything up........When my health visitor mentioned the breast shells, I could go out again. It lasted over 6months. second time round I expressed more and so found that I didn't gush as much. This time round I expressed from the start until my baby was 10 and a half months old, and I found I stopped leaking straight away, And when I breast feed I was told to do each breast for 20minutes each, not acouple of hours. Some good advice, try expressing, then giving the baby your breast, they don't choke as much, and it does get better.

Hi - i used nipple shields to even out the flow to start with but removed them once that first mad gush had gone. It seemed to work for us - until about 4months if I remember right, but then ds was on the little side so you might be luckier.