How long do breasts leak for? (ebf)

[Bartimaeus]

DS is 2 months. I've always had a lot of milk, but thanks to some lovely MNers I've managed to reduce the quantity so my breasts are not always rock solid and DS has actually managed to empty them a couple of times!

However, I still leak a lot. I get through several breast pads per day and when I don't pay attention I can leak all the way through a pad and 3 layers of clothing .

I'm hoping to ebf until 5-6 months (when I go back to work) and then to breastfeed morning and night. Will I leak all the time I'm breastfeeding? I'm wondering if its worth investing in washable pads as I'm getting through so many disponsable ones, but if the leakage will stop soon then I won't bother buying them.

For me 3 months pretty much but I did leak again when I went back to work and do still dribble randomly occasionally.

4 months and still very leaky - I have a feeling it's down to your genetics, some women have better 'valves' than others.

With both DC I have leaked like a bloody fountain. I'm so envious of women who don't leak at all. With DS1 I leaked often in between feeds and from the other breast when feeding, going through lots of pads a day.

It eased off at about 6 months, though, and then I rarely leaked in between feeds and would only leak from the other breast when feeding if I was topless (I don't often feed topless by the way, just noticed that I leaked during quick post-shower feeds as I didn't have the pressure of a bra stopping the milk leaking!)

With DS2 I think my leaky boobs have sorted themselves out a lot quicker, and the pressure of clothing usually does the job. He's 5 months now. I personally never got on with reusable breastpads, as they just feel so soggy against my skin, don't seem to absorb as much as I need, and my washing machine eats them!

i leak a LOT when i am feeding (but not when im not feeding unless i get very full)

I use breast shells, as this collects the milk. There is no way breast pads could cope with the 1oz - 2oz that comes out in 20mins!
You must NOT bend over or lie down while wearing them though, otherwise it literally pours out of the vent holes!

Sorry for the blatant thread hijack but am suffering from major oversupply and leakage at the moment - ds is 2 months - and wondered if bartimaeus you would mind sharing how you managed to reduce your quantities as I'm a bit overwhelmed by different methods :(
Sorry again :)

I think generally leaking slows down around 5-6 months. My mil suffered from major over-supply which was addressed by expressing. At one point apparently she was feeding dh and twins in the local maternity unit......so I'm not sure the expressing helped!

Mummy21 there's lots of advice on Kellymom, but the technique I've used is block feeding- you just feed from one side at a feed, and then the next feed you also use that side, and then the feed after that you swap over.

So for, say, a 6 hour period all feeds are from one side only, and then the next 6 hours are the other side. (6 hours is a more extreme example)

Having said that, if your dc is only 8 weeks you may not have oversupply- in human breastfeeding physiology, 8 weeks is very early days, and hopefully your body will settle down without you having to do anything.

Thanks coldcomfort. It'd only been the last few days as he has started to go longer between feeds but struggles every feed and comes off screaming while milk squirts everywhere. I'm going to try a 2 hr block feeding pattern over night to see if that helps

BTW op, have read on other threads that the boots reusable or little lamb ones are quite good so I'm thinking they might be worth a try!

Around 3-4 months usually, but some people leak for a lot longer. It's very normal at 2 months and I would not be trying anything to stop it at this stage as you might affect your supply.

Thanks for your replies.
mummy I found block feeding in 3 hour periods worked well and quite quickly. didnt interfere at all with my supply - DS eats a LOT and has never emptied both sides.
will try some reusable pads i think