ENORGED. Help Please

[realnappiesmum]

In terrible pain. Have 5 week old on neonatal unit. Been expressing since birth and getting approx 1.5ltrs a day! Baby suddenly this week has taken off with breast feeding with help of nipple shield. Breasts very very engorged, hard and lumpy. Baby not taking off any where near what I was expressing. Trying to not express as will produce more milk but pain is horrific. Any advice welcome on easing the pain and engorgment without expressing. Worried breasts will burst!

Can you not just express a little to ease the pain, ie an ounce or so? It is so so painful... well done and Congratulations!

Wow! Super (milk) Women!! :)

Oooooo, it's so painful isn't it!!

Can you express a little just to relieve them and gradually express less as the baby drinks more? It sounds like you've stopped expressing altogether? Perhaps stopping gradually will still work but not be as painful.

You need to express a small bit off to ease it a bit but looks as if you really were doing well with the expressing. More than baby needs at this time though unf. She will catch up hopefully with your supply.

Cabbage leaves in bra meant to help and take paracetamol for the pain. Is latch OK? Not sure how you can tell with shields. Do you need the shields?

I think more advice will be forthcoming on here but just wanted to answer your post.

Poor you. Engorgement is horrible!

Have a warm bath, put warm flannels on them or, crazy as it sounds, Savoy cabbage leaves! I felt completely mad sitting around the house with cabbage in my bra but it felt sooo good I just didn't care! Paracetamol should help too. Hope you feel better soon! Your supply should adjust within a couple of days. Do keep massaging them if you can bear to touch them though so they don't get blocked!

Have a warm bath, put warm flannels on them or, crazy as it sounds, Savoy cabbage leaves! I felt completely mad sitting around the house with cabbage in my bra but it felt sooo good I just didn't care! Paracetamol should help too. Hope you feel better soon! Your supply should adjust within a couple of days. Do keep massaging them if you can bear to touch them though so they don't get blocked!

Oh also I find gently rubbing the lumpy bits as the baby drinks relieves the boob where I need it relieving first!

Cabbage leaves are supposed to be very good for releaving pain. I found reverse pressure on the nipples was helpful in getting a good latch, kellymom has instructions. My supply reduced quite quickly after that. 1.5l is an amazing amount!

I really suffered with engorgement, yep just express a little off to ease the pain and freeze it - may well come in handy later on

Ditto painkillers - you can take ibruprofen now too as well as paracetomol.

If you can have a bath with baby, that might help too.

Hot then cold flannels, soothing.

Savoy cabbage leaves I'm the bra, they do work honestly.

Congrats on the birth bf'ing gets easier I promise! I was like a milk machine / spraying and dripping out of me but it eventually settled down.

Thank you for advice. Have got some gel pads which I have chilled but will get cabbage today. Also will try warm flannel and a bath. Baby can only feed with shield. Tried for a week without but couldn't attach. If I express more milk is produced in no time and pain increases. I felt really proud of milk supply when expressing but now feel cursed. Baby starting to relieve the pressure in breast she is feeding from but let down is so strong that other breast fills even more and pain increases.

Also, will milk that baby doesn't take off gradually be reabsorbed by my body?

Yes, the hormone that produces the milk realises its still there and doesn't make as much next time. That's why you were v right not to express because it will tell body to make the same again.

when we say express, hand express and literally just a tiny bit to relieve the pain assuming the pain is extreme - I was in complete agony but within a few days it calmed down massively. I couldn't hand express but used the hand pump just to "let down" and that was enough to relieve the pressure, no pumping as such.

looks like you have had all the good advice already, I would just add that using a comb to "brush" your boobs during and after feeds feels really nice and helps squish out more milk/get rid of lumpy bits.