Sore/ engorged breasts- when should they settle?

[DogsDontDoBallet]

My little girl is 8 days old and I think feeding is going well. She's feeding every couple of hours, sleeping in between, pooing copiously and had lost no weight at all at her 5 day weigh in.

However, she has fairly short feeds and doesn't seem to drain the breast fully. My boobs are really swollen and sore and after a "good" feed they don't seem much better. My son had a tongue tie and used to feed for hours so I'm not used to these quick feeds and a settled baby.

Do I need to worry? Will they sort themselves out on their own or should I be doing anything? Btw, they are not causing any problems with latching when mega swollen, it's just uncomfortable for me and I'm terrified of getting mastitis.

I've got a 6day old and asked my midwife the same question, she reckons after a few weeks they will become more supply to demand and soften up. Mine are like rocks at the mo, she said if they get too hard just express a tiny amount but not too much as they will just refill the same thinking baby is using it, roll on the nxt could of weeks!!

Thanks for that. I had read somewhere that they should only be like this for a couple of days so was panicking a bit. I've tried changing her nappy when she comes off today and then going back to the same boob. Seems to have made a bit of difference and they seem less sore.

I know this thread is a few months old but wondering if anyone else has any advice. My baby is 10 days old and has breastfed wonderfully well from birth (huzzah!) Yesterday and today my breasts are MASSIVE and very hard. He has trouble latching on initially (gets there eventually) but I was wondering why my breasts have suddenly swelled. Admittedly it does feel like he's feeding for shorter periods and perhaps not emptying altogether. I want to express as while it's sore and heavy it's not exactly painful but I'm scared of mastitis too. Health Visitor was here today and said not to express, perhaps put a hot flannel on a squeeze gently to relieve a little pressure.

Just wondering a) if engorgement at this stage after feeding so well is normal and b) how long this will last before it settles back down and c) WILL it settle back down

:)

I used to have to express a tiny bit just to relieve them I pumped and sometimes used hand expressed as mine were like rocks.

Try hot and cold flannels after feeding, it might help to ease the pain, but it does eventually ease (and it's a bit of a shock when it does, because you're still producing loads!).

Thankfully they have now reduced in size and aren't so rock hard - but yes, still lots of milk! Funnily enough wearing a looser bra helped, maybe it was as simple as unblocking some blockages! Less support which took a bit of getting used to but much more comfortable