Oww oww oww

[GashleyCrumbTiny]

Day four as a parent! Milk definitely coming in and my boobs feel like bowling balls that have just been microwaved. It hurts. The little one is a bit hit and miss with feeding. We're managing a few good bouts a day, but nothing like every two-three hours like the midwives in hospital/at home today have all been saying. Is it wise to express a bit for relief or am I going to interfere with getting feeding established if I do that? They feel like they're about to explode! Also if anyone knows how to make a baby open their mouth and latch on when they don't want to please let me know! She can do it pretty well, but not nearly often enough or for long enough to have a hope of draining these swollen melons!

Oh I remember the bowling ball stage! It only lasts a short while thankfully.

To ease the pressure, have a hot bath or use a hot water bottle on your boob, until it's realllly warm. Then massage boob to get rid of any little lumps and then hand express (kinda push the milk towards the nipple, like milking a cow ) until it starts to flow. Express off enough milk that the boob is well softened - at least the area round the nipple, and ideally a bit more than that. Don't go crazy with the expressing though or you'll stimulate more milk production.

The softened boob should hopefully be much easier for your LO to latch on to. Keep offering the boob every 2-3 hours in the day minimum. You may have a sleepy baby (was she early at all?) but she ought to wake up quite soon and get more interested in milk.

If you keep having latch and engorgement issues after a few more days, and especially if your LO continues to be sleepy and not that interested in feeding for long, then speak to your HV. Get latch checked and get checked for tongue tie. In these circumstances the baby may not be getting enough milk. But don't panic about that yet see how the next few days go.

Good luck and congratulations!

Feed as often as possible. Even more than suggested by mws is fine.

You can hand express a tiny bit to take the pressure off and make it easier for baby to latch.

Have some skin to skin time if you can to encourage baby to feed often.

Congratulations!

Advice on here and www.Kellymom.com helped me get started. Lots of great newborn advice on there.

Try stroking your baby's nose and upper lip with your nipple to get her to open her mouth.
Not dignified, but not the weirdest thing you'll do as a parent!

Congratulations by the way

She was 3 weeks early is quite sleepy! I'm offering a feed at least two-hourly but she mostly just won't open her mouth! I don't think there are any tongue tie issues. When she has a good feed ( about one attempt in three) then I can really tell the difference. It's just that most of the time, no matter how frequently I offer, she just dozes off or fusses - or is quite content but just won't open her mouth!! Poor thing has a crusty face from me waving my leaky nipple round her nose and mouth. I know it's very early days still but she's so little. Just want her to get a bit more of this good stuff that's causing me so much agony!

Ah she was early ok that's why she's sleepy, guess she's quite small too? Just watch to check she's having enough wet nappies and no signs of jaundice and is getting more alert. Sleepy early babies sometimes don't demand feeding as much as they should so do keep waking her and offering even if it doesn't get far! Also strip her off as much as possible for feeds, will help keep her awake. She should get more wakeful as she gets closer to due date. In the meantime it's boob management!

How are things now?

Hope she's feeding well.