Boobs producing too much milk and baby is getting really bad wind trying to keep up with flow

[kittypower]

My baby is 11 days old and my boobs are producing too much milk for him, it flows really fast and just pours out when he starts to suck. he struggles to keep up with the flow and then gulps and kind of chokes trying to swallow it all, this is all ending up with him having really bad wind after every feed and looking so distressed it's awful, really upsetting and tiring to see him like that after feeding. I have tried only letting him suck for two minutes and then winding him but it's so hard to get a burp out of the little guy that this just doesn't seem to really work. Does anyone else have this problem or any advice that I could try - getting a bit desperate now. I have tried nipple shields but these just make him sick after feeding through these.

XXXX

This gets better with time honestly. Within a few days this will go away. Don't worry, you are doing everything right, your body is just regulating itself - try not to feed just for a few minutes, let him feed as long as he likes, he'll come off when he wants to and then wind him. Having wind for five minutes is not a problem.

It's just for 5 mins though, after feeding he struggles for ages, arching his back, pulling his knees up, going red and really crying - If I don't stop him feeding every few minutes and just let him stop when he want at the end of the feed he just throws it all back up....

XXX

Ah I see. Well you can nipple guards to regulate the flow of milk, but this will sort itself out soon so perhaps you could try just expressing a little bit first, so it's not spurting out madly and then try feeding - see if that helps.

Incidentally you might find it's about your diet - the wind thing - try cutting out caffeine and onions/spicy foods and see if he is better within a day. My DD at that age was very sensitive, but grew out of it by six weeks.

Nipple shields, not guards!

Aaaaaah! I know lots about this as I had the same problem with oversupply and an overactive let down reflex. The problem is that breast milk takes on two forms - the initial watery/sugary drink type (foremilk) which comes out before the creamier fatty hind milk (hindmilk). Hind milk has more fat and satifies baby's hunger for longer. Unfortunately when you have too much milk - your baby fills himself up on lots of your foremilk so end up only being able to take a bit of your hind milk. This sugary milk produces LOTS of wind problems and also gets absorbed so easily that the baby is starving again about an hour afterwards....

Again as you have so much milk - the let down reflex can be quite shocking! Be careful that your baby doesn't detach himself off the breast as he struggles to cope with the mlk flow. If he does - take him off and when the flow has calmed down a bit pop him back on correctly.

If it sounds like you - you might find that your baby could be producing greenish stools and may even have a sore bottom as him food contains so much sugar. Also you baby will have fantastic weight gain.

This problem will sort itself out with time - in the meantime some things you could do -

Try and feed off one breast in a 4 hour period.

Express 10mls of foremilk off prior to feed.

Have a look at www.breastfeedingbasics.com/html/oversupply.shtml

on my midwifes advice I'd get him latched, and then once I had letdown, take him off and let the spurt go into a handkerchief...and put ds back on when the flow was a bit more manageable.

this worked

Hi Kitty,

try feeding from the same breast for two feeds and if you get engorged hand express just a small amount. This is a link with more information