Over supply of breast milk help!

[chocolate26]

My DD is just over 3 weeks old and has been struggling with what I thought was colic for the last week or so but I realised today that I'm pretty sure I have an over supply of breast milk! When she is drinking she seems to not be able to keep up with the milk coming out and often chokes, gasps for air, is sick a lot after, wants to feed pretty much all the time but only for 5 mins each time, doesn't seem to latch properly and comes off the nipple a lot and is very gassy. Does anyone have experience of this and what I can do to help? I have a breast pump and bottles and am wondering if expressing would be better?

I also leak a lot! It squirts and runs down me when I'm not wearing breast pads and have covered her in milk a couple of times before I realised what was happening!

It might help to express a little first (just before she feeds) until you're supply settles down. Don't worry, this won't last forever!

Gah! *YOUR 🤦🏼‍♀️

kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/
The kellymom web site is fab for breastfeeding issues.
There are a few tricks that might help.

I remember this well 😆 i used to let a load spill out into a muslin before I let them latch. The let down was extreme and was too much for them. It will pass as your supply settles down. I found using a pump sometimes just made more milk. Mine all took way too much when they latched and would throw it back, normally down my top or over my shoulder into the carpet 😩

OP has she been checked for tongue tie? Just a thought as my DS was the same, he had a 50% tongue tie and couldn't make a good latch. I did have oversupply as well, when breastfeeding both of my DC but with DS the main problem was his tongue tie. Does she make a clicking noise when feeding? It might be worth getting him checked.

This probably isn't great advice but I had a pump and I used it purely to express a bit before feeding, so it was easier for them to get a better latch. The supply will settle down eventually though.

It sounds like you have a fast let-down, which isn't quite the same thing as oversupply - the can be some overlap but this early on, while you're still establishing your supply, it's probably not a good idea to start doing the things that would be helpful in an oversupply situation just yet, especially if that might not turn out to be the problem. I would be wary of trying to switch to pumping at this point as it's so early (plus, it's an unholy amount of faff).

Expressing a little bit of milk before feeding, just to get past the first rush, is generally what's recommended. (Honestly, my boobs are like water pistols to begin with! But they calm down fairly quickly.) You can literally just catch it in a muslin rather than having to mess about with actual equipment, or else some people like using a haakaa.) It may also help to experiment with feeding in different positions, such as laid-back options where her head is above the nipple.