Oversupply and Pumping

[goggles43]

Hiya, my DD is a week old.
I have been exclusively breast feeding so far, however I have an oversupply which is a real worry.

I can deal with the squirting milk, the constant change of clothes for both us, the engorged breasts, the fast let down on both sides, I can handle all of that.

What I cannot handle is, my DD coughing and spluttering midway through a feed and me having to desperately bang on her back to clear the choke and being absolutely besides myself in that 5-10 seconds of waiting for her breathing returning to normal.

I am trying 4-5 hour block feeding and literally pulling her off my breast every 20 seconds to give her a chance to swallow but she’s still taking too much in at times and spluttering.

I don’t want to stop BFing and wanted to ask for advice on whether I should just pump and give the breast milk in a bottle instead?
At least I would know exactly how much she’s taking!

At the moment she is jaundiced so sleeping around the clock. She’ll randomly cry for milk which will prompt me to bf her (I try every 3-4 hrs regardless) but she falls asleep within minutes of sucking.
But when awake, she constantly jerks her head side to side and opens her mouth - as if looking for a breast or sucks on her fingers.
I’m prepared to commit to the pumping and realise it won’t be easy but I would rather that then resort to formula wen I have such an abundance in milk supply.

Can anyone tell me if this is what they did and was successful in it?? Or is this a bad idea which will cause us problems?

I had decided to ride it out until 3 months in the hope that DD will be big enough to handle the oversupply but each time she chokes on the milk, I’m terrified.

Please help! Thank you

Bump!

anyone?? please?!

I had an over supply of milk to start with but after a week I exclusively pumped with all 3 of my children.
I did this for a year. To start with you need to do it as regularly as breast feeding, every few hours but then when things settle down you can cut down and eventually your body gets into a routine.
Exclusive pumping was great for me as I found bf hard but it's not an easy option and long term is a huge commitment. I thought it was worth it though. You can see they're getting a good feed each time too.
If you're serious get a decent double electric pump too.

I BF DD and while she did occasionally choke from oversupply but taking her off every 20s doesn't sound right to me? I would definitely contact HV for some support and to check for tongue tie. Oversupply does eventually settle it's just the first few weeks, they are a real nightmare!

Just to check _ when she's latched on is her body in line with her head? It's easy to let them lie flat in your arms with their head turned 90 degrees to the side to feed but it's not a good position for swallowing

I find that keeping myself distracted (browsing Mumsnet) during the first couple of minutes of a feed helps. If you're not thinking about the baby then the let down won't be as strong.

What you're describing sounds more like a fast let-down than oversupply - and given that you're super early in your breastfeeding your supply is still establishing itself.

In your position, I'd try experimenting with different feeding positions to enable her to manage the speed of flow a little better, and if necessary hand expressing a little milk first as the beginning of a feed will tend to be when the flow is fastest. I'd also try to get her to be as awake as possible for feeds for right now - stripping her down to her nappy, for example, can help. Bear in mind that it being so early on, she's still learning, too - but a bit of coughing and spluttering is not going to harm her in the meantime.

Exclusively pumping is an indescribable faff and I'd really recommend trying other options first before embarking on it. The Kellymom website has loads of great resources, do check it out.

Good luck!

Thank you for your replies everyone.
I’m practically in tears right now because of another choking episode and my heart dropped.
Perhaps you’re right @Persipan it is mostly fast let down which I can feel mid-feed and when I pull Dd off my breast, it’s literally spraying everywhere.
Going to give it another couple of weeks, if not, I may need to go down the pumping route

Thanks everyone

It sounds more like your letdown us fast. I had that and used to soak up the first milk jetting out into a muslin. You can also try laying on your back with your baby face down on top of you, so they have more control over the milk due to gravity.

It should improve after a few weeks.

I'd agree to get some good professional advice / support RE positioning if you can - local community feeding team if you have one; ours is doing Zoom consultations.

Try the 'laid back' feeding position which will give baby a lot more control. Even the fastest of let downs really shouldn't force you into pumping if you don't want to so don't waste too much energy worrying about that.

Get her off when you feel the tingle of let down approaching and relatch when it's finished. Feed in a reclined position so the milk has to flow uphill, this slows the flow. Sit the baby in a more upright position when feeding.

Have you tried a haakaa or similar on one side while you feed? You could always use it before you put your DD to the breast so that the let down then isn't as strong. Definitely go back to basics with positioning and attachment, try the koala hold or the laid back position as these can help with a fast let down. The sucking fingers and rooting/head banging is all normal behaviour, just baby telling you she wants feeding. Keep feeding 3-4 hourly as you are doing as the sooner you can shift the jaundice the better for both of you

Also, ask midwife/health visitor to refer you to a professional to fully assess for tongue tie ie the local infant feeding coordinator.

Your supply will settle, at the moment your body doesn't know how much milk baby needs. Eventually your body gets the hang of it, and then baby will get fussy and cluster feed to increase your supply again. And honestly it is so much easier BF than exclusively pumping, but the early weeks are tough.

I totally have water-pistol boobs, too! But nowadays my baby is very rarely bothered by it - it becomes much less of a problem as time goes on, honest!

@goggles43

www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com/twitter-and-blog/youve-got-so-much-milk-youre-so-lucky-no-im-bloody-not-oversupply-colic-and-reflux

Give the National Bf Helpline a ring on 0300 100 0212

Consider working on a deeper more effective latch, feeding when sleepy, leaning back during feeds

Pumping or using a Haakaa will tell your boobs to make more milk unfortunately, if they're too hard and engorged to latch then hand expressjng a very small amount before latching on might help