breastfeeding experts over here please!

[chiefcookandbottlewasher]

The last week or so my dd (4 weeks) has begun to sleep for longer periods at night. For example, last nihgt she went to sleep at approx 1030, woke to feed (15 mins) at 315 and then again at 7ish. She is a frequent feeder during the day, especially as the afternoon goes on, and tends to cluster feed during the evenings, rarely going more than half an hour between finishing one feed and starting the next.

my problem is that because she feeds so much during the day i am still producing loads of milk at night, so that by the time she wakes for her morning feed bothe breasts are huge and full to bursting. She then can't seem to cope with the speed at which the milk comes out and will guzzle it down only for the whole lot to shoot back out exorcist-style minutes later! She will be a bit sick again after later feeds but this gets less and less through the day as she feeds more often, which is what makes me think its the pressure in the mornings that she can't cope with.

I thought it might be helpful to feed her from one side only at the last feed of the evening, the night feed and the first morning one, then to express from the other breast in the morning, but will i shoot myself in the foot and end up incresing my milk supply if i express? Does anyone have any suggestions that might help?

Thanks

I think you're doing great. My second child fed in the same pattern as yours and always had a good exorcist puke after the too much milk in the morning.
I'm no expert but in my experience, 4 weeks is still early days and supply takes a while longer to balance out.
I managed without expressing and eventually (sorry i can't give a more specific timeline) the supply matched his demand more.
If you are so engorged that baby has difficulty latching on then maybe expressing a little would help.
Otherwise hang on in there and have plenty towels and muslins handy.
Hope this is the right advice, like i said i'm no expert but somebody else might come along soon.
Good luck.

Hallo chiefcok.... Not an expert, I'm afraid, but I had the same experience and my breasts eventually got used to the pattern of her feeding shifting to more in the day and less at night.

Not sure what to advise about the fast letdown in the morning, which she's struggling with. Hope this bumps it for someone more expert.

Sorry- chiefcook, not cok!

I am very tired.

Can you hand express a bit off just to get rid of the pressure before the morning feed. Your breasts will soon adjust- iyt's just the initial few adjusting days

Same suggestion as pixiefish already made from me.

Your supply will sort itself out in a few weeks, but in the mean time, just express a little milk off before you feed her in the mornings.

Just a thought but have you tried nipple shields to stem the flow a bit? I am having to use them at the mo with my 3 week old due to nipple damage and I have noticed that the flow is slower and less overwhelming but the volume is the same

Not nippple shields.....not a good idea for lots of reasons, principally because they are a nuisance, the baby can get too used to them, and yes, they do slow down the flow not in a good way

This will prob settle down by itself, chief, but the suggestion to hand express gently is a good one.

Your milk production is at it's greatest when you are asleep and resting so don't worry too much about the morning feed! It is still early days so after a few months your body will only produce what you need- so I wouldn't express for that reason. Your body is very clever at learning quite quickly how much milk you need! Good luck it sounds like you're doing really well!!

thanks all, thought i would try the hand expressing in the mornimg but wandering if that will just start a vicious circle going - surely then my body will still think i need the same amount of milk? or am i understanding this wrong?

Expressing a very small amount of milk off will not do a great deal to the amount you produce, chief....it's a question of balancing inconveniences, and working out which is the bigger hassle: a small amount of hand ex'ing or coping with the baby's spluttering and waiting until she grows out of it
Up to you!

Dont worry, you are doing great. I had exactely the same problem and now at 12 weeks things have all settled down. Boobs seem to make the right amount now!