Recurrent clogged milk ducts

[Nokicat]

Hi mums, baby is currently 10 weeks old and I'm suffering from my 10th clogged duct. Thankfully none of them escalated to mastitis but they are so uncomfortable and painful! Baby initially had a tongue tie that we had revised when she was 7 weeks but I'm still getting clogged ducts for silly reasons like the seatbelt was too tight or I was holding the baby too long on the chest. I mean it's absurd that I can't even hold my baby. I'm seriously considering giving up on breastfeeding and switching to formula. Baby is already combi fed about 30% formula and the rest of her intake is via breastfeeding. I can't pump because I'm so prone to clogged ducts. I've been telling myself supply will regulate and it will get better and now I feel like supply is regulated but it still hasn't gotten better. When did it get better for you? I'm not sure I can go on any longer but she takes so much comfort from nursing :(

Do you think the TT could have reattached or a further tie missed?

Are you sharing feeds equals between breasts? And are you bf the same feeds each day and doing the bottles same exact feeds each day?

my issues resolved in the end when I stopped bottles and just did boob tbh

Some mums find that taking sun flower lethicin can help for recurrent ones. You can get it in Holland and Barrett etc

I don't think so. We have weekly follow ups to check progress.

I would either attempt to move to 100% EBF or just go straight to 100% formula.
My personal opinion is that the combination feeding is messing up your supply and causing the build up. If massaging isnt working, try speaking to a lactation consultant, but then just do whatever works out easier for u

Yes, same amount of bottles every day and feeding from breast on demand which is roughly the same amount of time spent every day. Feeding equally from both breasts. We can't stop the bottles because she dropped quite a bit in her weight percentile when we didn't know about the tongue tie.

Yes, already taking it for the past few weeks. Maybe I need a higher dose. I'll check with my LC.

Can you get her back up to target weight and then stop the bottles? Breasts can adapt and increase their supply if baby suckles more so I wouldn’t worry about that.

That's a good point, I didn't think of that. She was 100% EBF till we found out she had dropped from 30th percentile to 9th percentile for weight at 4 weeks. We didn't know about the tongue tie at that time so had to supplement with formula. We need to continue with the formula till she's gained back some weight.

Yes, that was the plan but not sure how long I can go on with these recurrent clogs 😵‍💫

Can you speak to your health professionals about attempting EBF? If you keep a close eye on her weight and immediately supplement if it starts dropping? Ive EBF babies and my goodness my boobs KNOW when they need draining! Sorry if that's an icky image. Its not as bad when you get a few months in and your supply is a bit more regulated

The LC should be able to help you with a plan to wean off the bottles if that’s what you chose to do. You’re still early on and it sounds like you have plenty of milk. It’s very common to do top ups but then you can drop them eventually.

You could also pump and give the breast milk if you’re finding you are going too long between feeds, it shouldn’t cause blocked ducts x

I didn't combi feed but found that the only thing that helped me was using reusable breast pads instead of disposable and using heating pads like these before as many feeds as I could manage lansinoh.co.uk/collections/postpartum-feeding/products/therapearl-3-in-1-breast-therapy-pads

Thank you! I've only been using ice after feeds but I'll start using heat before feeds too