Help - milk coming in & baby struggling to latch on

[Claire236]

My son is 5 days old & my milk started coming in 2 days ago. Last night & today he's really struggled to latch on as my breasts are rock hard. His last feed was a really good one so one side is fine for now but the other one is really sore & I'm worried how he's going to manage come his next feed. I expressed a bit from that side earlier so I'm reluctant to do it again. I wondered if anyone had any advice to make it easier for ds & make it less painful for me as at the moment it's truly toe curling until he manages to get my milk flowing.

will your breast squash enough if you try with your fingers to make it thin enough to get in his mouth? (sandwich shape)
savoy cabbage leaves are briliant for getting rid of the 'rock hard' feeling.

congratulatoins on your ds by the way

If they're rock hard it's because they are very full. Try hand expressing a little bit out first (google it, or hopefully your midwife gave you a leaflet) so you're "primed" as it were and ready to let down. He may be struggling to get let down going and that is frustrating for him and painful for you.

it is alarming when your milk comes in....

Your milk supply will even out according to need, if you are not happy hand expressing, you could always pump a little. Do not worry thst this will mean that you will make more milk or that you will not have enough when feed time comes. Milk is made on an as and when basis. It will all even out and the engorged feeling will not be as frequent.

Good luck, you are doing well.

MW told me that when breasts get big & hard like that, it's like trying to latch on to a balloon for baby. Don't fret about expressing a bit off to make breast a bit softer & easier to latch on.

Thanks. Have fed ds & it was a bit of a nightmare. I cried because it hurt & he was pretty much screaming in frustration. I kept managing to hand express a little bit then trying him & between us we got there in the end. Got 2 nice comfy breasts for the moment. Anyone know how long this stage is likely to last.

engorgment shouldn't last too much longer

warm flannels in the bath are also soothing and expressing a tiny bit to make sure DS can latch on better

TBH, DD's latch improved a lot in the first week so you may find your DS's does as well which will help too

Claire I found the first 2 weeks of BFing a bit of a nightmare frankly, and after that it started to come together and I BF DS for nearly two years! Do you have lasinoh cream? Get some and use it after every feed, even if they aren't cracked/sore. It saved my BFing. I would have given up without it.

Your DS's jaw will be getting a lot stronger very quickly so his latch should improve and make things easier for him, also your supply will start to regulate. Don't be afraid to express a good fair bit before each feed if you are engorged - if you do it into a sterilised BM cup and/or use a sterilised pump you can keep it for top ups - freeze it if you want. But don't worry about pumping and dumping because the more you lactate the more your body will produce - it will just get better at knowing when it is required.

I'm a new mother of 7 day old baby. My nipples were completely sore and cracked by the time I came home from hospital and before milk production started. I think I produce some milk now but seems not enough. I had to supplement with formula because of low supply. I tried to breast feed when possible with pumping every other time. When pumping however, I only express 20 ml or less. Twice I was able to get 1 oz. my baby is eating 2 oz at feeding. What am I doing wrong? How can I increase my milk production and have a better success with pumping?

OP, Check out reverse pressure softening on the kellymom website. I have a 6 day old and it's working really well for me. Still a bit of teeth gritting involved but it does mean you can get them latched on quicker.