day 3 - boobs like rocks and lumpy,..help please

[mousemole]

DS3 is 3 days old today. Born by CS and very very sleepy. I have to keep waking him to feed and then he falls asleep when on the breast pretty much every time.
My milk has come in today and depsite a very hot shower, massaging, having DS on breast and a bit of expressing, my boobs are really sore, hard and lumpy. I don't seem to be 'letting down' the milk. When I expressed I got about 20ml from both sides combined of colostrum looking milk but my boobs are still like rocks. Any ideas how I can get the milk flowing please ? I really want this to work.

Not an expert, but I remember 3rd day boulder boobs very well, so wanted to offer sympathy at least! It sounds like you're doing all the right things, don't worry about volume expressed, you've just got to keep feeding him and give your boobs a couple of days to settle down...
Wiser counsel along soon I should think.

What you express is no reflection of what baby can do.. I wouldn't even go there. PLus, you don't want to get yourself into a huge oversupply circle..

I know it's hard but KEEP putting him on.. gently pull or tickle the soles of his feet, blow on him, whatever.. but he has to feed and he has to be awake to do it..

Two years ago you were me.. Said baby is now very much awake watching Garfield!

Congratulations!

Mine were like this,for a day or two.I remember laughing and crying at the same time because they were 32J and completely solid.I had to pump a bit off at the start of each feed or dd couldn't latch on.They just softened up after a couple of days.Keep feeding,don't massage too much or you may make them more tender,just feed on demand and they will be much more comfortable in a day or two.Cabbage leaves in the bra help a bit(keep them in the fridge)change them when they look a bit transparent,and choose a smooth not supre crinkly cabbage!.If you get red patches with heat then that could be mastitis but what you have now sounds normal for day 3.(lasted only 24 hours with my second baby btw)

Also if he is sleepy on the breast hold his hands and massage the palms of them with your thumb,it wakes the baby up a bit.

And congratulations!

hellymelly is right about the cabbage, but it has to be savoy cabbage leaves.

savoy cabbage leaves, cold from the fridge - pop them in your bra and they help ease the pain! Also paracetemol.

I agree with mamsnet too - don't express too much as you'll just stimulate your boobs to make more milk.

It should all pass in a day or so. I reckon not feeling a let down is probably pretty normal this early on.

I remembered the savoy cabbage and dh has just been out to get some ! Another complication is that ds has a severe tongue tie and is just off now with dh to get is snipped. I think it has affected his latch as he never seems to get comfy on the breast and then gives up and falls asleep. Is expressing a bad idea then ? Made the mistake of reading Gina who has you on the bloomin machine every few minutes. I think my boobs must be about size 40H today. I just want all this milk out !
I'm fantatical about making this work as for a variety of reasons I had to stop feeding ds2 after 2 weeks and felt guilty for about a year.
Are hot baths a good idea ?

Have only BF one baby but I remember day 3 so well. It was when I learned the meaning of the word 'engorged' - as you've said, like rocks, very uncomfortable. Was also very weepy. As the others have said, just keep feeding on demand and they should soften up in a few days. Be sure not to wear anything that constricts your chest too much. My DS was also a very sleepy feeder for the first 6-8 weeks. I often changed his nappy to try and rouse him in the middle of a feed (although it was quite hard to tell when feeds began and ended!).
Keep going, you're doing brilliantly .

Sounds like you have a few things on the way to being sorted..

Leave your breasts out as much as you dare too.. I know they're probably not a pretty sight but the fresh air will really help you not to get sore nipples.

And for fuck's sake burn the Gina book!

thank you for the words of encouragement. I'd forgotten how hideous day 3 is. I am so so weepy. Oh the joys....

I'm surprised you didn't go with LO for snipping - they normally want you to feed straight away after. Could be that due to TT baby isn't draining breast as well; snipping should fix that.

Burn Gina book. Her routines are bad for the breastfeeding relationship.

How's the pees & poos? Lots?

Slow posting due to podgy baby bouncing all over me.. good to see someone else recommends burning GF books though

am definitely going to burn Gina. No, they didn't say anything about me going for the TT snip but it's only 5 mins away so they will be back quick. Am going to try some hot flannels now to see if that helps. Poos Ok and wee's are OK but no great volume.
Does this rocky, lumpy stage pass quickly ?

It does pass quickly.. but if they get red you need to get seen to.

not red but really lumpy -even huge lumps in my armpit

dd2 isnt tongue tied but doesnt latch on well. I found parts of my breast werent draining properly - putting her on in lots of different positions helped.

MMm.. I think I'd ask a MW to check it out just in case..

Sounds like it might be blocked ducts.. Not a big deal but much easier to deal with if you have help. Call them.

Agree with mamsnet, get it checked just in case - if it is blocked ducts you don't want it turning to mastitis.

I remember my huge canonballs, bloody hell it was uncomfortable but it did pass.

Re the lumps in armpits, I didn't have lumps there but I did have quite bad pain in armpits (near to boob) everytime I had let down for some weeks.

It's really not an easy stage but it will pass, things will soften up and get much easier.

Good luck and congratulations.

thank you very much- it's so reassuring to hear it all passes. Today it's a bit better. They are still big and very full but less lumpy and not so sore. No red patches so don;t think there is any mastitis at the moment. Midife is here tomorrow so will get her to check them out.
DS is feeding better since the tongue tie snip and he didn't even cry when he had it done !

Glad to hear it mouse, and also great about DS. Sure boobs will be much better in a few days, then eventually they will go soft again.

Ooooooooooh the memories. Ouch.

The best tip I got was to try and latch DS on "around the clockface", so he took milk from all angles. This is difficult when they are so tiny, but I had a couple of really tenacious blocked ducts at that stage (you can feel the lumpy bits if this is the case) and putting DS on to feed with his chin over the lumpy area, having gently massaged the lump (towards the nipple) first cleared them quickly. You may need assistance to support baby for this.

I still remember DP and I in the middle of the night wrangling this sleepy, jaundiced baby into weird and wonderful positions. It would have been funny if it wasn't day 4 with the resulting floods of tears!

sobloodytired that is a really good tip, thank you. There are definitely a couple of blocked ducts. Will try rotating him later, something to look forward to then....