Breastfeeding question

[coffeewithmilk]

Hi,
My baby was born on Wednesday and my milk has come in today. Its SO painful, lumpy lumps right up to my armpits.
When he's not feeding I still feel really engorged and sore. Does this go away or do I need to try hand express to get rid of the lumps?

Thank you

You need to get the milk yes until you feel comfortable. Not too much as you will make more and it’s a vicious cycle. Check he’s feeding efficiently too. I found the medela hand pump really useful.

Oh that sounds horrid - it can be quite uncomfortable when milk comes in but this sounds like a bit more than you'd usually expect. I'd make sure to feed as much as possible, and hand express to comfort if you need (I found doing it under the shower helped). You don't want to stay too engorged as it can lead to mastitis which is awful! I think warm and cold compresses can also help, and ibuprofen to ease the swelling.

Bless you, warm water or compress and hand express if you need to! I agree with pp about ibuprofen for swelling. Do reach out to your midwife or health visitor too if you’re in pain!

Congratulations on your new LO. She. Your milk comes in you can have a huge shift in hormones so don't worry if you're feeling a bit overwhelmed and emotional.

Like others have said, feed as much as you can and try some gentle hand expressing if you're becoming too engorged.

You can take paracetamol if you're very uncomfortable or in pain.

And ring one of the Breastfeeding Support Helplines to talk to a BFC about how you're feeling and to see if they have any tips.

Whenever mine hurt, I'd hand express (just squirt a bit into a muslin or sink tbh) for some relief.

At this point, it won't feel like it, but it's a good sign that your milk is increasing in volume which is what your baby needs rather than the small amounts of colostrum you've been making the last few days. As the above poster says, you don't want to express too much as it's a vicious cycle but equally you don't want to end up in more pain or worse, with mastitis.

Sometimes at this point the baby can be overwhelmed if it's accompanied by a fast let down? If there is coughing or spluttering about 10-20 seconds in, you could try pumping or hand expressing before feeding. I know you aren't an octopus but it can help to massage the breast a little where the milk ducts are lumpy whilst the baby is nursing too. The old wive's tale of frozen cabbage leaves seemed to work for me, perhaps as a placebo.

Babies create a bio-feedback to the mum through their saliva to tell Mum what they need so you should get some relief in about a few days. I know it's dreadfully uncomfortable but the best way is through it, engorgment will start to reduce and will adjust to feeling full about every 3 hours or so.
Congratulations on your baby!

And if no one else has mentioned it to you, kellymom website is a treasure trove of reliable advice on all things breastfeeding.

Massage your breasts in a hot shower/bath and hand express. You can focus on the lumpy areas and press down in swooping motions towards your nipples.

You'll feel the relief as you express some milk and get better at it with practice.

It does get easier over time ❤️

Thank you everyone for your replies.
Baby was really cluster feeding overnight so managed to decompress a lot of those lumps.
Will definitely try warm compress and shower this morning to try ease the rest out.
Really don't want it developing into mastitis.

Aren't women's bodies amazing!

Thanks again for all the advice & well wishes