Milk supply

[Bluesycamore]

My beautiful baby is 7 days old. EBF at the moment. My milk came in day 3 and since then I’ve been waking up with pretty full and tender boobs so have been waking my little one to feed as I don’t want to become engrorged. Is this the wrong thing to do, am I setting up some sort of terrible routine here where both baby and boobs won’t adapt to any length through the night ?

Congratulations on both baby and getting bfeeding going so well!

This is all normal except (and another congrats on this) having a new born who sleeps so well they have to be woken! It'll take a few days for your milk supply to settle to demand. The way it works is the more you feed, the more milk your breast will make. So don't pump because that will stimulate more milk production at this point. I slept with a folded large Muslim to catch the night time let downs when my little one slept 3-6 hour stretches. You could also do a bra and pads.

If your good supply continues I would consider in 6 weeks or so getting one of those silicon bulb pumps (nature bond for eg) to collect let down milk during feeds so you can freeze and experiment with bottles or donations. But for now it sounds like you're doing great. Enjoy the sleep and your cuddles!

Omg. A large folded muslin. Not a Muslim. Whoops.

Anyway, your boobs will adjust to your little ones frequency of feed so just hang in there for now. If they are doing 5-6 hours at night that's fine. Great for you! And it may not last so make the most of it

Has he regained his birth weight? I was advised to feed every 3 hours (measured from start of last feed to start of the next feed) until they regain their birth and then it’s fine to leave them until they wake or if you become uncomfortable. Feeding is a two way relationship and I was happy to provide milk on demand but DD2 also had to do her job and feed if I felt uncomfortable.

Thanks so much @sauceyorange I actually have no idea how long she would go at night herself as I’be been waking her after 3hrs to relieve my boobs ha. I think I’ve become fearful of engorging and mastitis so maybe should try and last it out longer. Think she feeds about every couple of hours in the day so maybe this is what the boobs are used to! Thanks for the tip on the bulb pump I will definitely look into getting one of those

Hi @Fitforforty she was weighed at 5 days and was 3% down on her birth weight. She’ll be weighed again at 10 days so can check then and will ask the midwife too. They are quite uncomfortable in the night so that they wake me up so I suppose part of it is I’m awake and sore so might as well see if she fancies some!

I'd leave her at night then if you can manage and feed her a bit more frequently in the day to make up for it, at least until the next weigh in. Best of luck!

But if you're up anyway no harm in getting her to take some/ hand expressing if you can be bothered

My daughter was like this, she was so sleepy! She was actually jaundiced and I don't know if this affected her. I had to really really wake her up or she would not feed, after latch on but then fall back asleep and my poor boobs were begging to be emptied! Got through it though and she was more wakeful at about 2 weeks old. It's important to feed as often as possible especially such early days. You are not setting yourself up for anything, apart from a good milk supply! Congratulations!

@TheVolturi she seems to be taking lots it just seems my boobs are in overdrive! Sleeping on my side and wake up as they’ll be really full and sore. Great to hear it all settled down for you that’s reassuring - she’s probably going to start waking on her own soon after a week of post birth sleepiness. Will try and relax and just go with the flow

If she's regained her birth weight, hand express a bit off to relieve the pressure and feed her when she wakes. Just to help prevent any mastitis or blocked ducts.

I used to pump when my little boy slept through longer than expected, that's an idea but just enough to take the pressure off. Otherwise you may creating more of a supply and demand situation.

I used to do this too! My boobs would get so full I would try and feed my sleeping baby so I wouldn’t get engorged boobs as well. But now I would just pump it out and store it in the fridge or freezer. Or even put it into a bottle and feed baby with bottle if you wanted to.

The other night my boobs leaked so much I think I changed my breast pads like 5 times!
I’m waiting for the day my boobs stop leaking and I can stop wearing breast pads 😅

Don't wake her! If you're really uncomfortable hand express a tiny amount so you feel more comfortable but your body will soon produce the perfect amount and you'll become less and less engorged. If she's sleeping well she must be full up and content x x