Full of Milk.....

[Mummaof2]

This is my first of what im sure will be many BF questions?

Cooper only feeds from one breast at each feed during the day but at his last feed for the night he will feed from both. My problem is though that during the day both breasts are full with milk. I do alternate sides when he feeds but am always left with one breast full of milk. I dont have a breast pump and have tried hand expressing but this only seems to help relieve some of the pressure for a short period of time not until his next feed.

Is there an easier way or something that might help hand expressing till i get a breast pump????

[Rainbowbrite]

Have you tried expressing in the shower, that used to help me a bit. But never did relieve all the pressure :)

RB

[Mummaof2]

No i havnt tried that. I have tried putting a hot face washer on the full breast while trying to express.

[Baby Girl]

Rest assured, they will settle down. It takes a few weeks but they will get used to the routine of his feeding.

In the meantime, expressing a little milk in the shower is a great way to relieve SOME of the pressure. I also found that just having a warm shower was a great way to get some relief as the warm water seemed to help and my boobs used to leak on their own in the shower anyway!!

[AM]

I NEVER had any luck at all hand expressing, but found a couple of articles which may be of help to you.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T024900.asp

Some photos

http://www.breastfeeding.com/helpme/helpme_images_expression.html

http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,42sn,00.html

[Mummaof2]

Thanks ApprenticeMomma hopefully using the right technique will help

[Goosie22]

I see your DS was only born recently that makes him and your milk supply in the very early days.

Your milk supply will settle down shortly trying to express for comfort is a good thing as long as you don't stimulate the breast too much don't massage your breasts in the shower express but only for comfort. Try not to let the hot shower beat down on your breast while showering just let the water run over your shoulder.Between feeds you could use cold compresses or cabbage leaves which ever you prefer. while feeding massage your breasts and compress to increase the drainage you could continue to use the warm compresses while feeding. Also unlimited access to the breast is required to provide optimal drainage and nutrition to baby. Personally when going through this I just put the baby to the breast more to ease the pressure.


And you could do a search at the ABA site to find other mums in your situation
http://www.lrc.asn.au/forum/

[lukaelmo]

Hey Mum 2B, I agree with Goosie and Smchell, your boobs should settle after a few weeks.

My boobs went a bit wild for the first few weeks and were quite painful at times. I also just popped little dude on if one boob was about to burst, regardless of feed times because I couldn't express either - even with a pump!

Now, almost 6 months on, they hardly ever get explosive. Unfortunately they are not huge knockers anymore either!

Good luck and hang in there.

[JanetF]

Great advice. I have two questions for you :)

Is there a reason bubs is only having one boob at a time? Other than that's all he wants, of course :)

And when you say "last feed" what do you mean? At his age he needs to be fed 24-7 so that means overnight at least every couple of hours. The more access he has to the breast the better and sooner your supply will be regulated.

I pumped a little off to relieve discomfort when my milk first came in and my baby was fed round the clock as they need to be so my supply was quickly regulated. Let me know about the other stuff!

[xkwzit]

Hi Mum2B
My paed and LC both advocated feeding from only one side only during a feed. So that's what I did. Your boobs will get used to it and I was not uncomfortable once the initial excess supply was sorted (apart from some first feeds in the morning after a good stretch of sleep :D ).

It can take up to 6 weeks for your supply to be sorted out - so shouldn't be long now.

Cheers

[Mummaof2]

Great advice. I have two questions for you :)

Is there a reason bubs is only having one boob at a time? Other than that's all he wants, of course :)

And when you say "last feed" what do you mean? At his age he needs to be fed 24-7 so that means overnight at least every couple of hours. The more access he has to the breast the better and sooner your supply will be regulated.

I pumped a little off to relieve discomfort when my milk first came in and my baby was fed round the clock as they need to be so my supply was quickly regulated. Let me know about the other stuff!

JanetF

What i mean by last feed for the night is the last feed for that day before he wakes at early the next morning.

[JanetF]

I realise that :) I'm wondering what the gap is as they need to be fed 24/7 and not only is that for optimal nutrition but to regulate supply as well. Feeding from one side only is ok if that's all the baby wants but not as a policy decision. To regulate supply babies need unfettered breast access 24 hours a day. That's what boobs and babies are designed for :)

[poshBecks]

They told me at the hosp to only feed from one side so that you completely empty it then offer the side if they want more. I let Ella sleep as long as she wants at night. If she sleeps 5 or 6 hours thats okay with me coz i know she's getting plenty through the day.

[Mummaof2]

I realise that :) I'm wondering what the gap is as they need to be fed 24/7 and not only is that for optimal nutrition but to regulate supply as well. Feeding from one side only is ok if that's all the baby wants but not as a policy decision. To regulate supply babies need unfettered breast access 24 hours a day. That's what boobs and babies are designed for :)

JanetF

After his 10pm/11pm feed Cooper will sleep anything from 4-5.5hrs before he wakes for his next feed.

[Mummaof2]

They told me at the hosp to only feed from one side so that you completely empty it then offer the side if they want more. I let Ella sleep as long as she wants at night. If she sleeps 5 or 6 hours thats okay with me coz i know she's getting plenty through the day.


Becky

I was told the same thing. I also let Cooper sleep as long as he wants during the night as well.