Lucy in the sky with diamonds.
Well heelllooooooooooo Jessica Rabbit! When my milk came in, I had my back to Dp - said "check THESE out" sucked my guts in, turned around.......and his eyes POPPED OUT. Man, they were up to my chin!
And I used to leak out one side (sometimes spray) when bubs was feeding from the other. I used to give the girls a bit of a massage in the shower when they became too hard, i was easier for me to hand express a little with nice warm water. Just enough to make them soft so bubs could latch easier.
Whe my milk first came in and my boobs were as hard as rocks like yours are, I expressed a bit until they felt comfortable. It was amazing how much I got from just a few squeezes of the pump! I just froze the milk to use later on
Hope they settle down down soon hun. Shouldn't be too much longer!
Well bit different for me because i WANTED to fill my freezer, so when i was full up and hard i used to feed DD from one side and pump from the other (as you note, the let-down is bilateral which meant i barely had to pump while she was feeding, it just ejects out with light suction!) until she'd finished feeding. She never took more than one BB for the first month anyway (i had masses then) and i ended up with 5 full days worth of milk in the freezer by the 9th week!
I didn't pump every feed, but always the morning ones (was always more full in the mornings) and always the dream feed (because she always took least then).
Two words of warning though:
1) it can take a bit longer for your supply to settle if you pump every feed (as your boobs go on thinking you need all the milk you take) - this didn't bother me and in fact my over-supply meant that i could go on feeding that bit longer when my thyroid failed and my milk supply dropped off suddenly around 4 months. Whenever i got annoyed with having over-supply i'd pump a bit less, and when she went to having 2 boobs each feed i'd give her one, pump the foremilk off the other, then burp her and give her the hind milk off the pumped boob and pump whatever was left in the suckled boob. Worked great for us, no colic or anything.
2) in the early weeks (4-6ish, from memory) there is still colostrum IN your milk. This is because the bub goes on needing the protein and high levels of antibody, and also because boobs aren't taps, so milk comes in "as well" rather than "instead" - this is all fine but colostrum is mildly laxative (helps to clear the meconium from their bowels), so if you DO give her freezer EBM in 2 months that was pumped when she was a week old, she might have a runny nappy - remember not to fret if that happens.
Bx
Registered User
HI,
Congratulations! Good on you. Now I have to go and find the thread and read all about it.
Most mums tend to somewhat overproduce. At this stage your milk supply is driven by your hormones (in a few weeks, "supply and demand" will take over)
If your baby is asleep or full and your breasts are uncomfortably full, express. Express enough so that they are soft and manageable. Often at this age, babe will be "full" after the first breast always offer the second breast, but you may find you need to express the other side. Keep that milk flowing. If your breasts still seem hot afterwards, put an icepack on them - or gently dampen a disposable nappy and freeze it - it will feel great on the books
Talk soon
Barb
Life Subscriber
Sarah, when my milk came in with Tom, I was just about crying in pain my bbs were so sore and uncomfortable. Because I had had the same thing with Jack and gotten mastitis, the mws suggested a once-off full express. I got over 400mls out - you should have seen the look on the mws face when she saw it, and then when I told her I'd run out of bottles and had to tip some down the sink as well! And the new mw in the morning came in and told me my milk supply was the talk of the ward LOL.
It sure felt better at the time, and I don't actually think it took any longer for my supply to settle down then it did with Jack - both times took a few agonising days. But then it settles down and feels so much better. So I guess the point of all this rambling is don't be too scared to express enough off for comfort. It's not likely to delay the settling down phase and it's well worth it to ease the pain.
GL, I hope it settles down really soon for you - and congrats on bfing! Top job!!
BellyBelly Life Subscriber
Yay for all that milk Sarah! Just express away until you're comfortableI had way too much milk for my prem, but I still sat at the pump after each feed. Unfortunately the hospital fridge broke and i had to chuck my massive stock of milk.
LOL Manta - my supply was the talk of the ward too coz I'd pump 200mls in a few minutes on one side. I couldve done more, but I was too lazy to change bottles LMAO.
I actually love the feeling of the baby drinking from an engorged boob.. kinda satisfying feeling like squeezing a big zit LOL. OK.. that sounded weird.. I'll go now.
Registered User
Thats exactly how I would describe it too
BellyBelly Member
Sarah - are you offering both breasts ? I always found if my right boob was full and DD was sucking on left boob, i would detach and latch her on to my fuller boob. Even if she doesnt drain it (which she wont at this age) it does relieve the 'full' feeling a bit....
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