Any tips on slowing down the flow

I have a ridiculously fast flow, always have and none of my babies have ever coped with it. Both boys flat out refused to drink from me from about 6 weeks and ended up being bottle fed. My eldest daughter I fed for 14 months but she constantly choked on the flow until she was about 10 months old. I always pull baby off for let down but it doesn't fix the problem, they still choke even after let down. My beautiful new little bub who is now nearly 4 weeks old is having major issues because of my flow. She seems to have really bad reflux (heading to doctor next week to confirm this) and the flow is aggravating this so much. She chokes and gags and you can hear massive amounts of wind pouring into her belly. She pulls off and on the breast continually and arches and writhes through feeds. She has a terrible latch and clicks during feeds. My boobs ache and throb after each feed I think because of vasospasm caused by her poor latch. And my nipples are so sore. I have tried pulling her off for let down and expressing the first part of the feed off but it makes no difference, it's still too fast. I have no engorgement or oversupply so it's not being caused by that. She is in terrible pain after every feed and is impossible to settle. The only time she sleeps more than an hour at a time is after a bottle of formula I give her at night (please don't judge me, I'm trying to recover from a c-section, an infection from the c-section, the flu and 3 other small children, I needed some sleep). She feeds happier off the bottle with no choking and gagging (although she still clicks) and she still has reflux afterwards but it's not as extreme and she is much easier to settle and will then sleep for about 4hrs. I think a lot of our issues would be helped if my milk wasn't running out so fast. I have no help from next week and have no idea how I am going to look after my other children if I still have a screaming newborn all day long. Please help.

For those who are going to suggest it she won't settle in a baby carrier either and I can't really manage it for long periods anyway due to the c-section and we have tried posture feeding and it doesn't make a scrap of difference.

Bummer, I was going to suggest posture feeding. what positions have you tried? I recently saw a demo by a mum who lay on her back with just a bag slightly raising her head, with baby lying on his tummy on her tummy to feed. I only ask, cos this was quite different to what I thought of as posture feeding.

have you spoken to anyone from the ABA?

I used to lay down or recline in a chair until the flow was established. It stopped that choking rush of milk. Sometimes in the morning I needed to stay reclined for the whole feed. Expressing a little beforehand may help with the initial rush. I know it's not easy with 4.

I had vasospasm with my 3rd child. I sympathise greatly with you. That hurts so bad :(. Kellymom is a great breastfeeding site with excellent attachment tips ect. I used it with my 3 youngest (didnt have the Internet with my first lol)

Buggered if I can ten remember the cream. Lansinoh?? Fantastic stuff.

Hope it all eases and becomes easier for you soon

Oh dear :( Sounds like you have super-effective boobs there Courts!

Have you tried the block feeding, like eutra suggested? I might start with 2-3hrs per side, then work up in half hour increments if it isnt helping.

Have you asked your CHN? What about an LC?

You mentioned you've tried different positions - I was going to suggest using gravity to help, did you give that one a go? So bubs feeds uphill?

Does she take both sides during a feed?

Sorry for all the questions... Trying to help, really :)

Definitely feeding while reclining helped me. I also think sage tea was suggested as well.

I have tried lying flat on my back but she still chokes, and it's nearly impossible for me to get up from that position. I have tried sitting up with her in basically a vertical position, but that doesn't help either. I don't let her on during let down but honestly barely any milk comes out with let down. I try to avoid expressing because it causes engorgement but even if I do express some off she still chokes. This time around my boobs are as soft as when I am not breastfeeding, they never even feel full and yet my let down and flow seems more forceful than ever before. Let down is incredibly painful, it feels like hundreds of needles trying to push their way through my nipple.

Poor baby girl is just so miserable. I can't leave her alone for a minute. And I have been so sick since she was born that I am just so exhausted. I can't stand having my other kids anywhere near me because all my energy is going into bub.

Sounds like you need to block feed. Can you give that a go? Only feed from one side per feed, for 2-3hrs. How many times is she feeding in 24 hours?

Yes I do block feeding as dd wants to feed constantly as she will only feed for about 5-10 minutes before she in too much pain otherwise. So she is feeding about every 90 mins. I use the same side for every 3-4 hrs. The midwives have been visiting but the chn doesn't visit for another 2 weeks. I have considered seeing a LC but he one in this town charges a small fortune to go see.

Yes I have way to effective boobs, even being really sick last week and barely eating or drinking anything dd2 still put on 300g. Still it's always felt more like a curse than a blessing because all of my babies have been incredibly unhappy whilst breastfeeding. :(

Oh hugs that sounds hard. Just wanted to say I have no suggestions as I am finding my own way with this bf business but wanted to say I take my hat to you as you are managing so many kids and no way would you be judged by me for formula :). I did the same thing once a day when I got home from hospital because my nipples were so sore and bubs wasn't attaching properly. We all do the best we can x

Can you check the attachment info on Kelly mom and also the ABA website, try to fix her attachment? If you give the ABA a call, the counsellor should be able to help work out if she is attaching correctly? That might be compounding the fast let-down problem.

Hi,

it sounds frustrating. I would recommend seeing a good lactation consultant. It’s likely that there is more to this than meets the eye and a good LC has a wealth of tips, tricks, strategies and information at hand for situations like this. In itself, clicking isn’t a huge problem - it’s your baby’s clever way of releasing the suction to control flow - so she’s working in out! How have her weight gains been? Are there any allergies in either side of the family? Eczema? Asthma? (this pertains to the reflux) Was she full term?

Much as I am very pro-breastfeeding how does she go with a bottle of EBM?

I'm just thinking if its easier with bottle why not use breastmilk? At least while you are waiting to see someone?

My only suggestion was going to be to try feeding EBM if you want to continue breastfeeding. However, I know it would be extremely difficult to find time to express and then bottle feed with 4 kids, so its probably not much help. Sorry I don't have any better ideas....

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Hi,

it sounds frustrating. I would recommend seeing a good lactation consultant. It’s likely that there is more to this than meets the eye and a good LC has a wealth of tips, tricks, strategies and information at hand for situations like this. In itself, clicking isn’t a huge problem - it’s your baby’s clever way of releasing the suction to control flow - so she’s working in out! How have her weight gains been? Are there any allergies in either side of the family? Eczema? Asthma? (this pertains to the reflux) Was she full term?

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Her weight gains have been huge 250-300g every week so she is probably even getting too much milk. Allergies, I have chronic hayfever and some mild allergies to fruit. Both her older sister and brother do better on a lactose free milk. Her older sister has eczema and some digestive issues which we have still been unable to nail down a cause too. So yes there are some presence of allergies within the family. She was delivered via c-section at what they thought was 39 weeks but came out all wrinkly and dry so now they think they messed up my dates and she was overdue. Can't get in to see ou LC for 2 weeks so hopefully we can hang out until then. Joys of living in a small town.

Haven't tried a bottle of ebm yet, I've found not expressing is helping keep the engorgement I usually get away but I suppose I could try her on one.