Fast Milk Flow / Breast Refusal

In the past several days, DS seemed to refuse my right breast. He would latch on the breast just to latch off again after 1 or 2 minutes, screaming with mouth full of milk. Then my breast would start dripping milk quite heavily or sort of spraying milk all over his face. Before he pull back, I can hear him sucking and gulping milk … and when he swallowed a large amount of milk (I can usually hear that), he choked and pull back really quickly. Then he cried and still looked really hungry. Usually I will try to offer the same breast again & again (after burping him, calming him down, etc). Last time I struggled to offer my the right breast for one hour or so (he would only feed for 2 minutes each time) until I tried the left side.

I tried to feed him lying down a couple of times now. This helped a little bit, but he would still latch on and off with mouth full of milk (although not as often)

I did have a blocked milk duct on my nipple before, but not anymore (my GP helped to sort of un-block it). Not sure whether this contributed to the fast flow

Can you please help me with some suggestions? This tore me apart as I don’t want him to be hungry, while at the same time my breast’s getting engorged.

Try feeding him laying down.

Put some pillows behind you and recline right back. Place bub on your chest and the flow wont be as fast as its going "uphill". Your baby will choose the speed of the flow as he will need to work for it rather than the milk just filling his mouth

HTH

Agnes, might be worth ringing an ABA counsellor as they have an entire booklet dealing with oversupply and fast let down tips, including some particular positions to try.

In the short term I'd be trying hand-expressing through the really full-on let down then reattaching him once that has subsided a bit. Good luck!

I got this on the right (lefty was always slower and calmer) in the early weeks. DD would come off gasping and get milk sprayed into her face by my jetting boob! In the beginning i had masses so i'd give one boob for one feed, so every other feed i knew she'd be in for a drowning!

What i used to do is feed from the left (or less full-on) side and simultaneously pump from the full-on side, just one to two pumps a minute, letting the let-down milk jet into the pump on its own, rather than pumping hard to get it out. Then once the right had stopped jetting out and i knew DD wouldn't be drowned by it i would stop pumping.

So my feeds might look like this:

5am: feed from lefty
8am: feed from lefty to get let-down and pump off the jetting foremilk from righty, then switch sides and feed from righty
11am: feed from lefty
2pm: as 8am

and so on. I ended up with MASSES of stored EBM - if there was any left at the end of a feed i used to pump it into the same bag/pot/container as the jetting foremilk, so i ended up with about 10 full days worth of well-balanced (fore and hindmilk) feeds by 8 weeks.

Bec

Hoobley, that sounds like a really good idea … will definitely give it a go! I get this on the right as well, so what’s this with all the righty :) LOL
You mentioned you had this in the early weeks, can you recall when did it start to settle down?

Will also try some different positions (thanks Danni!)

MD, I did try to hand expressed but maybe I didn’t expressed long enough and the flow was still quite strong. Thanks for mentioning the booklet, I’ll give ABA a ring today

Agnes, I agree with those tips - the positioning and expressing mostly work well. And definitely ring the ABA. Mine settled down after about 3 months I think - but I know for others it was more like 6 weeks. I hope it won't be too long for you.

I have a similar issue and also with righty!!! LOL!
Noah doesnt refuse it but it is fast and he is gulping!
I am actually going to an ABA session tomorrow on supply so I will see if I get info there as well and pass it on..
good tips though ladies..

Wow thanks for the tips girls... my right boobie is the same too!!! Aiden too doesn't refuse it but gulps and coughs and sometimes gets cranky at it!!!
Pregpan I look forward to any tips that you might get :p

Around 10-12 weeks was when it settled but i think it was just that DD was big enough to handle it by then - i still had to use pads on righty until my supply started to go (health problems) when DD was 5 or 6 months old, even though i'd not needed a pad on lefty for ages - i used to put a pad both sides then switch lefty's the the right when i was binning the sodden one from righty away and give lefty a fresh one...lol

I also realise now that it became such habit that it could have been ok before then but i wasn't trying it out, just automatically pumping. The EBM was a boon for me as XP and i broke up when DD was 8 weeks old and all that EBM meant we didn't have to FF until she was 5 months and then i was because i was having problems with my supply and couldn't pump enough in her absence.

Bx

Hobbley, sorry to hear about your previous situation. Hope everything is going well now with you and DD. Good that the EBM helped! I think I need to express lots of EBM now, I am having some mastitis symptoms

If you have a red patch or streak appearing on your breast where the pain is, try positioning bubs so his chin is in line with it at the nipple. Does that make sense? So, draw an imaginary line fron the red/painful patch to the nipple and then attach him so his chin is pointing that way. WHen i had this i had to put DD on the bed and get and my hands and knees over her in order to manage (the streak was on top) but despite looking at me like, "mummy WHAT are you doing!?" she did drink and i think the hanging-down-boob + her position unblocked whatever it was inside and i never needed antibiotics - just one afternoon/evening of soreness and 1 night of feeding on my knees and feeling shivery and the next day i felt right again. You can also gently stroke the sore bit while DS feeds, but be careful - i found the pain made me want to press too hard (i'm a bit like that - press bruises to see if they hurt too...) and you can do more damage that way.

Best of luck with it. Take care of yourself.

Bx

PS - my situation is MUCH better, thankyou for caring you sweetheart! :) I have a new (utterly wonderful) DP and XP and i get on much better now we're not a couple.