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Saturday, September 17, 2011
Nursing
Now that Bennett and I have cottoned on to this nursing thing I need advice from those who have gone before.
How do I feed Bennett without showering both of us in breast milk? We both require a change after nearly every feed, surely this is not normal?
I soak through breast pads and tank tops constantly. If he's feeding on the right I often let down on the left - or vice versa - and it's so much milk I soak myself, him, the Boppy pillow (LOVE this, it's making breast feeding so easy for us), the couch, the rocker, anyone and anything nearby. J's suggestion was to try two breast pads so that's what we have going on this evening. Perhaps it will help?
I think we will do a little better once we manage to coordinate the whole let down/it's time to feed/latch now, baby! thing, but we seem to be far from that stage at the moment.
I have found that laying a burp cloth on my stomach that Bennett can rest against helps soak up a lot of the free flowing milk. A friend sent us these amazing, thick burp cloths which work perfectly for this purpose (thank you - I'll send a note soon!) but we soak through one every other feed or so.
How am I ever going to breast feed in public? I need a change of clothes, Bennett needs his face wiped off during, as well as after, the feed, he often needs a change of clothes too. This morning we had a less than stellar latching moment and Bennett came away with milk dripping off his nose and chin. He was none too pleased by this.
Any and all magic mama advice appreciated. I want to be able to breast feed without leaving the room, but for me to do that and be comfortable I need to be able to manage my cover as well as Bennett and right now that's just not possible. This completely natural thing is rather awkward at first, hmm? Pin It
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If I remember correctly, it got easier with time. Or should I say less with time. I remember at a certain point I no longer had to wear the breast pads. Then again, when I went back to work, I stopped pumping in the morning (which is when I had gotten a ton of extra stocked up) and I believe my supply overall went down. That's all I have, but it's been 3 years for me - yikes!
I had the same problem and ended up with a folded up washcloth in my bra for awhile! It will probably regulate with time, but Milkies are an awesome product that allow you to collect and save the milk from the side you aren't nursing on www.mymilkies.com Hope that helps =)
I had to wear burp clothes or a folded cloth diaper under my nursing tanks for the first couple months or so, because my let-down reflex was so strong and because your body doesn't regulate how much milk to produce until about 10-12 weeks. So it is very messy for awhile. I didn't even really use pads unless I was out for the first couple months. It does get a lot better, but not for awhile!
Glad the feeding is going so well, though! Sounds perfectly normal, from what I remember of the first few weeks/months. Also, when he's nursing on one side and you start to have let down, press on the other side to help stem the flow. www.kellymom.com is a fantastic resource on what to expect/troubleshooting with breastfeeding.
Your milk will regulate in a couple weeks. I had the same exact problem and when baby started sleeping 4 hours at night, I would soak my shirt, sheets, etc. Now I don't even use breast pads anymore at all. Give it a couple weeks and you will be whipping your milkers out any and everywhere! Oh and also, pumping increases your supply and will only make this problem worse. I would lose the pump if possible until baby is 4 weeks old. (I followed this advice from my LC and so glad I did!)
I definitely feed Carter more on demand, but my supply has evened out pretty well, but I also don't think I'm a huge over producer. I think it does get easier over time especially as you get more of a schedule with feeding. Your body finds that balance. Not sure what kind of breast pads you are using, but I found the only ones that worked for me were the disposable kind. I use the Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads and I've never leaked through them! (knock on wood). I tried the washable reusable ones and found them completely worthless. As you could completely tell I was wearing them and I would leak often. Not a good look out in public. :) I'm so happy to hear he is doing well nursing!
You need to get a Milkie! You wear it on the side you're not breastfeeding on and it catches the milk that leaks and you can save it for a bottle! :) I got mine at the mommy store at the hospital with all the breastfeeding supplies but you can also order online http://www.mymilkies.com/
The only thing that would help would be to pump with a double pump for a minute to get past that pesky let down. the problem is that this would also likely increase your supply, which is probably something you don't want at this point. I like the two pads suggestion. I also layered a lot in the beginning with A, bec I frequently had little spots on my shirt. Luckily he was born in October.
I just found that it got better with time. I now that doesn't help too much right now, but i still nurse and I haven't worn a pad for a few months now.
Actually in the very beginning A was totally gulping, so I would actually hand express a little into a burp cloth before starting to feed him. Not a lot just the real squirting part. And then just shove the cloth into the other side to help control that part.
If you think you have a real oversupply you can block feed too.
I highly recommend the websites, kellymom.com for all info nursing related and www.thebabywearer.com for support from moms who BF, and just are wonderful in general. They are the reason I am nursing at all.
I had this problem too until Ellie was a about a month old. I would take a flannel baby blanket (those real thin ones) and put them into the top of the tank top and drape it down into my stomach and onto the boppy. It looked ridiculous but it worked. I also put a cloth diaper rag into the unused to soak but anything. I wish I'd known about the milkies- they should awesome. Also putting pressure on the unused side at the the time of latch helps too! Good luck!
sounds like you have a great milk supply, that's wonderful. Your milk supply will even out with time. Early on I remember waking up with a soaked shirt many times. I also use disposable pads, even now. I had quite a good milk supply early on, I think because he was cluster feeding. I think I also had an oversupply and my lactation consultant suggested I try block feeding. I always fed on demand when I block fed. Newborn babies should not be on any kind of feeding schedule, they should eat when hungry. Here is an article that my lactation consultant sent me that explains block feeding.
http://www.ivillage.com/oversupply-and-breastfed-baby-when-you-have-too-much-breast-milk-ivillage/6-a-127428
I swear by www.mymilkies.com!! That way all that wonderful milk isn't in a pad or washcloth :)
I'm sure you've already had lots of great comments, but I haven't read through them all. What you're experiencing is normal. Not universal, mind you, but normal. You have a strong letdown reflex, is all.
What worked well for me in the early weeks was to use a pre-fold cotton diaper and basically wrap my unused breast in it while nursing. A diaper will absorb infinitely more liquid than a breast pad. Breast pads are pretty useless for this "problem." If you don't have prefold diapers, a towel works well too.
With a little practice (and a lot of spilled milk at first while you experiment) you can nurse on one side and pump on the other; that way you can build up your freezer stash. :)
Your milk supply and your letdown reflex will both normalize with time. You won't always spray like a fire hose every time you nurse. Really. :) I wish I could tell you how long it takes. I didn't have this problem with my most recent baby, but I had it in spades with my second one. I remember it well but it was 16 years ago and I don't recall how long it lasted.
Don't try to discreetly nurse in public yet. Either decide you don't care who sees what, or find a private place (at least the weather is cooperating with sitting in the car to nurse), or stay home. Give yourself a couple of weeks for this overactive letdown thing to settle down before you tackle that next challenge.
Looks like everyone is saying what I would say. Evens out with time. Be warned though, anytime he goes through a growth spurt this will happen again to an extent. I have a couple of pretty nursing covers you could try if you like. I don't use them much. I wish I could tell you more, but maybe we get back, if you don't mind I can see how your feeding him and maybe be able to help more with the spraying problem. In the meantime, remind yourself that breastmilk is an antiseptic (if you have cracked/sore nipples just express a little and rub it on them.) and good for the skin. :) Sorry though you are going through so many clothes.
I'm happy for you that it's going so well. At least you know he's not going hungry! I agree with everyone, it will regulate in time. Just keep feeding on demand and your body will figure out how much is needed. Until then try to collect the milk and if you don't need it now freeze it for when you do. A couple of us have just started a b/f blog if you want to check it out...if you want to contribute a story or anything for it just let me know, I'm trying to make it open to everyone.
mamasdinerondemand@blogspot.com
Thanks everyone! These suggestions are so helpful. I switched to a different breast pad, which has helped a lot and I've started hand expressing a bit before we feed. It's making it easier for B to latch on. J is out picking up cabbage for me right now. Cabbage helped with engorgement pains when I was waiting for my milk to dry up after Charlotte died. I don't want to pump right now, because I don't need the milk, but it helps B latch on if I pump a little. I hope the cabbage leaves will reduce the engorgement enough that I can feed without pumping or hand expressing beforehand. Thanks again for the suggestions. We made it the entire night without needing a change of clothes!!
Hey there- it took me a couple of weeks to get the whole breastfeeding under control without drenching my kids and me with milk! I did not leave the house without my baby during that time. I remember when I was three weeks postpartem, my hubby and I went out to sushi and just the thought of my baby, I leaked through two breast pads! So, one suggestion I have is giving it time to normal out and during that time, I used a wash cloth against my other breast that was not feeding at the time, because I would also let down and drench my babies. I had plenty of milk, it sounds like you do too! He looks great, good job!!
I used towels or thick wash clothes. Eventually your milk supply will even out and it won't be a torrential flood every time you nurse, ha ha.
Sorry I'm late to this, but wanted to chime in and say it will (or at least should) even out with time. It certainly did for me. I can't say when, but once the whole supply/demand thing is sorted and boobs and bubba find a rhythm, it just sorts itself out. Good problem to have though, you know there must be plenty!
Love the idea of those milk savers which was suggested below. Brilliant. Oh and for what it's worth, I'm not having any of those issues this time around. So if you go back for rainbow baby number two as I did, then it might not be as bad. My body seems to have a better handle on things this time and things clicked more quickly for Juliet as well.
xo
My sister would pump on one side while breastfeeding on the other.
I used cloth diapers - soft, we already had them around, and they're made to be absorbent. The Milkies sound great - I wish I'd known about them - but I still recommend the cloth diapers in a pinch for at-home nursing. They also work well if you get to a point where you're nursing while lying down - Dot and I ended up taking a lot of naps this way and those cloth diapers saved our sheets a lot of laundering!
As others have mentioned, the double let-down lessens with time. Having said that, it still happens to me sometimes (though there's much, much less volume) when I nurse my 19 mo toddler, so I've found breast pads to be really helpful.
I had WAY too much milk and when I would let down, Noah would pull off because it would choke him. Then, because it didn't stop flowing, we'd both be soaked. I put a towel undeneath him and between us to help soak it up. I also started expressing before I fed to "ease the load".
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