Help - am I creating oversupply? (long, sorry)

[shelbyann]

Right now, I am 50% pumping/bottle feeding DD (3 weeks) and 50% (trying to) BF. I have been pumping since day 1 since she spent a few days in the NICU. My milk came in quite early and I've always had abundant supply, making more than she eats on a daily basis. (We currently have 100+ oz in the freezer in addition to a couple of days supply in the fridge.) I've met with two LCs and neither one of these have seemed to think this is a problem, just that it's great I'm making so much milk. Right side produces much more than left side - typically in a 10-min pump, I'll get 3+ ounces from righty and 2oz from lefty.

BF has always been really hard for us, in terms of getting DD to latch. She initially had a tongue tie which we corrected when she was just a few days old. That helped some, but I still basically cannot get her to open her mouth wide enough to latch on unless she is screaming. So that sucks, but was more or less working until a few days ago. We did a weighed feeding with the LC last week and she got 2+ oz feeding that way, so I was just fine dealing with the screaming each time I initiated a feeding.

Now, I cannot get her to latch on righty (the bigger producer) at all. She seems like she's choking when she tries, which makes me think the milk is coming too quickly or too much volume for her. So she just eats on the left and that seems to be enough for her. But as a result, righty gets really engorged, which of course makes the problem worse until I "reset" things by pumping. But I'm hoping to drop to just a couple of pumping sessions a day, and none in the MOTN. I need more sleep! 

The last couple of nights, I've dealt with this by feeding her, putting her back down, then quickly pumping the right side with a hand pump to relieve the engorgement. Again, this works fine, but between changing, feeding, soothing, getting her down, and then pumping and having to go downstairs to put the milk away, etc, I'm up for well over an hour with each wake up, and left with very little time to sleep between. (She wakes every 2.5 hours at night, and my H helps with the first wake-up, but I try to take the remaining ones so he can sleep because he has to work.) I can't simultaneously pump and feed her because I need both hands to feed her, at least right now. She pushes off if I don't keep constant pressure on the back of her neck.

This morning, after her wake up, DD magically fell back asleep before even eating and I gratefully tried to nap a bit longer too. I woke up half an hour later with my entire right side soaked though my sleep bra, nursing pad, and shirt. It was so gross and frustrating, I felt like I was being punished for trying to get some extra sleep, LOL. Not rational, I know. But it really upset me for some reason.

I guess I am just frustrated. Does it sound like one side is just making too much, and is there anything I can do about that? Or should I just deal with it, and wait until she grows in to eating a larger amount and being able to handle the faster flow? Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for having more than enough milk for her, and I don't want to decrease supply if she's going to need more later on, but it's frustrating to feel like I can't escape the MOTN pump no matter what I do.

[soozy87]

I don't know about the oversupply issue because I don't have that issue. I will say that something that made my life easier with MOTN pumping and feeding is bringing a cooler bag with ice packs down to the bedroom to store the milk in until he needs to eat or if I need to pump and he is not awake. It saved us a trip to the fridge.

[shelbyann]

Mar 14, 2014 9:38:31 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

My right boob produces more milk too.

Can you at least hand express some milk before having your DD latch? Sometimes when I'm really full, E has a hard time latching on.

Are you taking turns with starting a boob?

I do usually hand express a little to get some milk there to "get her interested" per our LC (LOL, doesn't work, she still yowls when I put the nipple near her). I feel like I'd have to hand express a LOT to make any difference with the engorgement, but I can try to do it a bit more.

I was taking turns on each side until she started refusing the right side.

[runblondie26]

Seems like righty is an overachiever for most people. Wonder if that also correlates to which side is your dominant side.  Anyway, I digress.

The over-supply issue seemed to regulate for me around 6 weeks. Build up your freezer stash while you can! Sorry I don't have better suggestions. We struggled with the choking, leaking, and breastmilk fountains too. The LC said to hand express or pump before nursing, but that's easier said than done when you have a screaming newborn that wants to EAT.RIGHT.NOW. Even when my baby let me sleep for longer stretches, my boobs wouldn't.

Sorry shelbyann. I think you're just going through normal BF'ing strife. You're doing a great job handling it. Hang in there!

[shelbyann]

Gah. I was afraid of that. I hate breastfeeding.

Seriously. This is so much worse than being PG, at least in terms of feeling like my body is not my own. 

[simpsongal]

I have an ample supply and started pumping a little in the morning - thinking it would be good to start building my stash. I started getting engorged and my letdown was choking LO. Needless to say, I put the pump away for now. If I were you I would back down on the pump. Try icing a little if you need to reduce your supply. Also, per KellyMom, I sometimes feed LO in a reclining position so the flow is a little slower. He still has to unlatch several times when I'm really full, but it helps.

Being very full, nearly engorged, can make latching difficult. At first, I would express some milk to make it easier but that's just going to make matters worse by increasing my supply. Things seem to have evened out a bit.

I plan on building my supply in the last couple weeks when J is older and maybe better to handle the wonky changes. Like you, I don't have supply issues, so I expect I can build my stash pretty quickly (I bought brewers yeast & flax meal just in case).

[havarti]

I took months until my over-achiever boobs weren't spraying all over the place when I fed ds. Keep a hand towel or cloth diaper handy to let the initial milk spray into and see if she'll latch after that. It's really frustrating to feel like you're producing what your baby needs and it's still not right! DS also usually fed a bit better if he was a little bit pissed off.

[Deleted]

It is SO early. I know it's hard to hear and do, but give it time. I had an oversupply for the first 6 months. And then my supply dropped and now I'm finally getting to the point (8.5 months) where I can go without pumping (supplementing with formula) during the day and just nursing when we're together. Your body will regulate over time.

[lolo]

Have you read about reverse pressure softening? That might help her to latch better initially.

[litasail]

If you have 100 oz in your freezer at 3 weeks, you definitely have an oversupply.

I would try to put away the pump as much as is possible. Soften your boob a bit by hand expressing before you feed and try block feeding (feeding on on side for several sessions in a row). Only feed on one side per feeding.

It may take a bit, but it will regulate. And as she grows and her mouth gets bigger, her latch will get better. You've just gotta hang in there for awhile to get to that point.

[shelbyann]

Ahhh. I know it sounds weird but as much as I hate the pump (in the MOTN) I am a little scared to ditch it entirely. My mom is staying with us for a little while and it is so helpful to my sanity to be able to have her take DD and feed her a bottle while I rest or eat or whatever. I have basically gone from exclusively pumping a week ago to 50/50 now and it's been really hard emotionally for me - sometimes I feel like the only way I can force myself to BF and get through the session is by knowing that the next feeding I can "skip" and just give her a bottle or have H or my mom feed her. I end up crying almost every time I BF her and I don't know if I can do that 10X a day. (Not to mention the fact that I'm really not comfortable being all half naked in our living room with house guests so I take DD up to the bedroom every time I feed her...it's kind of isolating.)

I guess if that is the best way to get this under control though I will do it.

This is so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.

[AmyRI]

I apologize for peppering you with questions but I promise to give a more thorough answer once I know more.

- How much are you adding to your stash each day? (subtract how much you pump from how much you feed in bottles, doesn't matter if you're saving in the fridge or freezer)
- Are her poops yellow/brown/dark green and pastey or seedy, or are they brighter green and liquidy?
- When you pump, are you just doing the right or doing both sides? If you pump just to relieve engorgement, do you pump until empty or just enough to soften?
- What holds are you using when nursing?
- Does she pop off and milk sprays or drips everywhere, or it just seems like a fast flow with how fast she swallows?

[kitty]

I'd bring a small cooler into the bedroom for the MOTN milk (to save a step) and hand express or pump whichever side she doesn't take just to comfort but try not to empty it or that will just drive the oversupply.

BFing with house guests is very isolating, especially in those first weeks when it is difficult or impossible to do discreetly. It will get better! Maybe your DH can hang out with you while you are nursing/pumping before work or in the evenings just to chat so it feels less lonely?

[mrshandy]

Mar 14, 2014 11:35:33 GMT -5 litasail said:

If you have 100 oz in your freezer at 3 weeks, you definitely have an oversupply.

I would try to put away the pump as much as is possible. Soften your boob a bit by hand expressing before you feed and try block feeding (feeding on on side for several sessions in a row). Only feed on one side per feeding.

It may take a bit, but it will regulate. And as she grows and her mouth gets bigger, her latch will get better. You've just gotta hang in there for awhile to get to that point.

I'm going to go with this. If you're sick of pumping, then just back off as much as possible. No reason to drive yourself crazy trying to build a supply at 3 weeks. You have plenty of time to do that. Plus the milk you pump at 3 weeks isn't necessarily what you want your LO to feed later.

It does get better and I hope it does for you soon.

[winemaker06]

I do agree that you have an oversupply. But separately from that, there was no getting through an entire night without becoming engorged at 3 weeks. It wasn't until 6 weeks or so, and even then I could only go 6 hours before I got sore and leaky. You're still regulating so it will take time.
Definitely try to pump less, and hopefully that helps!

Lefty is my overachiever and I'm left-handed... I wonder if it's the dominant side too! (though probably not)

[litasail]

Mar 14, 2014 11:47:44 GMT -5 shelbyann said:

Ahhh. I know it sounds weird but as much as I hate the pump (in the MOTN) I am a little scared to ditch it entirely. My mom is staying with us for a little while and it is so helpful to my sanity to be able to have her take DD and feed her a bottle while I rest or eat or whatever. I have basically gone from exclusively pumping a week ago to 50/50 now and it's been really hard emotionally for me - sometimes I feel like the only way I can force myself to BF and get through the session is by knowing that the next feeding I can "skip" and just give her a bottle or have H or my mom feed her. I end up crying almost every time I BF her and I don't know if I can do that 10X a day. (Not to mention the fact that I'm really not comfortable being all half naked in our living room with house guests so I take DD up to the bedroom every time I feed her...it's kind of isolating.)

I guess if that is the best way to get this under control though I will do it.

This is so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.

I hear you SO loud and clear. I remember those days so well. I used to DREAD every time I would have to park myself on the couch and feed DS for an hour+. The pump felt like such a relief and a break. So know that you are not alone in this and that what you're feeling is completely normal. And as to the isolating part, when DS was just two weeks old my MIL, SIL and her 3 month old came to visit for the weekend. We literally saw them for maybe 2 hours the entire weekend. The whole rest of the time I was up in the nursery feeding him, completely miserable. So I've been there.

You have to do what you can to stay sane. If your LO wasn't having trouble from it I would say keep pumping and worry about the oversupply later. But since she is, I think you have to cut back at least a bit. Perhaps start by pumping every third feeding instead of every other? As exhausting as it is, she's only going to get better and you're only going to get better if you get in plenty of baby to boob practice time. But if that's making you insane, then do what you gotta do. Try to find a "happy" medium. And hang in there and know that it really, really, really will get better. You are at the hardest part right now and doing a GREAT job.

[Stingyshark]

Hugs Shelby, bf is definitely one of the most challenging things I've ever encountered.

I also had a hard time getting DD to open her little mouth. She would open it up about as wide as a dime, and that is kind if hard to squeeze a boob into. It was even worse MOTN, for that reason (& bc my nips were so so sore) I pumped & fed a bottle MOTN.

I don't know if it's a coincidence, if she's just older now or if the adjustment helped, but very quickly after we had P adjusted at the chiro, she started opening her mouth wider and getting some good boob tissue in there.

Still had pain bc thrush, but it was some improvement. The LC & pediatric dentist we saw all commented that her jaw was very restricted which was why she was having difficulty opening her mouth.

The chiro said she favored her left side, and did not like looking to the right- after he mentioned it, it was very obvious- I also had a really hard time latching her on the left, which would make her look right. Coincidence, don't know. But she is doing a lot better now.

All that just to say that we've been there, and I can definitely commiserate with you.

As far as an oversupply. I sont know. I have a lretty decent stash in the freezer as I had to start pumping/giving a bottle when she was 4 days old. Up until about a week ago I would get up MOTN & pump bc I would be so engirged. I don't know what is up with my supply but I don't get up MOTN to pump and my boobs aren't usually super super giant . Maybe my supply is evening out?

If your miserable & don't want to bf, then don't. It is hard & frustrating & rage inducing. I can't even tell you how many times I've wanted to quit..

I know it doesn't feel like it, but it does get easier........eventually.

Longest comment ever. eta: looked a lot longer on my phone.

[mrshandy]

Mar 14, 2014 13:40:30 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

Mar 14, 2014 12:23:30 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

I'm going to go with this. If you're sick of pumping, then just back off as much as possible. No reason to drive yourself crazy trying to build a supply at 3 weeks. You have plenty of time to do that. Plus the milk you pump at 3 weeks isn't necessarily what you want your LO to feed later.

It does get better and I hope it does for you soon.

How come it may not what we want to feed our baby the 3 week pumping?

Your milk changes consistency as the baby gets older. You can probably notice a difference in the way your 2-3 week milk looks from your 6-8 week milk.

It's probably not going to hurt your baby or anything, but there is a difference between the two.

[AmyRI]

Mar 14, 2014 12:23:30 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

No reason to drive yourself crazy trying to build a supply at 3 weeks. You have plenty of time to do that. Plus the milk you pump at 3 weeks isn't necessarily what you want your LO to feed later.

I disagree with not wanting to feed 3-week milk later. Sure, it's different than later milk, but both are great sources of nutrition and better than formula according to the WHO. Also, she can start using up the older milk in occasional bottles and pumping and freezing fresh milk to continually "update" her freezer stash. This should be done long-term anyway to keep the milk from spoiling before it gets used.

I'm sure I sound nitpicky, but I don't want people thinking that they're doing something bad by feeding early milk to an older baby. If possible, directly nursing or freshly expressed milk is best, but previously frozen breast milk is great, too.

[mrshandy]

Mar 14, 2014 13:57:58 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Mar 14, 2014 12:23:30 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

No reason to drive yourself crazy trying to build a supply at 3 weeks. You have plenty of time to do that. Plus the milk you pump at 3 weeks isn't necessarily what you want your LO to feed later.

I disagree with not wanting to feed 3-week milk later. Sure, it's different than later milk, but both are great sources of nutrition and better than formula according to the WHO. Also, she can start using up the older milk in occasional bottles and pumping and freezing fresh milk to continually "update" her freezer stash. This should be done long-term anyway to keep the milk from spoiling before it gets used.

I'm sure I sound nitpicky, but I don't want people thinking that they're doing something bad by feeding early milk to an older baby. If possible, directly nursing or freshly expressed milk is best, but previously frozen breast milk is great, too.

True. I'm sure it's fine. I just don't think people should stress themselves out trying to create a freezer supply at 3 weeks since your milk is still maturing and changing consistency.

[shelbyann]

Mar 14, 2014 12:18:54 GMT -5 kitty said:

I'd bring a small cooler into the bedroom for the MOTN milk (to save a step) and hand express or pump whichever side she doesn't take just to comfort but try not to empty it or that will just drive the oversupply.

BFing with house guests is very isolating, especially in those first weeks when it is difficult or impossible to do discreetly. It will get better! Maybe your DH can hang out with you while you are nursing/pumping before work or in the evenings just to chat so it feels less lonely?

I will definitely try the cooler thing. Two less trips up and down the stairs doesn't sound like much but in the MOTN I'll take it.

[shelbyann]

Mar 14, 2014 12:14:29 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

I apologize for peppering you with questions but I promise to give a more thorough answer once I know more.

- How much are you adding to your stash each day? (subtract how much you pump from how much you feed in bottles, doesn't matter if you're saving in the fridge or freezer)
- Are her poops yellow/brown/dark green and pastey or seedy, or are they brighter green and liquidy?
- When you pump, are you just doing the right or doing both sides? If you pump just to relieve engorgement, do you pump until empty or just enough to soften?
- What holds are you using when nursing?
- Does she pop off and milk sprays or drips everywhere, or it just seems like a fast flow with how fast she swallows?

No problem - thanks for listening!

- How much are you adding to your stash each day? (subtract how much you pump from how much you feed in bottles, doesn't matter if you're saving in the fridge or freezer) Probably around 10 oz a day on average
- Are her poops yellow/brown/dark green and pastey or seedy, or are they brighter green and liquidy? Yellow, pasty, seedy
- When you pump, are you just doing the right or doing both sides? If you pump just to relieve engorgement, do you pump until empty or just enough to soften? I'm not sure whether they're empty or not. I'm not even sure how I'd know that! In a standard pumping session I had been pumping both sides for 15 min (double pump) because that's what the LC I met with said to do. Lately, if I'm pumping during the day I've been doing more like 10 min...and if I'm using the hand pump in the MOTN it's just to relieve the engorgement on the right side but I'll still get 2-3 oz easily without really trying.
- What holds are you using when nursing? Cross cradle. The first LC I met with had me using football, which never really worked, but the second LC had be try cross cradle and it's much easier to control her head and get her latched that way.
- Does she pop off and milk sprays or drips everywhere, or it just seems like a fast flow with how fast she swallows? No spraying that I have seen. Lots of dripping. We are both all sticky and gross after a typical BF session.

[shelbyann]

Mar 14, 2014 14:04:20 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Mar 14, 2014 13:57:58 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

I disagree with not wanting to feed 3-week milk later. Sure, it's different than later milk, but both are great sources of nutrition and better than formula according to the WHO. Also, she can start using up the older milk in occasional bottles and pumping and freezing fresh milk to continually "update" her freezer stash. This should be done long-term anyway to keep the milk from spoiling before it gets used.

I'm sure I sound nitpicky, but I don't want people thinking that they're doing something bad by feeding early milk to an older baby. If possible, directly nursing or freshly expressed milk is best, but previously frozen breast milk is great, too.

True. I'm sure it's fine. I just don't think people should stress themselves out trying to create a freezer supply at 3 weeks since your milk is still maturing and changing consistency.

Good to know! 

I am definitely not trying to build a stash at this point. I just don't know what else to do with all of this milk! The first week I was pumping really aggressively because we needed to feed her as much as possible to get her bili levels down and get her out of the hospital. At some point I started having extra milk so I started freezing it. But I'm not pumping with the intention to build a stash. It just sort of happened and now I don't know how to break the cycle!

[sent]

Mar 14, 2014 11:47:44 GMT -5 shelbyann said:

Ahhh. I know it sounds weird but as much as I hate the pump (in the MOTN) I am a little scared to ditch it entirely. My mom is staying with us for a little while and it is so helpful to my sanity to be able to have her take DD and feed her a bottle while I rest or eat or whatever. I have basically gone from exclusively pumping a week ago to 50/50 now and it's been really hard emotionally for me - sometimes I feel like the only way I can force myself to BF and get through the session is by knowing that the next feeding I can "skip" and just give her a bottle or have H or my mom feed her. I end up crying almost every time I BF her and I don't know if I can do that 10X a day. (Not to mention the fact that I'm really not comfortable being all half naked in our living room with house guests so I take DD up to the bedroom every time I feed her...it's kind of isolating.)

I guess if that is the best way to get this under control though I will do it.

This is so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.

I hear you, right down to the thoughts about not feeling like you own your body, even though pregnancy is over.  I also pumped for over the first two weeks for a NICU baby and then my baby got sent home with no instructions on what I should do next.  Breast feeding was a real struggle not so much for oversupply reasons but other issues and I cried a lot too.  We visited an LC and went to support groups and what not, but ultimately, I decided I couldn't handle the baby on the boob all.the.time and I didn't have the patience to sit through her crying and my crying until she learned to BF.  I felt like I was missing out on all the sweet baby moments and snuggles.  It brought me great relief that someone else could feed her.  I switched back to exclusive pumping and today is my 4 week mark.  We had started pulling from the stash and I thought I would have to start supplementing with formula about 1.5 weeks ago so I got the ok from her pediatrician.  Suddenly my boobs started making about 3 oz more per day.  I now have my pumping figured out and my days are better knowing that there is some predictability.  I do spend about 1 hour in the MOTN between pumping, feeding, changing, burping etc. when I do it by myself on week nights (I let my husband sleep MOTN Mon - Thurs).  I have this whole little routine where she wakes up, I change her diaper, and put her in front of me and feed her a bottle while the handsfree bra is holding my pump parts and I am pumping away.  But it's worth it to me because anyone can feed her a bottle when I have help.    

I wouldn't give up quite yet, but know that it is ok if you do.   

ETA this doesn't help with your oversupply issue, but I just wanted to add perspective if you do go back to pumping and bottles.

[bazinga]

Mar 14, 2014 11:47:44 GMT -5 shelbyann said:

Ahhh. I know it sounds weird but as much as I hate the pump (in the MOTN) I am a little scared to ditch it entirely. My mom is staying with us for a little while and it is so helpful to my sanity to be able to have her take DD and feed her a bottle while I rest or eat or whatever. I have basically gone from exclusively pumping a week ago to 50/50 now and it's been really hard emotionally for me - sometimes I feel like the only way I can force myself to BF and get through the session is by knowing that the next feeding I can "skip" and just give her a bottle or have H or my mom feed her. I end up crying almost every time I BF her and I don't know if I can do that 10X a day. (Not to mention the fact that I'm really not comfortable being all half naked in our living room with house guests so I take DD up to the bedroom every time I feed her...it's kind of isolating.)

I guess if that is the best way to get this under control though I will do it.

This is so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.

I'm not any help with the oversupply because I am dealing with an under supply. I just wanted to comment that I felt the same way about BF being so hard and dreading feedings and feeling isolated when you had to leave the room. We went to my parents for Christmas when DD was a month old and I had to leave the room every two hours for half an hour to feed her. I felt like I missed out on a lot. BF was presented to me at classes and by the LC as the best way to go and there were all these benefits and how could you not and I wish someone had told me that it could possibly be hard. I just didn't feel prepared for all the challenges.

[AmyRI]

Mar 14, 2014 14:51:59 GMT -5 shelbyann said:

- How much are you adding to your stash each day? (subtract how much you pump from how much you feed in bottles, doesn't matter if you're saving in the fridge or freezer) Probably around 10 oz a day on average
- Are her poops yellow/brown/dark green and pastey or seedy, or are they brighter green and liquidy? Yellow, pasty, seedy
- When you pump, are you just doing the right or doing both sides? If you pump just to relieve engorgement, do you pump until empty or just enough to soften? I'm not sure whether they're empty or not. I'm not even sure how I'd know that! In a standard pumping session I had been pumping both sides for 15 min (double pump) because that's what the LC I met with said to do. Lately, if I'm pumping during the day I've been doing more like 10 min...and if I'm using the hand pump in the MOTN it's just to relieve the engorgement on the right side but I'll still get 2-3 oz easily without really trying.
- What holds are you using when nursing? Cross cradle. The first LC I met with had me using football, which never really worked, but the second LC had be try cross cradle and it's much easier to control her head and get her latched that way.
- Does she pop off and milk sprays or drips everywhere, or it just seems like a fast flow with how fast she swallows? No spraying that I have seen. Lots of dripping. We are both all sticky and gross after a typical BF session.

Ok, so you do have an oversupply since BF baby intake varies between 20 and 30 oz (avg 25). So you're producing 30+% more than you need to be. Since poop is yellow, though it's not actually causing any foremilk/hindmilk imbalances, which is the biggest problem that often accompanies oversupply. So that is good news. Now to just cut back on pumping so your body stops making so much. Cut back slowly and start with nighttime so you can start sleeping better without engorgement.

Knowing if you're "empty" takes some practice and once your supply is regulated and you're pumping only to replace feedings, everyone can give you tips on how many letdowns you need (and what those are, assuming you aren't keeping track yet since I know I wasn't when my DS was 3 weeks old!). But for now, don't worry about it. Set your pumping goal to be the amount you feed in a bottle so you're replacing the feed, and do your best not to pump any more than that.

When you pump purely to relieve engorgement, try to keep it to an ounce or less so you're not stimulating MORE production. When you get 2 or 3 oz, your body thinks you just fed a baby a full meal and will continue to make that much.

If you're doing cross cradle and get a good latch on lefty, try doing football hold on righty so your DD is in the same position on each breast. It might take some getting used to so you're comfortable latching her, and I know this sounds crazy, but this is how I fed my DS for several months. He really wanted to lay on his right side when nursing, so this was the solution. Worked like a charm. I've since learned that this is often a stiff neck or back muscle, and seeing a chiropractor (icpa4kids.com I think is the website with a locator for a certified pedi chiro) can help with those types of issues. Also, seeing an LC might be helpful to give you pointers on just how to hold everything to get the best latch.

My trick was to use receiving blankets as burp cloths. Fold it in half, tuck one side into my bra and spread out the blanket and tuck the other side under baby's chin. That way any drips would fall onto the cloth. I'd change it after every feed or every other, but we had a ton of receiving blankets so it was NBD. And way better than being covered in milk all the time!

And again, seeing an LC for tips is really useful. And seeing different ones is even better, because they all have a slightly different style and you never know what one little trick will be the thing to work. You're doing SO well even though it doesn't feel that way. It's totally your decision, but from your posts these sound like fixable problems and I'd bet in another week or two, things will be getting much easier.

eta: your supply should start to decrease in a few days to a week of reduced pumping. It'll be uncomfortable at first, but the less you pump, the sooner things will regulate.

[shelbyann]

I am really glad to know that I am not the only one who has felt this way...thank you all for your replies. (Although I am sorry that so many other people have had BF issues! It's crazy.)

AmyRI - That is so very helpful, thank you. I really appreciate your taking the time to type all of that out! I will definitely cut back on the pumping and try to just replace a small rotating supply of a few bottles in the fridge for H or others to use. And since it's the weekend and H can help with MOTN stuff, it's a perfect time to give up a pumping session then and see how that goes.

[vmars]

Mar 14, 2014 9:54:32 GMT -5 shelbyann said:

Gah. I was afraid of that. I hate breastfeeding.

Seriously. This is so much worse than being PG, at least in terms of feeling like my body is not my own. 

I felt this way too for a while, but it does get better & easier, I promise! Now that DS eats of a more predictable schedule and gives me longer stretches at night. I def. appreciate being able to eat whatever I want and losing the baby weight quickly.

[curbsideprophet]

It does get better, hang in there! I agree with cutting back on the pumping.

I would also keep trying to her to latch on the right.

Good luck!

[AmyRI]

Mar 14, 2014 16:00:09 GMT -5 shelbyann said:

I am really glad to know that I am not the only one who has felt this way...thank you all for your replies. (Although I am sorry that so many other people have had BF issues! It's crazy.)

AmyRI - That is so very helpful, thank you. I really appreciate your taking the time to type all of that out! I will definitely cut back on the pumping and try to just replace a small rotating supply of a few bottles in the fridge for H or others to use. And since it's the weekend and H can help with MOTN stuff, it's a perfect time to give up a pumping session then and see how that goes.

You're very welcome. Message boards helped me so much when I was struggling. Just paying it forward Good luck and keep us posted!