Block feeding confusion

[@llli*jah73]

Thank you everyone for your responses! Ok, so you have explained how lock feeding works and I understand that it is probably the best route. It sounds like I need to do longer blocks can you just explain how I am meant to manage the boob not being fed on and also how I am meant to manage the swap, I constantly run close to mastitis doing even one side per feed. Maybe I am not hand expressing enough for comfort (not sure that I know what comfort is), I wrecknon i would have to hand express to let down after about 5-6 hours of not being fed on and then let it spray and then I would prob have to repeat that every hour or so until I swapped sides. I haven't been doing that as I worry about hand expressing that amount, but it means that I stay PAINFULLY engorged. There is no way that I could extend the blocks without doing that or else I would def get mastitis. So is this what I should be doing? Doing 2 feeds in a row and staying very engorged has made no difference! I worry that hand expressing the side not being used will make my body think that there is another baby with a small appetite! Also, when I swap sides, I would have to express about 3 oz in order for my baby to cope, as my boob goes mad after not feeding for so long! Is that what I should be doing with block feeding? Am I being too cautious re hand expressing? Thanks everyone!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Unfortunately, there are always a few days of pain for me when trying to control OS. I try very hard to not hand express at all cause for me, that little bit keeps the volume on too high.

Have you tried a cabbage leaf on the unnursed side?

The day boob and night boob made me because I did that too in the very early days, until the fact I have had two surgeries on my right breast catches up with my supply.

[@llli*froggylogic]

If you have bad mastitis issues. you might need to try some artificial methods in addition to block feeding to reduce your supply, in addition to block feeding. Cabbage leaves (like the pp mentioned) are very good at helping with the pain and have the added benefit of potentially reducing your supply with regular use. I don't normally recommend gratuitous drug use, but a few days of Sudafed could also help reduce your supply some, maybe enough that larger blocks wouldn't be such an issue.

If none if that works, there IS an alternative, if you're comfortable with it... You could donate your extra milk, either to a milk bank (primarily goes to preemies in the hospital) or to other mamas directly through Human Milk 4 Human Babies.

[@llli*juliet1]

If you have bad mastitis issues. you might need to try some artificial methods in addition to block feeding to reduce your supply, in addition to block feeding. Cabbage leaves (like the pp mentioned) are very good at helping with the pain and have the added benefit of potentially reducing your supply with regular use. I don't normally recommend gratuitous drug use, but a few days of Sudafed could also help reduce your supply some, maybe enough that larger blocks wouldn't be such an issue.

If none if that works, there IS an alternative, if you're comfortable with it... You could donate your extra milk, either to a milk bank (primarily goes to preemies in the hospital) or to other mamas directly through Human Milk 4 Human Babies.

This is exactly why I became a donor. I hated seeing my expressed milk go down the drain (literally) since DD never took a bottle.
A very last resort to reduce supply is birth control.