Oversupply (moved from severe/oversupply/oald)

[@llli*t.meyer]

I am sorry for your frustration but I am also glad to know I am not alone. WHen I read your post, I thought this sounds like me and my DD. She is 11 weeks today, gaining
weight and nursing every 3 hrs during day and sleeps 10-11 hrs at night. But she is crabby when awake, gassy, having green mucous stools (when she does have stool) lately
she wil go 3 days then have a green mucous stool. I do believe I have OS and OALD. I too have tried block feeding, nursing from one side, pumping an oz off prior to feeding,
and every imaginable OTC remedy for gas and colic, and peppermint water and anise water. ALL to no avail!!!!! So I do feel your pain. I am currently nursing one breast per
feeding and leaving the other alone until next feeding when I will once again pump an oz or so to get out some fore milk. Is this making matters worse? Im trying to help her
get less foremilk as it contains more lactose which turns into glucose then sugar then more gas when not converted by lactase enzyme. Believe me hubby and I have done a lot
of searching for answers... How long willie take for OS to level off? Nighttime is also a problem she nurses at 830 goes down for night and by 4am I am engorged and leaking.
so I have been getting up then to pump just enough to get relief, which is about 2 oz from the side she last ate on and 4 on the other. Thats not close to empty just relief. Im at wits end with these breast and also want DD to be happy and gas free. I know their systems need time to mature, but this is overwhelming. I am also a nurse in labor and
delivery and just returned to working 12 hr shifts this week. On the days I work I am pumping the same time or close to it as DD is home drinking bottle. ANy advice would be
helpful. Thanks....

[@llli*phi]

I will once again pump an oz or so to get out some fore milk. Is this making matters worse?

Yes this is making things worse. Every time you pump, you are telling your body to make more than what your baby needs.

How long willie take for OS to level off?

It varies from person to person. I started seeing improvement around 3 months, but my supply didn't regulate until 6-7 months. Some mamas see improvement within days of block feeding. Some struggle with oversupply most of the first year.

Nighttime is also a problem she nurses at 830 goes down for night and by 4am I am engorged and leaking.
so I have been getting up then to pump just enough to get relief, which is about 2 oz from the side she last ate on and 4 on the other. Thats not close to empty just relief.

That's still a lot to be expressing. Try doing a dream feed rather than expressing. Your baby won't exacerbate the oversupply the way expressing will. Also try applying a cold compress or put cabbage leaves in your bra to ease the pain. Cold compresses worked very well for me. Try hand expressing rather than using the pump. Massage your breasts before nursing or expressing a little to avoid plugs. Like I said above, although hand expression didn't work well for me, I could stand over the sink and squeeze my breast and milk would shoot out. I tried not to express any more than that.

ANy advice would be
helpful. Thanks....

• Nurse very frequently (helps with OS, OALD, and reduces baby's discomfort).
• Try finding a block length that works well for you and stick with it. It may take a couple weeks to start seeing improvement, so don't give up on it and be consistent.
• Express as little as possible and use other means to deal with discomfort (cold compresses, massage, nursing).
• Use mechanical means (tummy massage, leg bicycling - all.day.long) and warm baths to work on your baby's gas and get her more comfortable.

[@llli*lllkaren]

FYI -- I moved this out of the severe/oversupply/oald thread because I think it warrants its own thread.