Things are getting worse

[@llli*happynewmom]

Baby had poor weight gain but seemed to be doing fine after about 4 weeks. She is now 7 and a half weeks. She is now spitting up A LOT, fussing a lot, crying during feeding, coughing, and hiccuping. She does not have a fever but I do. I am suffering from painful engorgement, spraying milk everywhere, leaking near constantly, soaking through breast pads cloths bras and tops. You may have seen my other thread but started a new one because my issues are different now. It has gotten much worse. I burp her often, hold her upright as much as I can, give her tummy massages, and feed at only one breast per feeding. She hates nursing in a reclining position. The issue is probably overactive letdown/oversupply and/or reflux. What should we do? What else should I try?

[@llli*danlynclark]

So sorry you are struggling. It is so challenging when you move from one obstacle to another. It really does sound like overactive letdown. Have you tried manually triggering your letdown, with either a pump or by hand. Allow the initial fast milk flow to release and then latch baby on?

Keep an eye on the fever and engorgment. If you feel it could be mastitis please see your care provider.

[@llli*mommal]

with the PP. Mastitis is a real possibility, so stay alert for the following:
- fever
- aches, pains, malaise, flu-like feeling
- chills
- red spot or streaks on the skin of the breast
- plugged duct
- extremely tender or painful breast
If you see any or all of those, call the doc and get a scrip for antibiotics. Please note that many doctors mistakenly advise that mothers pump and dump or even wean during mastitis, or during a course of antibiotics. This is not necessary, and if you are prescribed an antibiotic that "isn't safe for nursing", check with the Infant Risk center or request a different antibiotic.

Since you have so many indicators of oversupply (engorgement, spraying, leaking), then I think you need to treat this like oversupply. First, make sure there's no mastitis in the picture. If there is, then:
- see the doc
- empty the breast as much as possible using the baby or the pump
- finish all your antibiotics (if you end up taking them)
If there's no mastitis or if there is but you beat it, then you want to work on reducing supply by:
- feeding the baby frequently
- avoiding the pump
- block feeding (using one breast per feeding for several feedings in a row)
- drink a cup or sage or peppermint tea to reduce supply
- use cold cabbage leaves in your bra
- watch baby's diaper output during the block feeding process- as long as it stays normal then you haven't reduced supply too much

[@llli*zplum]

with PP's Watch for mastitis mama. I just want to add that if it is mastitis causing the pain and fever, the pump will only remove so much, baby attached will be able to remove more milk which is really important. Is it painful when baby nurses?

Hang in there mama. When my son was new, I could have written this post of yours word for word. It's so upsetting to have all of these problems when all we want to do is have that breastfeeding experience that you imagined. But you will get there! We went on to find smooth sailing once we worked through the issues and you will too

[@llli*phi]

with everyone else. Look out for mastitis. It sounds like you need to increase your blocks. Make sure to work out the plugs in the unused breast. You can also express just a little milk (preferably by hand) if you become too engorged on the unused breast and plugs are becoming a big problem, just don't express too much (only enough to relieve some pain). Cold compresses helped me a lot with the pain from engorgement.