Oversupply, Forceful letdown and pumping HELP!

[@llli*jdem]

My baby is almost a month old. from reading online it seems like i have a forceful letdown and an oversupply of milk which is causing him gas.

when i first came home from the hospital i was offering him 10 mins on each breast and he was spitting up A TON. after reading several articles i came to the conclusion that was not a good thing and started offering him one breast for as long as he wanted which helped but he still had gas and his stools were sometimes green and not wet but kind of clay like (not hard though). so i read some more and have been block feeding him for about a week doing two feedings on each breast before switching him which has seemed to help with the stools and a little bit with the gas.

my question is, is there anything i can do to help/prevent his gas? is block feeding a good thing? it seems like he strains for quite a bit when he is trying to pass a BM. i do burp him during his feedings but he still has gas.

my other question is in regards to pumping with an oversupply, etc... i go back to work in a few weeks and need to pump for when i am working. will this just make these issues worse? how should i go about pumping, one breast after hes done feeding?

help

[@llli*lllmeg]

pumping that is done to replace nursing sessions, so, pumping while you are at work/away from baby, is not a problem with oversupply. The problem is pumping 'extra'-pumping when baby is nursing as well. I would suggest, until you return to work, keep pumping to a minimum-no more than once a day, if that. You don't need a giant stash, just enough for the first day and then maybe a little cushion in case pumping at work does not go well at first. Once back at work, as long as you have oversupply or normal supply, try to keep pumping sessions to only when you are at work rather than when home with baby.

Block feeding means keeping baby at one breast for two or more feedings in a row. This will reduce your milk supply, so you want to be very sure your problem is oversupply if you are block feeding. Another way to help with forceful letdoqwn that does not affect supply is to let baby nurse on one side at a time but switch breasts at each nursing session.

There are many other methods for dealing with forceful letdown, which may or may not be related to block feeding.

his stools were sometimes green and not wet but kind of clay like (not hard though).

This does not sound like oversupply or forceful letdown related poop. Nor does it sound like normal breastmilk poop. Is baby getting anything else besides breastmilk? Is baby gaining well? I am concerened about the consistency more than the color. Are these poops large or small? Green, not wet, small poops may indicate baby not getting enough milk.

This article has the best ideas for handling forceful letdown and/or oversupply. http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supp.../fast-letdown/ One mistake many moms make is they cut back on nursing frequency when they have os or ffld. No. you still want to be nursing very frequently and letting baby nurse as long as baby wants-even if you are block feeding.

All babies have gas. its normal. Green poops on their own (without other symptoms) are not a problem either. FFLD and/or oversupply are only a problem if they are causing extreme discomfort to baby, or causing baby to have trouble nursing due to the flow, or mom to be uncomfortably full. And even then nursing should continue.

[@llli*jdem]

Thank you for your response! i really appreciate it.

This does not sound like oversupply or forceful letdown related poop. Nor does it sound like normal breastmilk poop. Is baby getting anything else besides breastmilk? Is baby gaining well? I am concerened about the consistency more than the color. Are these poops large or small? Green, not wet, small poops may indicate baby not getting enough milk.

he is only fed breastmilk straight from the tap. my husband and i were going to start bottles next week.

it is hard to describe the poop. it is not wet but it is curdy and soft. it was small and kind of stuck to his butt. he also has been having less stools, not one every time he feeds like he was at first. all of his poops are not like this though, some are mustard and curdy, some are greenish and curdy. i am not sure if they are "explosive" but they are audible sometimes which i thought were ok. i guess i was concerned because they weren't the perfect yellow color you hear about.

i never take him off of the breast (only to burp him) until he either falls asleep or pulls off himself. if he pulls himself off and still is showing signs of being hungry i try to latch him again. is that bad thing to do?

when he was born he was 7 lbs 11 oz at his week check up he was 8 lbs. i just weighed him and he was 10 lbs 1 oz and he will be a month old on tuesday. so i think he is gaining weight well and is getting enough milk. he usually feeds every 3 or so hours for anywhere from 10 mins to 30+ mins. i try to feed him when he shows signs of being hungry.

hes not in distress or in extreme discomfort, usually after feeding he is content and falls asleep. the only time he seems to be straining is when he is trying to poop or pass gas. i try to do tummy time a couple times a day because it seems to help with his gas and he really likes it.

could it be something i am eating? am i just being paranoid? i am a first time mom and just want to do things "right". i don't want to fail at bf.