Too much milk and also starting pumping -help

[@llli*k1ng.h3nry]

My 3 week old is a super feeder but was spitting up a lot every time he fed. He also was seeming colicky. I read articles yesterday that it may be a problem with over supply and that he might not be getting enough hind milk. The recommendation was to only offer one breast each feeding which i started doing yesterday afternoon.

This seems to be helping as the spitting up is already improved - however I now have a question.

I was also planning to start pumping and tried last night and this morning. I am now uncomfortably engorged on one side. Am I messing with my supply by trying to reduce supply and also start pumping at the same time?

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

Hi mama, welcome to the forum! What is your reason for pumping right now? Are you planning on going back to work, or is it for an occasional bottle? Or are others (perhaps family members) suggesting that you pump so that they can do some of the feedings? I would suggest not pumping right now as that will increase supply and you are already engorged. If you plan to go back to work soon, keep in mind you need 1 - 1.5 ounces per hour apart from baby. So if you are working 10 hours, that would be 15 ounces. Usually pumping once a day (morning is when most mothers have the most milk) is plenty to build up what you need, and pumping more often than that can lead to oversupply problems. But again, if you can hold off on pumping right now that might be best.

[@llli*maddieb]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I agree with previous post asked to hold off on pumping for little longer if that is possible for you.
Many mothers find they get engorged in the early weeks. 3 to 4 weeks is the time when milk production is peaking you're possibly making more milk right now than you ever will again. in other words this is a temporary situation.
To help your baby and you be more comfortable it can really help to nurse very frequently. Even if you are nursing one side at a time which is fine , it is important to continue to nurse with good frequency. Typically this would mean about 10 to 12 times or more in a 24-hour day.
I also found that leaning back and having baby more on top of me when she nurses always helps with the forceful letdown.

[@llli*maddieb]

Anyone else have engorgement tips for this mom?

[@llli*k1ng.h3nry]

Hi mama, welcome to the forum! What is your reason for pumping right now? Are you planning on going back to work, or is it for an occasional bottle? Or are others (perhaps family members) suggesting that you pump so that they can do some of the feedings?

Hi and thank you! Yes I was hoping my husband could help with a night feeding if I were to start pumping. Will reconsider now - when do you recommend starting with that? I could use a little extra sleep.

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

Well, first off, it's best not to introduce a bottle until at least 4-6 weeks. If everything has been going well, then the breastfeeding relationship is usually well-established by that point and baby is less likely to have nipple confusion and/or bottle preference. Namely, sucking on an artificial nipple, whether a bottle or a pacifier, is different from sucking on the breast - that's the confusion part. Additionally, it's easier for baby to get milk out of a bottle than from the breast, so if you introduce the bottle too early, baby might start refusing the breast and preferring the bottle instead.

Second, does pumping and having husband give a bottle give you more rest? Usually pumping takes more time and is more of a hassle than nursing - you have to haul out the pump, set it up, wash everything, etc. And let's say baby nurses at 9 pm, you pump at 10 pm, go to bed, and your husband gives the bottle at 11 pm. Baby wakes to feed at 1 am. Well, for me in the early days - I was like you, very robust supply - my breasts would wake me up well before then (engorged and leaking) telling me it's time to nurse! So it really didn't give me extra sleeping time because I was so uncomfortable from being out of sync with baby.

This doesn't mean that there aren't other ways for your husband to help out. For example, if you are doing any cooking, cleaning, shopping - have him pitch in on those tasks! THAT really can give you some rest! Or, during the night, have your husband take care of diaper changes and burping, so that you only wake up to nurse. (Which you don't even have to fully wake up to do - have you mastered the side-lying position yet? I didn't really know about it for a while with my first - it is such a life saver! You can doze while you nurse, and I've also fallen fast asleep doing that, only to realize when baby wakes up the next time that I fell asleep nursing!) And sometimes babies don't want to go back to sleep even though it's the middle of the night, and even after nursing - another great opportunity to hand baby over while you get back to sleep! Another way your husband can help is after baby wakes up in the morning - let's say baby wakes up at 6 am and doesn't fall back asleep. Your husband takes over while you grab another couple hours of sleep until baby is ready to nurse again. And also, don't forget to nap! It's easy to fall in the trap of feeling like you should use baby's nap time to get stuff done around the house, etc. But I would try to nap a couple times a day while baby was napping.

Anyway, if you do decide you want to try husband giving a bottle, I think it would be best to wait at least until the 4-6 week point (which you're close to), but also for your oversupply to calm down. Usually supply does calm down over time - for some mothers it takes a few weeks, for others a few months, and some mothers are constantly doing battle with oversupply. Pumping can lead to a vicious cycle in that situation. You start pumping, it drives you into oversupply, then you feel like you have to pump to relieve engorgement, which further increases supply, etc.