Oversupply and Pumping...desperate please help!

[@llli*tmhess1]

I am new to this forum and a first time mom to a beautiful little girl who is a little over give weeks. I have been told from lactation consultants that I have an oversupply because I was constantly engorged and my let down is so intense it shoots across the room not to mention the strain is causes my LO when I get too full before a feeding. I was instructed to block feed which I did for a little over a week and it helped a great deal. However recently I wanted to start pumping so I could build a small supply and prepare for going back to work and LO to daycare on July 29th. I was told to pump the side she didn't eat from (usually she only eats on one side but last two days has been cluster feeding due to a growth spurt I suspect). So for two days I pumped the breast she didn't nurse from at the same time in the morning and in 7 min I produced 3-3.5 oz. so I'm thinking this is great and I'll have a supply and what not. However it sort of back fired because the side I nursed kept getting fuller faster throughout the day. So the lactation consultant told me to stop and to start pumping the side she does nurse from after she nurses for 10 minutes. Because she's been cluster feeding I haven pumped since those two days I tried, figured I wouldn't mess with anything while she's feeding so irregularly but before I start with the secondary advice I received I thought I'd try my luck with seeing what advice I could illicit here. I'm desperate to be able to pump so I can continue to provide milk to her while I'm at work and so my husband and I could have one night out but I am at a loss for how to pump and not explode. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'd even provide my email or phone if someone private messaged me. I could cry I'm so frustrated. All my friends just pump and have no problems. Thank you in advance for your time and advice.

[@llli*maddieb]

When do you have to be back at work? All you absolutle need is milk for one day-the first day. Because you pump that day at work for the next. Yes many mom prefer to have a small emergency stash but this can be small. You do not need tons of milk stashed before returning to work.

For a evening out, 3.5 ounces should be plenty to leave for babysitter. You need ay most about an ounce to an ounce and a half per hour for separations.

You do not want to be pumping a lot. Best to pump at most once a day to avoid ramping production too high. At most. Pump whenever it works for you. I fail to see how it matters which breast! Just pump one, both, whatever feels best to you. Why does it matter which one? I am clearly missing something...

So the lactation consultant told me to stop and to start pumping the side she does nurse from after she nurses for 10 minutes.

so to pump for 10 minutes or only let baby nurse for 10 minutes? And how many times a day?

[@llli*tmhess1]

Thank you for the prompt response. I am returning to work on August 5th but my daughter is starting daycare on July 29th (I'm giving myself a week to get acclimated to her being in daycare before I return to work, I'm a paranoid first time mom). Before I was instructed to block feed I was pumping to relieve the engorgement (I know now that wasn't wise) as a result I have enough frozen for her first day. I fed her a bottle to get her used to it a few times and she consumes a little over 5 oz. is that normal? Her weight is great and diaper output albeit a little gassy at times I think due to forceful let down but she was 9 lbs 4 oz at her 1 week appointment and 12 lbs 5 oz at one month last week.

As for the pumping whenever I'd like, that's the problem, I feel like when I pump I'm making my oversupply increase. I just want to be like all these wonder women who just wake up one day "say I'm going to start pumping after my morning feeding and start freezing that without it making me engorged later." lol i don't know why it matters which side I pump, one or both I was just told by my hospitals lactation consultant to pump on the side she didn't nurse from.

In response to last question the consultant told me to pump for no more than 10 minutes on the side LO nursed from once a day. This was the advice I received after my first two pumping sessions made me feel fuller than before.

Thanks again for your help!

[@llli*maddieb]

So, you have over a month. Plenty of time! You baby is five weeks old? (that is how I read “give’ in op? So milk production is still being “established.” So pumping now is probably more problematic than it will be in a couple of weeks.

Since you have time, take it. You will be fine. If pumping for 10 minutes once a day was too much, you can just wait a couple weeks. Or if you just cannot wait, pump for 5 minutes every three days or whatever works. Every mommy is different. You have to go by what your body is telling you.

I fed her a bottle to get her used to it a few times and she consumes a little over 5 oz. is that normal?

Well, I won't say it is not normal, but the problem is, it is very typical for a baby to overeat with a bottle. There are some complicated reasons why this is I won’t go into, but you can read all about it in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (8th edition) which I highly recommend. Anyway, so 5 ounces is probably way too much for every bottle. I suggest, leave day care small bottles of 2 or 3 ounces at most. And share with them this information and you can of course also learn to give "practice" bottles this same way. http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...fyour_milk.pdf This is a two page doc. Second page has good safe handling and storage tips for breastmilk.

[@llli*mommal]

One reason you don't want your baby to be eating lots of 5 oz bottles is that a baby only needs so many calories in a given day. If she takes in a huge amount of milk at daycare, that can lead to her nursing less when she's home with you.

Have you tried hand expression? If you're really worried about building up a stash, that might be one option you could try because hand expression is supposed to be less stimulating to supply than pumping is.

[@llli*leemami]

We fixed 3oz bottles and then we had 1oz "just in case" bags for our daycare/care provider. I didn't have OS issues though, but just giving my 2 cents about experience with daycare. The most she took was 4oz bottles which was aligned to what I pumped every session (3.5 - 4 oz)

It's important that they follow what lllmeg provided. We had to because our baby use to choke a lot when eating from the bottle, so we had to sit her upright and have the bottle horizontal anyway. But not a lot of care providers know that and just feed with the bottle in vertical position.

[@llli*tmhess1]

:
Have you tried hand expression? If you're really worried about building up a stash, that might be one option you could try because hand expression is supposed to be less stimulating to supply than pumping is.

I typically hand express a little bit in the am when she has slept for 4-8 hours so her initial feeding doesn't blow her away but I have to say the hand expression isn't the most comfortable. I try to only do a little "to comfort" as they say. Perhaps I should pump the side she isn't going to nurse from instead, I don't know. I'm sure I'm over thinking the whole pumping thing but I don't want to make my supply increase even more by pumping but I'd sure like to be able to get into a routine with it.

[@llli*maddieb]

When I am overthinking a decision or a plan, that usually means, it is not the best time to make that decision or plan.

Maybe if you take a couple more weeks to simply nurse and enjoy your baby? I think by then your body will not react so intensely to once a day pumping. And you will have two more weeks mothering & breastfeeding experience. You are learning your baby and your body every day, so that means something.

You are doing a whole week with baby in day care before you even go back to work. Right? That gives you a ton of extra wiggle room few back to work moms have.

[@llli*tmhess1]

I think you are right and I am going to take the next couple of weeks to continue to get myself and baby acclimated to breast feeding. When is your suppy usually established by? I definitely think I'm still in state of shock at how much harder it is than I imagined even after taking a breast feeding course. They didn't even touch upon the issues of over/under supply that can happen, but I suppose they can't cover everything.

One other question, how does your body adjust to longer nighttime sleeping. For example my LO slept 8 hours last night, honestly think she's gong through a growth spurt because it's usually one 4-5 hour stretch followed by a feeding and another 2 hours. She usually only eats from one side but in the morning both are pretty engorged. I usually hand express to comfort but I wasn't sure if I should pump one side or not.

Thanks again!

[@llli*maddieb]

Well, when I had oversupply in the early weeks, I woke my baby to nurse a few times overnight when she tried that sttn business. Or I would hand express just to comfort. If you keep pumping out a lot of milk, you will keep your milk production overstimulated. Better to nurse or hand express OR, if you must pump, pump, but just to get relief.

Just because baby sleeps 8 hours now, don’t expect this to be the new normal. That is not how it works, typically, babies change sleep habits in either direction frequently at this age. And that is unusually long sleep stretch for the newborn period.