Engorged

ILMomma

My LO is only a few days old and my milk has come in.  My boobs hurt so bad!  I thought I wasn't supposed to pump because that would tell my body I need that much milk but i just read somewhere that the milk should be removed early on and this won't cause an over supply. Is this correct or should or should I only hand express just to relieve the pressure?

marijaa333

Definitely express to relieve the pressure, otherwise you'll end up with plugged ducts and mastitis. Don't be afraid to express until you're comfortable. What you don't want to do is pump after all the milk has been removed because that will tell your body to make even more. 

mrhargr

ILMomma said:

My LO is only a few days old and my milk has come in.  My boobs hurt so bad!  I thought I wasn't supposed to pump because that would tell my body I need that much milk but i just read somewhere that the milk should be removed early on and this won't cause an over supply. Is this correct or should or should I only hand express just to relieve the pressure?

I got engorged when my milk came in, too. I tried hand expressing to get some relief but couldn't quite get the hang of it to really help enough. I ended up pumping just enough to give relief and made it through that phase. It's pumping too much that can make the problem worse. 

joules11235

Pretty sure it's pretty normal to feel engorged those first few days when your milk is coming in.  This time around I pumped once, felt immediately better, then didn't have to pump again for weeks.  It was just that one time that helped the engorgement.