Hi everyone! I am new to the board. DD is only 4 days old and I am exclusively breastfeeding her on demand. She latched on like a pro right after she was born and while we were at the hospital the nurses kept saying how we were both doing great with feedings. My milk started coming in yesterday and now my boobs are so huge and hard that it can be difficult for her to latch on. The latching can also be pretty painful, and I keep reading that if it's painful it's wrong, but she has a lot of the areola in her mouth so I'm not sure what's wrong. Anyway, my mom recommended pumping just a little bit before she nurses so that she can get a better latch. I've done it a couple times between yesterday and today, but am I only going to increase my production that way? Also, since yesterday there have been certain stretches where it seems like she is nursing constantly, like every 20 minutes. Is this normal? I would think the marathon feedings would help my boobs be less engorged, but so far that hasn't been the case. Thanks in advance!
Re: Engorgement for FTM
Id say everything sounds normal. Dd still has a certain time of day when all she wants to do is nurse. As far as pumping goes maybe try just manually expressing a little bit instead?
I went through the same thing when my milk came in, and this was a lifesaver for me: https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/rev_pressure_soft_cotterman/
For us, she pretty much had to re-learn how to latch once my boobs became ginormous, but that technique helped a TON. After a few days she was latching great and my supply started to chill out a little bit. It does take a while to regulate, but those first few days after your milk comes in are the worst, and it gets better from there.