Choking on Breastmilk

Tnweaver

Does anyone else have this problem? My LO chokes on my milk a lot and it is so scary! After she chokes she gasps for air. I flip her over and pat her back. She usually spits up, but it is the scariest thing. I have tried to position her better which seems to help, but it still happens.

katiezab

Do you have an oversupply or a fast letdown? I would assume that is the cause. How old is LO?

Tnweaver

She will be three weeks on Monday. I do feel like I have an oversupply, but lately have been feeling like it has become more regular. I also think I have a fast letdown. If she latches and then backs off it even sprays her in the face. It's awful, but I do feel like it has been happening less so maybe my milk supply is regulating itself.

Tnweaver

I wonder too if this is contributing to her being gassy since I haven't really been eating gassy foods.

MississippiCatfish

I have a fast letdown and this happened with LO in the first few weeks. One thing that helped was to take him off and let the milk go into a burp cloth (cloth diaper) and then have him relatch when it slowed down, maybe 20-30 seconds later. It gets better, the baby gets more able to handle the letdown as the get bigger!

katiezab

This is what has helped me, keeping in mind this LO is only one month old and things are still evening out for me too.

After he latches and gets the letdown, he usually pulls off when it is overwhelming him. I let him lay there and calm down while it soaks into a burp cloth, or I sometimes keep a container next to me so I can save it. Once it slows, I hand express just a couple squeezes also. Then when he latches again it is better for a while. I do that every time he pulls off because he is overwhelmed.

This is our nursing routine:
Nurse side one until he unlatches for a break. Burp, maybe change, back to side one. Next break I burp again and sometimes go back to side one for a third time. Next break we burp and go to side two. I try to keep it on one side as much as I can. Then next feeding start on side two.

katiezab

Kellymom has some good tips for managing oversupply. I wouldn't go too crazy on all of them just yet, but some of the less drastic ones might help you regulate a little sooner. Like I said don't go too crazy though, you don't want to end up needing to boost your supply!

bumpuser3155624

My LO did this for a while due to my letdown . It is super scary because no one tells you that it happens and is common. They do grow out of it as they better learn to eat and also as your supply evens out.

Good luck!

Tnweaver

Thank you! That makes me feel better.