oversupply?

abegailanne · August 2011

Hi,

I normally lurk here since my LO was born 4 weeks ago, and have found so much helpful advice. I was wondering if anyone may be able to give me some advice on dealing with an oversupply.

We noticed around week two that LO was starting to have a lot of green poopy diapers. I also noticed that he was getting choked up when I letdown so I came to the conclusion that I may have an oversupply and overactive letdown.

I started feeding one side only, as long as he wanted to nurse, per feeding, and then went to two feedings in a row per side before switching, and now his poopy diapers are mostly the right color and consistency.

However, I'm still wondering if he is getting enough hindmilk because he will nurse for 45 minutes at a time, and shortly afterwards still seem like he is not satisfied. He is eating about every 1.5-2 hours during the day, which I know is still normal for his age but I just worry he is not getting what he needs to feel full. He has also started getting fussier at the breast, towards the end of the feeding. I do stop and burp him a few times during each feeding as well. He has also started spitting up sometimes after eating, but even then he acts like he wants more. He falls asleep a lot while eating, too, despite my changing his diaper before feeding, playing with his feet, etc.

He does have a good amount of wet and poopy diapers each day so I know he is eating well.

If you are dealing with or dealt with an oversupply, can you share your experience? Were you able to resolve it or manage it? If you had to block feed, how long did you keep it up? Were you able to go back to your normal feeding routine eventually? I read somewhere that your supply should start to even out eventually to match what baby needs. Is this true with an oversupply issue as well? Or should I be concerned that something else may be going on?

I am calling a lactation consultant again tomorrow and we also have his one month pedi appointment this week, so I will definitely bring up these concerns then. I have just read so much the past week or so about breastfeeding issues that I don't know if I should also be concerned about reflux, milk allergy or if a lot of this is just normal one-month old baby behavior that will get better with time.

Thank you so much in advance!

mari_gold · August 2011

That all sounds really normal for a 1-month-old. You can try offering the second breast after he is done with the first to see if he's truly hungry for more.

My experience with oversupply was fairly simple. My kids never had issues with an imbalance, but the forceful letdown and sheer quantity of milk was overwhelming. I stuck to feeding from just one side for a month or so, which got the levels under control. I then switched back to offering both sides, to make sure they were full. By that time they were better at handling the flow, so what remained from my oversupply didn't bother them. It's not totally gone right now, but that's okay because I'm pumping in preparation for going back to work.

abegailanne · August 2011

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'll try offering the second one again and see what happens.

I have read that babies can deal with the forceful letdown better as they get bigger, too, so I am hoping that will improve things on that front. I've been doing the blockfeeding/one side per feed only for about a week and half now so perhaps things will even out in a few more weeks, too. I plan to pump for when I go back to work as well.

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