Pumping with oversupply

Amores0121 · August 2014

Hi ladies. I'm hoping someone on here has had a similar issue to mine and can help me with some suggestions. My LO is 3 weeks old. I have an oversupply of milk. I regulate my supply best I can by only feeding on one breast. This helped somewhat with engorgement issues. I still leak a lot and have to take him off the breast at the beginning of feedings due to fast let down and he still chokes sometimes. Yesterday I pumped b/c I was away from him. I got between 9-10 oz for just under 15 mins. His eating schedule was kind of off yesterday b/c my grandma watched him and let him sleep most of the day, so I started to get engorged again....I wanted to start building a supply for when I return to work. I haven't decided yet if I will wean him then but if I do I wanted to have breastmilk for as long as possible. Does anyone know how I can pump without creating more problems?

My thought is if I were to pump in the am when my breasts are most full, then they would both be emptied and then both need to be emptied again at the next feeding, causing engorgement. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated!

flcl · August 2014

Hi there... it's going to take you a few more weeks before your milk supply starts to regulate. There are going to be days where you feel more engorged than others but when your body's adjusted to what your LO needs, you'll experience that a lot less.

I dealt with OS/OALD/engorgement right around that same time. A lot of people advised that I block feed LO and stay away from the pump until the OS settled. I tried doing this for a good chunk of time but didn't see improvements. I ended up pumping until empty first thing in the morning (before LO woke for his first feed.) Then, I block fed him for the rest of the day. I did this for 2 days and had the OS/engorgement issues fixed.

Amores0121 · August 2014

jtizzay said:

I had os and saw an LC for help. She said to pump one less oz a day to help my body get the message. For me that's how I dropped the motn pump after lo was sttn. I try to not pump to empty. Pump to comfort.

Did you start pumpimg before or after returning to work?

jschwind22 · August 2014

THis sounds exactly like me in the beginning. Fast let down, oversupply, engorgement, leaking, etc etc etc. I did exactly like you and fed from one side at a time. Once things regulate a bit, you'll probably transition to feeding from both sides. I think that happened between 6-7 weeks for us. Definitely be careful with pumping (and it sounds like you are) to relieve engorgement. The more you pump, the more you are telling your body to make more milk. So I initially started pumping to freeze around 3 weeks. At his morning feed (usually between 6-7am), I pump from one side and feed from the other. I do this simultaneously to save time. Even now that he eats from both sides, I have maintained this. I did just that pump until my DS started dropping MOTN feedings. Since he started doing this so early, I added in a pump at around 10pm right before I go to bed. Maintains supply without getting up in the MOTN. I didn't want to be chained to my pump, so these 2 pumping sessions to freeze are manageable. Good luck!

Amores0121 · August 2014

@jschwind22 How do you pump at the same time as feeding? I generally do the cradle hold and his body is across mine. I don't see how that would work very well, though it would be convenient. How much were you able to pump from one breast?

jschwind22 · August 2014

Amores0121 said:

@jschwind22 How do you pump at the same time as feeding? I generally do the cradle hold and his body is across mine. I don't see how that would work very well, though it would be convenient. How much were you able to pump from one breast?

It's definitely getting a little more tricky now that he's bigger. Football hold is the easiest. I was getting 8oz, but that is dropping now that my oversupply is more regulated.

Amores0121 · August 2014

I think that things are starting to get more regulated..I"ve noticed in the last two days I can go 3 hours before I start leaking and feeling like I'm going to explode, where before it was only 2 hours.

@jschwind22 But if I pump one side won't that create problems for me in terms of next feed? B/c then both sides will be full again by next feeding instead of one side.

jschwind22 · August 2014

Amores0121 said:

I think that things are starting to get more regulated..I"ve noticed in the last two days I can go 3 hours before I start leaking and feeling like I'm going to explode, where before it was only 2 hours.

@jschwind22 But if I pump one side won't that create problems for me in terms of next feed? B/c then both sides will be full again by next feeding instead of one side.

I haven't noticed that problem. He eats from both sides now at every feeding except for the morning feed when he eats from one and I pump from the other. My body somehow knows that both breasts need to be very full at that time and that time only. Crazy how the body works!

Want a personalized experience?

Pumping with oversupply

Re: Pumping with oversupply

Choose Another Board

Search Boards