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Overactive let down and oversupply

katesalms22katesalms22 member
in March 2015 Moms
So my LO is a week and a half old and breastfeeding was going perfectly until about 2 or 3 days ago. I believe I have an overactive let down and over supply. My baby is having trouble latching on, keeps pulling himself away from my breast, gagging, milk spilling out, and he gets very frustrated! As do I! Also I don't think he is getting any of the hindmilk because he can't drain one breast because of the oversupply and he has become very fussy and gassy lately. His stool has also been green these past couple days. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can manage this? Or is anyone else going through this?
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Re: Overactive let down and oversupply

  • elizalegselizalegs member
    I would try expressing some prior to initiating w/ each side - i have gone through this too in the past. Also make sure you are alternating sides. See downthread for another discussion post on BFing
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  • KD32412KD32412 member
    Green?!? It should be mustard colored seedy poop.
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  • ac1393ac1393 member
    I had this same problem and worked with a Lactation Consultant. First we applied some heat to loosen everything up (or I took a warm shower). We expressed milk prior to latch using hand expression and massage for the engorged portions of my breast. If he still had trouble with the latch I used a breast shield and it allowed him to get a great latch and bring in a slightly engorged breast easier. After nursing, I would ice. My baby also did a lot of the sputtering and coughing up- with the nipple shield sometimes I felt like it made it worse bc it would pool up, I just got rid of any excess in the nipple. Then I would use a vertical hold with him a little on top of me and it gave him more control over when to swallow. The sputtering has improved a lot with that hold. This is what I tried and it has worked well for us. I hope you find what works for you too.
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  • zakiyascott3zakiyascott3 member
    It sounds like your supply is coming in. Things will adjust as your baby determines how much milk they will need. I agree this is the uncomfortable period, but warm showers and breast massages help. In term of latching...have you tried different positions. The football hold helps me when the baby doesn't latch well and patience☺️

    Babies poop sounds okay...pea green to mustard color is normal. Breastfed babies digest milk well and poop more frequently.
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  • hethr519hethr519 member
    Pump an ounce or two getting the letdown out of the way before putting baby on. If you feel letdown while baby is on, take baby off and push your nipple in for 10 seconds or so. Your supply should level out in a few weeks. Side lying position seems to help. I'm breastfeeding my third baby with an overactive letdown. Don't give up! It gets better!!
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  • elizalegselizalegs member
    KD32412 said:

    Green?!? It should be mustard colored seedy poop.

    i think green is the transition period from meconium to regular poo #poo101
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  • KD32412KD32412 member
    elizalegs said:

    KD32412 said:

    Green?!? It should be mustard colored seedy poop.

    i think green is the transition period from meconium to regular poo #poo101
    Ahh yes, you are correct!
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  • katesalms22katesalms22 member
    My LO seems to be doing a lot better latching on and not gagging or pulling away... I don't know if it's because I've started to position myself laying back a bit while I feed him or my let down has adjusted to him. Anyway, he still is having greenish frothy stools and is still very fussy and gassy... I read online that it may be from him not getting the hind milk at the end of a feeding... Some suggest to do block feedings? Do you think I should try this? I've been feeding him from one breast until he unlatches or falls asleep, then I burp him and if he is still hungry I offer him the other... Should I stick with this or try the block feeding and keep him on the same breast? I just don't want to decrease my supply by doing this but at the same time I hate seeing him get so fussy and upset trying to pass gas or have a bowel movement. He used to have the mustard yellow stools until a couple days ago, so it's not like he's always had these green stools...
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  • hethr519hethr519 member
    Yes. Stick to one side or he won't get the hindmilk. Pumping a couple ounces first will also help him get hind milk.
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  • jesicabrennanjesicabrennan member
    katesalms22 said:

    My LO seems to be doing a lot better latching on and not gagging or pulling away... I don't know if it's because I've started to position myself laying back a bit while I feed him or my let down has adjusted to him. Anyway, he still is having greenish frothy stools and is still very fussy and gassy... I read online that it may be from him not getting the hind milk at the end of a feeding... Some suggest to do block feedings? Do you think I should try this? I've been feeding him from one breast until he unlatches or falls asleep, then I burp him and if he is still hungry I offer him the other... Should I stick with this or try the block feeding and keep him on the same breast? I just don't want to decrease my supply by doing this but at the same time I hate seeing him get so fussy and upset trying to pass gas or have a bowel movement. He used to have the mustard yellow stools until a couple days ago, so it's not like he's always had these green stools...

    I had this with my first. You might want to "block" more aggressively than just one feed. Pick a time frame that you're comfortable with, say 3 or 4 hours and then any and all feeding that you do in that time frame is on one side then the next feed after the 3 hours you switch to the other side and exclusively feed on that side for your time block. Also, let baby pull off during letdown (which you probably can't feel yet, but you will soon) and spray milk into a rag ( but don't compress, let it flow freely) once you're not spraying anymore relatch baby, it should be a more enjoyable feed after that forceful letdown is over. If the 3 or 4 hours isn't enough you can increase it to 5 or 6 hours. I wouldn't worry about supply, you've got plenty, you actually want to decrease it a bit and convince your body you only have one baby not 3 ;) Honestly I dealt with this issue until about 4 months when my milk FINALLY calmed down and started making a more sensible amount of milk. It's a huge pain in the ass but it's better than not having enough milk. I found my body was very quick to make more whenever baby needed it and it actually came in handy later down the road when I had a sick baby who just wanted to nurse instead of eat, I could always quickly make enough. I thought it very stressful at the time but in hindsight it was clearly a blessing to make so much milk so easily. And my last thing I'll say if baby's green foamy poops don't go away I highly suggest cutting out dairy. I had this oversupply issue so I thought my fussy baby and green foamy poop was all because of that but it ultimately turned out to be a dairy allergy that was the real culprit. Keep trying with the blocks but definitely think about eliminating dairy if you're not seeing any changes.
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  • jesicabrennanjesicabrennan member
    Oh and lastly I suggest not pumping! Pumping just tells your body to make more milk!
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  • Chicacruz24Chicacruz24 member
    Sounds like you have got some good advice from different members. I was going to suggest the laid back position to have gravity work with you, but it seems you are already doing that.
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