Oversupply/Overactive Letdown

middy411 · April 2016

I heard about this but didn't see how it could be that big of a deal. Well now I know. DD pulls and pinches my nipples trying to regulate the milk flow and poor thing chokes trying to keep up with her swallows. I'm practically drowning her with milk even when I recline and have her feed on top of me. The worst part though is that she spits up so much even after only a few minutes of being on the breast. My nipples are so sore (what's new) and my poor LO seems miserable. I've been doing the research on how to deal with the issue but it seems pretty miserable as well. Taking her off the nipple and re-latching her are difficult things for us. She is very strong and has the suction of a vacuum. Ugh! Who knew breastfeeding would be so hard?

egraves4 · April 2016

It is hard! The LC's at my hospital were amazing and I think it would be beneficial for you to see one of you have some good ones in your area. She was able to show me how to do things better than the Internet could. She had a bad latch on both sides but my LC was able to help me get the best latch possible. As for the letdown, I'm sure they would be able to help you out with that too.

VitaLuna · April 2016

Unfortunately, the best option is to pull her off during letdown until it stops spraying. To get her off easier, stick your finger in the corner of her mouth (between her gums) and kind of turn it to open her jaw a little while you pull back. Definitely don't just pull straight off. Owww!

Do you think you have an oversupply or just an overactive letdown? They often occur together, but sometimes it's just the overactive letdown and supply is normal (the case for me with DD1). There are separate things to help correct an oversupply. (Signs of that may be still feeling full after feeds, green stool, etc).

kinnonam · April 2016

I have an overactive let down also that leaves my LO choking also. Laying back and feeding has worked for us. I have also tried the side lying which seems to help him but, he spits up more in that position. I just take him off the boob every now and then to try and let him catch his breath. He fusses and throws a fit until he's back on, sometimes it sprays in his face but, he doesn't choke.

mwmiller4 · April 2016

Ugh. I'm dealing with this, too. I think it's getting slowly better as she gets bigger and my supply regulates. I hope so. I will not miss the hand expressing and laid back positioning. While I like the convenience of breastfeeding mostly, it's messier than I thought it would be and I'm not a fan of that. Maybe it's just me?

TheBeesBonnett · April 2016

I have struggled with oversupply and letdown. The first two weeks of nursing we're so easy. Then all the sudden I had a little choker and pincher, who also got a little virus and started preferring one side because of congestion . I was miserable trying to feed her and had constant clogged ducts . Block nursing has overtime helped me, this webpage has helped the most

https://www.llli.org/faq/oversupply.html

So so far my six week old isn't so preferential since I adjusted our program and I don't have to pump all day to clear out clogs. And she needs less burping during nursing sessions (but I burp her like crazy after ) I still spray everywhere, but baby has grown into coping better and like @VitaLuna said, I often have to detach and let it run to a drip. which I hate, because who can't cry over spilled breastmilk

ashton2190 · April 2016

Is it happening all the time? I've noticed that mine does that when I'm engorged if she slept through the night really well. She'll start choking and come off and I literally spray her in the face. Maybe doing a bunch of shorter feedings would help instead of less frequent, long feedings.

smn14 · April 2016

@TheBeesBonnett that article is great! Thanks for sharing. My LO chokes on my letdown too and met a lot of the behaviours linked with oversupply. I'm trying the 'feed on one side' suggestion at the moment to see if it helps!

TheBeesBonnett · April 2016

I hope that you can get some results and more comfort for you and baby. I used to just be in tears all the time , we're collectively less stressed. This article helped me as well, after reading it I often use a pacifier when nursing, When baby un latches from being overwhelmed by milk and goes into a panicked fury. She calms down faster so we can get back to nursing and satisfies her need to keep sucking after being full very quickly from the over supply

https://www.mamanatural.com/overactive-letdown/

smn14 · April 2016

That's a good idea too. Thanks! I've had many late night tears too!

middy411 · April 2016

I pump in the mornings which helps me not be too full all day but by nighttime I usually wake up with full breasts and they don't go away once she feeds. I've tried the reclining with her feeding on top of the breast but it didn't seem to make a difference. Her poops aren't green so maybe I don't have an oversupply issue. taking her off is hard bc she bites down harder when I stick my finger in there and it's hard to get her to latch properly again. I naturally feed her more on the right bc the latch is less painful on that side so I guess I'll continue to do a few feedings on each breast before switching. I'm hoping if she goes through a growth spurt at 6 weeks that this corrects itself. I was enjoying quicker feedings but the choking/pinching/spitting up is more painful than the cluster feeding!

MississippiCatfish · April 2016

It is frustrating. At 6 weeks, DS is becoming more alert, and so when he has to come off due to letdown, he gets more interested in making faces at me than eating when it calms back down:/ we played this games during MOTN feedings on Friday night, and Saturday morning I was so full because of it I had to pump for the first time. Got 14 oz.

middy411 · April 2016

Trying the block method during the night and by her second feeding there's a lot less screaming, choking, and pulling off. In other news, my left breast wants to explode (this is my second feeding on the right)! I think I created this problem bc I kept hearing advice to "make sure I leave my breasts even" and do "15 minutes on each side" and "offer both breasts each time you feed". To be honest, I was sort of block feeding before I started taking all this advice and it was going pretty well. I'm annoyed that I created this problem by trying to do what I thought would be best. But now I'm just going to try and rectify the problem and move forward. Hope things get better for you ladies with oversupply/overactive letdown as well.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.
-breastfeeding feelings

smn14 · April 2016

Same, I was block feeding initially then told to do both breasts each feed. Already I have a calmer baby after one night! But other boob was very hard this morning!

mwmiller4 · April 2016

@middy411 yay!!!! Im so glad it went better (though sorry about the hard boob)! You got this!

MississippiCatfish · April 2016

FWIW, I've only been feeding one breast per feeding since birth with DS3. With DS1 and 2 I always offered both, because that's "what you're supposed to do with a newborn" and I haven't seen any different in supply/overactive letdown/engorgement this time. I wouldn't spend too much time worrying that you "created this problem." That mindset will kill you in motherhood!

VitaLuna · April 2016

I almost always only feed on one side, with both DD1 and DD2. If she's still acting hungry (or in the early days, if she was still awake) I offer the second side, but it's infrequent that she takes both.

There is a lot of not-so-great info out there, and sometimes your body does what it wants, even if you do everything "perfect". Don't stress thinking it was your fault!

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