OK more bf'ing questions.

How engorged did you get when your milk came in? How long did it last and how did you "treat" it?

Engorgement has been causing us a lot of issues. I have small (not flat, but not particularly long or large) nipples and large breasts that have almost doubled in size since my milk came in 2 days ago. The small nipple/large breast combo has made latching challenging but doable -- we were having success with the c-hold/breast sandwich technique.

But since my milk came in, it can take us up to an hour to get him to latch. In that time, it's a nightmare of him wailing, thrashing, simultaneously grabbing at and pushing away the breast, trying to latch, latching and sucking and coming off crying... it's exhausting. This is even after I have tried:

Cold compresses
Expressing milk with a manual pump
The reverse counterpressure technique from kellymom

Having to do all these things to relieve engorgement has also proved tricky when it comes to timing. If I plan the feedings for every 2 hours and can get him woken every 2 hours, I can successfully "prep" for the feeding ahead of time, but if he wakes up early and is hungry, or if it takes longer than usual to wake him, then that goes out the window because he will become too crazed in the time it takes me to ice and pump.

So. I know this is a pretty specific situation, but I'd love to hear your experiences with the engorgement period. I also ordered some nipple shields that should be arriving yesterday and am going to call the LC again (talked to them on the phone and they gave me the ice/pump tip but I need more in-person help now) tomorrow morning, but let's hear your thoughts.