So, my baby is 5 weeks old today (yay!) and EBF. It has been established by the lactation consultant that I have an overactive letdown, but we don't think that I have an oversupply. If I do have an oversupply, it is only a slight oversupply (if that is possible!). She is a very good eater and always has been, no problems with latching, but in the mornings when she wakes up (around 6 am), we have the worst nursing session! I know it is because I am choking her and drowning her with all the milk that is spraying out and of course it makes her very uncomfortable. I can't feel my letdown, so I can't just unlatch her and let it leak out. I have tried nursing in different positions, that doesn't work either! So, I have been hand expressing for about 20-30 seconds prior to nursing, which works all day and all night long. However, that one nursing session is stressing me! 20-30 seconds doesn't seem to help. Tomorrow morning I want to pump and see if that helps, but my question is will pumping for around 2-3 minutes aggravate or maybe cause an oversupply? I don't want to cause more problems in the long run! Sorry this is long!
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I never had an issue with oversupply, but I would think pumping for a minute or two prior to nursing SHOULDN'T cause an oversupply. Since your LO is choking on that milk anyway, she's not really drinking it, so she probably won't be trying to drink MORE than what you have left after you relieve some of the pressure and won't stimulate you to start making more milk. Plus if it's only just that one time a day, I think you'll be fine!
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I had this in the early days. I would know when letdown happened because my LO would kind of sputter or cough and then unlatch. At that point, I would hand express into a burp cloth until the spray died down. Then I'd re-latch her. She'd be kind of cranky while waiting, but it was better than the alternative. Not sure if that helps or not! I thought about pumping but it always seemed like too much work. She eventually got used to it plus my letdown seemed to become less forceful in time. I'm not sure when it resolved itself but I want to say around 10-12 weeks or so.
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@Adira: yeah that is what I was thinking! Thanks for responding to my 1000 first time mom questions!
@catlady: yeah, she will usually cough, so maybe that's when I should unlatch and let it spray. I am sure she will be unhappy like your lo, but I agree it's better than choking! I can't wait for this to resolve, hopefully soon! Thanks for the suggestions. -
@ellewoods84: haha, no problem! I feel like as moms, we LOVE giving advice, so I live for these kinds of questions, haha! I just try to avoid giving unsolicited advice!
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I think pumping a few minutes before the first nursing session of the day is a good idea. Most moms have the most milk in the mornings, so that a reason why this nursing session is one of the hardest for you two. I don't think this will contribute too much to an over supply. More milk is better then less anyway, thats for sure! Plus after pumping a few mins every morning you can start a little freezer stash for later.
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I have this problem too but I do have a little bit of an oversupply. I pump about an ounce or two, which takes just a few minutes and that helps him latch and not choke. It has definitely not hurt my supply and I've been adjusting down a bit recently too.
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6 comments