Oversupply
Some women have an oversupply of breast milk, which may be your crisis. Maybe you are making more milk than your baby needs. While having too much milk may seem like a good problem to have, the rush of milk from an overfull engorged breast can make feedings stressful and uncomfortable for both mother and baby. Babies can also be very fussy in between feedings when there is too much milk. Babies, whose mothers have excessive milk, gain weight a lot faster than normal and have a few extra dirty diapers each day.Visit the low milk supply page to get info on whether your baby is getting enough milk. An oversupply of breast milk will result in baby not getting enough of the essential hind milk, which is the milk at the back of the breasts that contain most of the nutrients and fat. Read more here on foremilk and hindmilk imbalance Moms can hand express milk to reduce engorgement. How to judge if you have an oversupply of milk: - Baby is often very irritable and/or restless
- Baby at times gulps, chokes, spits, or coughs during feedings - Your baby might bite your nipple while feeding - Baby burps or passes gas regularly between feedings, and spits up a lot - Baby may have green, runny or frothy, explosive stools - Your breasts feel very full most of the time - You often have plugged ducts , which can sometimes lead to mastitis There is a good breastfeeding procedure you can use to reduce milk supply called block feeding:
Keep baby on one breast for a specific time period. For example instead of alternating breasts every 10 minutes, give baby only the one breast for two hours. If the two hour intervals do not decrease your milk supply, try three hours. If the breast that isnt being drained becomes sore try pumping it a little just so that its not as painful. Oversupply causes - Pumping with a breast pump before nursing- Switching baby to the other breast before he has finished the first breast. Some mothers' breasts are very sensitive to stimulation, and switching back and forth without ever draining a breast well can result in production of too much milk in both breasts. How to slow down milk production - Try to avoid extra breast stimulation like extra pumping, running warm water on your breasts for a long time or using breast shells. - Apply cool compresses to the breast - Cabbage leaf compresses and herbs also work - Sage tea has helped some mothers in reducing milk production - Peppermint tea, sage, and thyme help to reduce milk production too - Other helpful herbs for oversupply 
How to Reduce Milk Ejection Force - Breastfeed just as your baby is waking from naps. He will suck more gently when he is still sleepy. - Try lying down while feeding, baby can let excess milk dribble down from his/her mouth instead of having to swallow it all - Feed baby before he gets very hungry this will keep him from sucking too hard, which not only hurts when nipples are already sore, but can cause more nipple damage. - Spray the extra milk into a towel or cloth. Read more on overactive and under active let down Other Oversupply Problems: You do not need to have overfull breasts for them to leak, but it is a common problem for moms with an oversupply - Put pressure on the nipples by pressing your arms tightly against your chest for a few minutes.
(More on leaking breasts during breast feeding here)
Other pages on "breastfeeding problems" in connection with oversupply - Herbs that can help decrease milk production - Safe breast milk storage guidelines - Nursing with large nipples and breasts - Breastfeeding stories from the heart - Acid reflux in the breastfed infant Leave a commentWant to share your stories? Ask a question or just say hello...
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