Question for oversupply mamas!

[aydensmama]

I know I have seen several of us...and I need help with a game plan.

Starting at the hospital with the colostrum- I have had too much. I did start pumping in the first week- to save for part time work and relieve and avoid the dreaded imbalance that I had with both my boys.

Well despite that- we have green poops and a fussy baby.

I am pumping 3-5 oz each breast morning and night for relief- and can still feed him after that- so I am not emptying, just making soft. I started to cut back pumping when the engorgement left, not realizing that the breast was just as full, just not feeling like it.

I have been feeding on one side since day 1. Two nights ago, I skipped a pumping session because I felt soft, and then he slept that evening till 4am, the other waking at 6:30. So one breast went from 9pm to 6:30am and nearly blew up, the other from 7ish to 4am. That day we had our first green poop. I picked up pumping again getting 5 oz each breast for the last day and a half (once morning, once night). Today more green poop.

I know that pumping is making it worse, but if I don't he will only drink foremilk all day long and night will look like a bomb of breastmilk went off in my room.

So I know I need to do block feeding at least during the day. I cannot do it at night, as we already block going so long between eating. I am going to start out with 4 hour blocks for the day.

What do I do with the pumping???? Cut back one once pumping per day? Going longer??? Just keep pumping for now and deal- I am donating, I just don't want it to be so I need to add pumping to the middle of my day.

Any other suggestions? I am not a fan of stuff in the breast (cabbage, ice, etc)- too much trouble for sure and my bras already have enough boobs in them, no room for more.

And I have a big question. If I have fixed his tummy issues, when will he feel better- like how long will the effects of the day where I missed pumping and he slept forever last? I really feel like today and half of yesterday he has gotten the correct balance, but he is still fussy, gassy and green.

Thanks Mommas!

[GradysMom]

If I were in your boat I would do the cabbage - even though you really aren't into it. It works and will help soften your breasts enough that you might loose that need to pump off quite so much, try to back down to just a couple of ounces.

We were having green poops and since I just learned about block feeding about a week or so ago I have done my variation on it with success. HOwever I have a tandem situation so I can give the overfull breast to my older at night. If I loose that I might go back to using a wee bit of cabbage.

I had results with just one huge leaf in each side... just a thought

oh and our green lasted atleast a couple days past our adjusted breast feeding

[wombatclay]

Have you visited the kellymom oversupply ideas list? (here and here

I do a gentle block (feed twice from the right, then twice on the left, then back to the right)... since it's based on his nursing desires the length of the block varies. For comfort nursing I keep him on whichever breast is "on" or offer a paci if he prefers. I pump just a few ounces from each breast each evening but not a lot... it will take time, but I'd suggest trying to pump a little less each night till you can eliminate that session comfortably. Before bed I have a mug of peppermint tea (mint reduces supply, as does sage) and I do use a few chilled cabbage leaves in my sleep bra. It's the only way I avoid becoming engorged. I also take ibuprophen when I wake around 1am-ish since that seems to help with my breast swelling/pain. DS doesn't show any imbalance at this point... it took a few days to resolve his gassy/poo issues. And I'm expecting some problems when we hit the 6 week/9 week growth spurts.

In your case... maybe taper off the pumping, add some of the milk reduction ideas (herbal teas, cabbage leaves at night, cool water in the shower, breast with a snug bra or cool towel if you don't have a history of plugged ducts), and go with a more organic block system so you don't feel too stressed about night feedings?

And perhaps modify your diet to exclude the top allergens for a few weeks? You may be seeing gassy/green poo reaction to a food as well as the oversupply. With dd1 I had to cut out my own dairy and nut consumption as well as address the oversupply before she really improved.

[sunnyCA]

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to your question, but rather another question all together. I have just started block feeding as just figured out that I am also dealing w/ h/f milk issues which is hopefully the cause of the green foamy poo. I read that this could take several days to resolve. Please let me know how long it took for other mommies to correct this sitaution. However, at the same time, am trying to build a stash for when I go back to work. I am concerned that my pumping might be making it worse.

I have been pumping just once early in the morning after dd feeds. I am pumping both sides and get about 5 oz total. I am scared to pump any more for fear of making the present situation worse. Any thoughts??

[wombatclay]

Breastmilk is a demand/supply system. With oversupply basically a small demand leads to a big supply. Pumping adds more "demand" to the system, leading to an increase in supply.

So the really short answer is "yes, pumping can make oversupply worse".

When you're working you'll pump during the hours you're away from your babe so the pump will essentially "replace" the nursing demand you'd normally get from your babe. When that happens the pumping wont aggravate your oversupply... you'll be keeping the demand constant, and you may find oversupply helpful since many women find they get less milk with the pump and their supply sometimes decreases when most sessions are with the pump but for an oversupply mama this decrease is often a good thing and not a problem for the nursing relationship!

But for now, I totally understand wanting to have a stash ready to go. A single pumping session with 5oz or so is probably not going to cause a huge problem. If you decide to try block feeding you might want to pump the "off" breast before starting to feed on that side... that way your little will start off closer to the hindmilk and you wonnt be adding a lot of extra demand to the system. You might also figure out how much of a stash you need. Depending on your freezer you may need to cycle through your stash every month or two and once you're working you might find it's easier to feed fresh milk most of the time, meaning your freezer stash doesn't need to be so big.

Kellymom has a "how much milk" calculator as well as milk storage by freezer type chart.

[aydensmama]

Thank you Thank you!!!!!!!

I think I will try the cabbage if the block feeding and reduction in pumping doesn't help.

I had read kelly mom after posting this as well.

Wombat- I was totally looking forward to your advice- I had thought you had mentioned your oversupply in other posts. I wanted to know somethings others had tried. I really like the tea before bed.

The block feeding today (4 hour blocks- between two to three feedings) worked well. I pumped this am- cutting back to three ounces per breast, and then tonight on the off breast that won't be nursed again till 4am since he sleeps a long time (totally skipping that block- but I am starting it when he wakes) and only had to pump 2 ounces!

Thanks again!!!!!!!! I feel much better about this task ahead in the next days. I also like the idea of soft blocking- possibly going to two feeds each breast tommorrow, unless it is a very small snack which he does occasionally.

He was also so much happier today. Very calm and seemed to love his meals at the ends of the blocks.