Talk to me about block feeding/oversupply

[andlee]

So, like a lot of y'all, I suffer from one worker breast and one slacker breast. At nighttime, worker breast gets super engorged, and I can feel little clogged ducts in it. On top of this, when I try to get DS to eat from it he acts like it is going to bite him because the flow is so fast.

I want to try block feeding, but I'm a little confused as to how it works. I was told that you feed off the same breast for 3-4 hours at a time and this slows milk production down. Does this mean I should feed him exclusively off of my slacker breast to slow down production? Lately I've been waking up and pumping from the engorged breast, just for some relief, but I think this is exacerbating the problem. Is it okay to just leave my breast all achey? I've never had a breast infection, but I thought that leaving milk in/ducts plugged was a good way to get one? Also, he only eats every 3-4 hours, so am I basically just feeding him twice in a row from the same breast? Should I do the same treatment for slacker breast too?

On top of this, I'm worried about returning to school in the fall. I'll be pumping, and am trying to prepare for a dip in production. Do you think I should just count my blessings and pump as much as I can while I can and ignore the fact that worker breast hurts pretty badly sometimes, as it'll resolve itself once I return to school?

[jdg]

I just did a short spell of block feeding, so I'm not an expert but thought I'd throw in my experience.

You need to go long enough in a "block" for the other breast to become somewhat engorged. It has to be full/uncomfortable enough that it is sending a signal to your body that the quantity of milk is not needed and to make less. For me, my body didn't seem to send this signal when I was going 3-4 hours and there was no change in my milk production, and I had to go up to 6 hour blocks. So from 12-6 I fed on the left side, then from 6-12 on the right side, and cycled back through. I went for three days before my milk seemed to reduce somewhat. I then returned to switching at each feeding.

What I've read is that if you are going to pump from the engorged breast, to only pump for 20-30 seconds. Just barely enough to relieve the pressure/pain and no more. While you are block feeding, you should not pump at all if you can help it as your body needs to figure out how much it should actually be producing.

I was trying to slow down production on both sides, but I would think that you wouldn't block feed on your productive side. I would think if you were just trying to slow production on one side that you wouldn't feed on that side until you were engorged, then feed once to bring things down, then go back to your slacker side.

Are you nursing side-lying at night? This helped my little one deal with the flow, as she was able to control things easier and could just let the excess dribble out of her mouth onto the towel I laid under her.

[MeepyCat]

I actually thought of them as "crazy breast" vs. "sane breast." My DS appeared to have a similar opinion. There is no guarantee that you'll experience a supply dip once you return to school. Intractable oversupply is, well, intractable. And while lots of people go through a spate of oversupply at some point or other, things do generally even out by three months. IMO, you want to tackle this problem now. (Also, if you're going to have mastitis, it's nice if you can have it without missing class.)

For block feeding - feed from one side until the other feels engorged. So feed from the higher-producing breast for as many feeds in a row as it takes for the other side to get a tad uncomfortable, then switch.

Really try to minimize use of the pump. Other tactics that might help you feel more comfortable are heat or cold on the engorged breast, or hand expression.

To help your LO get more comfortable with that overproducing side, you can hand express (into a cup or bowl or towel) before offering it to him. You can also experiment with nursing positions that put the baby a little above the nipple - have him sit on your lap facing you, or hold him above the level of your nipple.

[andlee]

Thank you for the replies. We just started side-lying nursing through most of the night, but I often feel like he can't breathe through his nose because of the angle of my chest. Today was a good day as far as not getting engorged, and I think being more conscious of what my chest felt like v. what side he fed on last helped immensely. It's good to hear about my supply, because I've been kinda bummed about how stressful a dip in supply will be on top of going to school.

I'm glad to hear y'all had success in regulating your supplies!

[LaydieBugs]

I think you're onto something with the pumping and storing!

And yeah, you can't leave clogged ducts. My midwife had a great suggestion for mine - tea tree oil over the ducts. It helps dry up the milk right there.

She warned putting the oil over the whole breast would reduce my entire supply over there ... might help you? Except that you'd have to wash it off before nursing, that could be a pain.