Oversupply, gassiness and fussiness

[maba]

I've been exclusively breast-feeding my 4 mo baby. He's usually very content and happy, but whenever he cries it's almost always because he has to be burped. Off late, he's become extremely fussy in the evenings. The fussiness decreases after he burps. But sadly one burp doesn't do it and again he starts fussing and the burps keep coming. I eat a pretty healthy diet - no processed foods, gluten, soy, sweeteners, refined oils. I do eat a little bit of dairy - very little milk in my coffee and a little bit yoghurt. I do eat ghee (which I understand is free of casein and whey). I don't eat a whole lot of lentils/beans. I doubt it is my diet. However, I do have an over supply and it has been pronounced since DS started sleeping through the night. Then I started dreamfeeding him a couple of times in the night but my supply hasn't down-regulated. I block nurse on each side for as long as 8 hours sometimes and breasts still feel full. In the mornings, I have an over-active let-down and the milk literally sprays on DS' face. Could the over-supply be causing the gassiness? I'd like to know what remedies are available for both the OS and gassiness. Gas-drops are my last resort, I'd prefer something natural.

Thank you all in advance. 

Edited by maba - 1/15/11 at 4:00pm

[boatbaby]

same issue here so I will be following along. FWIW I found organic gripe water from Whole Foods truly helps. That and lots of burping :)

[Knitting Mama]

I would definitely start out by assuming that it's the oversupply. Have you read kellymom.com's page on dealing with oversupply? Maybe there is something there you haven't tried yet?

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

[maba]

Thanks boatbaby.

@Cecilia's Mama: I've read that page and I've tried block-nursing. In fact, I block nurse longer each day. Today, I nursed 12+ hours on one side and I'm still not done on that side. I end up manually expressing about 2.5 - 3 oz on the other side every morning. Is it true that the supply drops naturally after 4 months?

[Knitting Mama]

Mine certainly did, sadly enough. A lot of women who have oversupplies, though, do report a balance being struck after 4 months.

[neonalee]

I don't think my supply has gone down much & we are at 5.5 months.  It's pretty stable, but I still spray DS.  It would happen every feeding I suspect but I've been really lucky that he's figured out how to deal and doesn't usually pull off.   If I notice the let down I will pull him off and spray into something until it goes down, especially when we first come home after work.  I don't know if it's the best solution, but I pump.  I mean, I pump anyway because I work, but if I go too long without pumping or  feeding on a side I pump before giving him that side.  Sometimes I pump while he's feeding on the other side.

I do  a kind of block feeding for my own convenience at night.  He feeds from 1 side all night (we cosleep) and I get up in the morning and pump the other side.  I usually get from 2 - 4 oz!  Then I get ready for work, feed him from the side I pumped, he goes to daycare, I go to work.   I pump 4 times while I'm at work and usually get about 16 oz if I've been drinking enough water.  17 oz go to daycare daily.  He is ebf on demand once we pick him up.  I always have extra to put in the freezer every week and donate the extra every now & then.

So that's how we deal.  Honestly, I like the way it worked out because it's working for both of us & I never have to worry about having enough pumped milk for daycare.  I also feel good that my OS helps other moms be able to not use formula.  I hope something in there helps!

[maba]

After waking every morning with engorged breasts for the last 2 months, I woke up with soft breasts this morning. Baby is exactly 4 months old and 1 day. I got really worried in the middle of the night last night and woke up and tried to manually express to see if I was producing milk and I was. Phew! Also I block nursed on 1 side for almost 14 hours and I thought that affected the supply but reading the other threads here, I believe this is normal at 4 months. Please assure me that this is indeed the case.