holy engorgement!!!

[AmamaAgain]

help! im typing w/ one hand so forgive any errors please. I had my baby on monday. thursday overnight my milk came in but my right side became engorged. the left is fine but now my baby cant nurse on the right. i've tried cold packs for areola swelling/firmness, tried pumping but only a few drops will come out. i've tried soaking my breast in hot water. tried feeding through it but the baby gives up because none comes out. what can i do??? i know its probably plugged ducts but my two breasts are now completelyyyyy different sizes. the right one hurts so much. will this be permanent? how can i get the milk flowing again???

[mkmb129]

I usually had to express a small amount of milk before ds could latch those first several weeks, usually in the mornings, because I just got so full and hard he couldn't get on. I'd try to express just enough to soften the nipple for your little one to latch on. In the hospital I was told to put a heating pad on the breast for 5mins then pump, I guess the heat helps with let down. It won't last forever, and lots of people do end up a little lopsided while nursing. It's completely normal!

[ellesmom]

Ice it for about 15 mins right before you pump. When my milk came in I was so engorged and the LC had me ice before I pumped. She said that sometimes there is so much swelling the milk can't flow. I was able to pump quite a bit after I had iced them down. I know how much that hurts!!

[AutumnMama]

Jumping in from Dec I'm sorry you have to deal with this, I get terribly engorged in the first week or so, it sucks!

Something you might try is to get your babe to latch on to your smaller breast and once your letdown starts, manually express on your other side. I could rarely get milk out when I was engorged because it was so severe and I couldn't get suction from a pump, but once my letdown started it was a bit easier to do it manually.

Hope it clears up for you really really soon!

[leurMaman]

I get in a shower or hot bath and milk the engorged side for a while. hth

[carolina~mom2be]

just wanted to send big hugs to you momma....engorgement is the worst!! I will take contractions over those first few weeks of nursing ANYDAY!!!! I would always take a hot shower and try to express some milk out of the really sore side....no other advice, just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone

[sonshine_rae]

Originally Posted by leurMaman

I get in a shower or hot bath and milk the engorged side for a while. hth

I had to do the above with my first kiddo too. 2nd kiddo was strong enough to nurse through engorgement. This third kiddo is about half and half.. sometimes I have to express first (I haven't pulled the pump out.. just used warm/moist heat ((wash cloth)) and massage down towards the nipple), other times he can handle it. Other times... I'll feed on the less engorged side and the engorged one will let down while I'm feeding off the other lol!

It WILL work out.. you won't be this way forever.. but it surely is hard.. and painful etc (((((hugs)))))))

check out http://lalecheleague.org to find LLL leaders in your area they can help a lot too, even if just to encourage you. My LLL leaders saved my BF'ng relationship with my first kiddo....

[Fireflyforever]

Savoy cabbage leaves refrigerated then popped in your bra are meant to work wonders for engorgement ... sounds odd I know but I have several friends who have sworn by it

[ibusymomto5]

Engorgement is the pits, but it doesn't last forever! I second the cabbage leaves! I've always used green cabbage. Take a glass or rolling pin and roll over the leaf to break open the veins of the cabbage. It releases the good stuff that reduces engorgement. Then put the leaf right into your bra for 15-30min. It really works! In fact you have to be careful to not do it too much, because it can and will decrease your supply. I think I've heard not to do it more than twice a day. Once has always been enough for me in the past.

There is something else to try too that is very effective. If you can get your baby latched onto the engorged side, have someone else deeply massage the ducts where the sore, plugged area is. Have them massage pretty deeply in a milking sort of way down towards the nipple area while the baby is nursing. I had my dh do this last week when I had a bad plugged area almost under my armpit. Ds kept trying to suck and suck and nothing was coming because of the plugged area. Once my dh started massaging the sore area, the milk started flowing, and ds started gulping. It helped SO much! The next couple of days that same area continued to try to get plugged, but it wasn't nearly as severe and now it's completely better.

I hope you can get relief soon. It's no fun, but hang in there because it is only temporary.

[Fly Girl]

I third the cabbage leaves but you might need to do it more than the 15-30 minutes. My milk came in 48 hours after Madeline's birth and I was horribly engorged for 3 days. My midwife said to put one cabbage leaf on each breast underneath your bra and leave it there for 2-3 hours. Your breast will basically sweat out some of the extra fluid. Continue to do this until your breast no longer feels rock hard. It took me about 15 hours of this before I no longer felt like I was carrying around bowling balls in my chest. But yes, be careful because if you do it too long it can eventually dry up your milk. Take the cabbage off when your breast starts loses the rock hardness.

My DH laughed at me but it totally worked. Good luck!

[TaraRae82]

I'm right there with you mama! My milk came in last night and my breasts about doubled in size overnight. Crazy. My left side is SOOO engorged that when I self express it leaves prints of my fingers where I'm pushing. I hope yours gets better really soon!

Thanks for all the great advice ladies! I was just getting ready to call the LLL leader in my area for some more ideas on how to relieve this.

[AmamaAgain]

ok...to I just applied to cabbage leave. When it starts to fell softer..than what? Should I pump (though I'm scared it will hurt still)...should I nurse (though I'm terrified it will hurt still), or should I hand express?

This engorgement with my first child made me quit nursing. I don't want to be a quitter again!!!

[Fly Girl]

Once your breast is softer the pain should go away. I would go ahead and try to nurse at that point. But maybe keep trying to hand express until you can nurse again. You need to get that milk moving