I had my daughter 5 days ago and am experiencing breast engorgement. I have tried heat, ice, pumping, and frequent nursing. I have been able to take care of the engorgement on one side but am still having problems with the other side. Are there any other remedies I can try?
Wear a great supportive bra...hand express any that you can if you don't like pumping with a machine...and a warm shower or bath...let those babies float :)
Oh, I hear you. So painful. The only thing that helped for me was to try to get in sync with my kids needs. I would pump just enough to take the edge off, but not enough to stimulate more production. It took a couple days, but got better.
You can also try tylenol.
Good luck.
Oh my....the engorgement was something I was not at all prepared for with my first baby. The thing that helped me the most was getting in a nice warm shower and letting it squirt.
I tried pumping and hated it. The shower gave me the greatest relief.
Hang in there....it does get better.
Congratulations on your new baby!
Just nurse on demand... body will regulate itself to customize to your daughter's needs.
I had this with my daughter but it only took a few days for her to start getting it regulated and then it was better. You can pump off just a tiny amount-just enough for relief-so you don't interfere with her getting your supply regulated.
I always took a nice warm shower or bath and just manually express till you get the pressure off. Also Hubby liked to help with the problem as well ;)
Edit:
I read Theresa's and it cracked me up. I remember milk stains on the arms of my wooden rocking chair. I could squirt milk 6 ft! It was very empowering.
Congrats on the new baby and breast feeding! :)
Anyways I found these rings at target that seemed to help a ton. I think they are made by playtex and they were around $7-8 when I brought them. You can warm them up or freeze them then wear them in your bra. I brought two sets one to keep in the freezer and one to keep warm.
it sounds strange but they say put fresh cabbage leaves in your bra..lol
Oh, how wonderful! I'm glad to hear you are breastfeeding!
With me, my baby couldn't latch on well when I was engorged. Try expressing some of the breastmilk right before you begin nursing. If the frequent nursing (on demand is the correct term) doesn't seem to help, get a consult from a lactation consultant (I know there is one in Austin, maybe not too far from you; possibly you could find one in town). I learned quite a bit and oh, such an improvement!!! (I got the impression that this is your first baby.)
Gentle massage, warm compresses, and pumping are helpful but stay away from the cabbage leaves treatment (they will do too good of a job of drying you up or, in other words, reduce your milk supply). You might find a breast milk bank where you could donate your excess breast milk, if applicable.
Don't worry too much. If you are just uncomfortable and (possibly) struggling to get your new daughter to latch on correctly, you two will probably get this solved in a few days. Do remember that breast milk is produced on demand. As long as your daughter is hungry and will nurse, keep that up (don't skip opportunities to nurse). Seems to me that the engorgement is your body's response to the recent birth and will settle down to match your baby's needs soon. (As Dori W. says: ... pump off just a tiny amount-just enough for relief-so you don't interfere with her getting your supply regulated.)
Now, if you are having pain, please have your gynecologist check for any plugged duct(s). Again, the best thing for "unplugging" plugged/clogged ducts is to continue breastfeeding.
Good luck! I think you are doing great (hang in there)!!
Yay! Congrats on the new baby girl! I LOOOOVE new babies!
I had some breast engorgement too. I tried everything you tried, plus the warm shower water running on them like Shane suggested. Everything helped a LITTLE bit. Only thing that help a LOT was time, sigh.
Oh, and a little glass of beer can help a little too. Don't worry it'll let down soon and soak you and your baby and your furniture....
:)
When I brought my first preemie home from the hospital (after pumping 'round the clock for two weeks), I was producing WAY more than she was consuming, and she couldn't latch, because I was so engorged.
My lactation consultant advised to pump THOROUGHLY just ONCE PER DAY to alleviate it. She explained that my pumping just a little here-and-there to take the edge off was faking my body into thinking that the baby was eating more, and thus making the engorgement worse. It took probably 3-4 days before my production totally slowed down to her consumption, and it was smooth sailin' after that.
Congratulations and best wishes!!
M.
I use to put a heating pad on my breast whenever I was sitting down.
Also, I would sleep with it.
Take a very hot shower, as hot as you can stand it and let the water run directly on your breasts and massage out any knots. It may be uncomfortable but you may find relief afterwards. I did.
I never tried this but our lamaze coach told us to put cabbage leaves in both sides of a tight fitting bra & that dries up the milk. I just suffered w/the tight bras on 24/7 & made sure I didn't put my front towards the hot water while showering. I vowed to try it should I have another child, but never did. She swore it worked so you may want to give it a try. It something w/the chemicals. I don't know, but she really swore it worked.
Nurse on the most painful side first. Massage toward your daughter's mouth. Take a warm/hot shower then pump. Pump more often. Be careful with cabbage leaves, they will DRY YOU OUT!
I just had a baby boy two weeks ago -- congrats!!
I was insanely engorged the first week - my breasts were so hard the skin was shiny. I took a long soaking bath, then I got a manual pump and I would massage the breast while pumping, then I nursed the baby on that breast. It helped a LOT. I stored the breast milk I pumped off, to have something for emergencies. I only had to do this 2-3 times. Now at two weeks my body seems to have evened out.
Congrats on your new addition :)
I did the same thing as TI. I bought the rings with gel in them by playtex, oh wow. I was so engorged, I even had a red streak and heat on one, and by using those things in my bra and nursing frequently I made it through without getting and infection. I would also get in a hot shower and let the steam help me with let down, it was awesome. In the paperwork I got from the hospital it said you could pump to relieve pressure and that this would not increase your milk production. I know when I was weaning my first, I would pump to relieve pressure and had no problem drying up. So you could try that as well. I wish you the best and congratulations!!!
Don't pumptoo much, milk is on supply and demand, as you pump, you're making your body produce more. Only pump a tiny amount to relieve the pressure. Also, try an antiinflamatory med to reduce the swelling of breast tissue.
Try wearing a tight sports-bra or shirt. I had the same problem when i had my kids.
Tight clothes helped them not get too swollen
