Is This Oversupply?

I had an oversupply problem and here is a great link for ideas and how to recognize it!

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

Your milk will lesson as he stops eating so much. Typically takes 24-72 hours for the supply to be upped or down.

And fat babies are a GOOD thing. Little roly poly, chubby things with arm and thigh rolls.

BTW... 1 will get you 50 that over the next month he's going to streeeeeeetch and grow like crazy. And be eating next to nothing.

It's one of the more common growth patterns: Chub out, shoot up, chub up, shoot out. My son doubled his weight twice in the first 6 months. ROFL... and oh... it was HILARIOUS. Because his ped nailed what was going to happen (that he had this kind of growth pattern), but the substitute peds over the next 3 years would kind of freak until I said to look at his chart. Because one appt they'd be afraid because he was underweight, and the next that he was overweight. Micheline Baby to Starvation Baby. As soon as they looked at his chart, they'd do "Oh, he does the chub up thing, huh?" and I'd reply "Yup. Bigtime. My brother says the trick is to stop growing on the thin side... since he quit growing on the chubby side, and had to spend a year in the gym."

Just let baby do his thing and he will regulate your supply. I had way more milk with my second in those early weeks and I just let her nurse in the pattern that she wanted to and it all evened out. Sometimes she would nurse like crazy then almost nothing at the next feeding.

Rather than an oversupply (which you may have a touch of but this is the time when baby is building and regulating your supply) you may just have a fast let down and that's why he is choking. You could try pumping just a small amount off prior to nursing him and see if that helps.

I also have read that breastfed babies will typically pack on the pounds in the first 6 months and then start to lean out. My daughter was little chubby girl with rolls on her arms then she leaned out.

You still might call the pediatrician but from experience, I would also call it oversupply. You may need to try to slow your supply down a little. You might try feeding on one side and pumping the other or pumping a little off both just to stimulate and take the edge off of the let down. Short of that, whatever you decide, watch out for symptoms of mastitis. So not fun!!!

I bet the choking happens when your flow comes through. It pretty much just pours into babies mouth w/out the baby even having to suck which causes the choking. Maybe pull the breast away while the flow comes through to prevent the choking, the older he gets the better he'll be able to handle the flows. If you have too much milk, pump as much as you can and freeze for a later time if you don't need it now.

Like a PP said, a fat breastfed baby is a great thing, so keep up the good work and always let the baby nurse on one side for at least 10 minutes before switching, it's what they get after the flow comes through that has all the fatty stuff in there for them and will help him maintain that healthy weight. Take care!

Congratulations on your beautiful, fat little breastfed baby! How lucky for you! You got some great answers! I just wanted to say, if you still feel you have an oversupply of milk even after you've given the time for regulating your flow, you may want to consider donating extra milk to a milk bank for moms who are having a hard time making enough for their little ones. Check with your ped or hospital for more info and good luck!

I say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth! lol! Pump, pump, pump mama. Pump before you feed. I had to do this with both of my boys because they were stuffing themselves but would still act hungry. I made so much milk that they would nurse on ONE side and be FULL (to the point of throwing up sometimes) of only watery fore-milk within 3 or 4 minutes! So I pumped as much as I could, then let them nurse at which time I would produce as much as they needed. I always had TONS of BM in the freezer as an "emergency stash". It made me feel so good that I had that available just in case. I was totally able to relax.

This is a blessing, all you have to do now is take advantage of it! I recommend Gerber breastmilk storage bags and lay them flat to freeze so you can "file" them by date, front to back, in your freezer in a 9x13 or something similar. My chest freezer has one of those little baskets at the top that is PERFECT for storing breastmilk in like this.

Good luck with your new baby!

I can't answer as to why you feel engorged (full) all of the time or his choking, but I would like to reassure you as to his weight. My son was "a little Sumo wrestler", too. He was 9 lb 10.5 oz at birth and he also gained rapidly. By the time he was 6 months he weighed 23 lbs and he topped out his first year at 27 lb. He had triple chins and folds on his thighs that didn't stop! And yes he was breastfed. I was a tad bit worried and his pediatrician said to me that the studies showed that babies that are at the top of their percentiles in weight that are exclusively breastfed until at least 6 months tend to level out to the "norm" as they get older. (He breastfed exclusively until 8 months.) As I said, he topped out at 27 lbs and he stayed right around 27 lbs until he was at least 3 1/2! He just got taller and thinner and more muscular. At 23 he is tall and lean and healthy!

I would speak to your ob/gyn about the engorged breasts and possibly that your breast milk flows too freely and that is why he chokes. Also that he was always nursing the first six weeks (over?) stimulated the production of milk. If he is still exclusively breastfeeding (no formula, no food), I would ask his pediatrician, if it is normal for him to decrease his food intake. If he has decreased his food intake - that would explain your engorged breasts and possibly his choking from too much milk at once. (The milk ducts take a while to adjust their production.)

I agree w/ the mom that said pump, pump, pump. hehe. Our 3rd son is 2 wks old today and it seems he hardly eats, but he's gaining weight. He also will only eat on one side, then pass out on me. So I do pump, ALOT! ! I see it as a back up if we are out and I can't feed him (hubby doesn't like the breastfeeding in public) or we are going on a trip come Sept. to see his family, so I will have plenty when I am not w/ him or someone else wants to feed him. U can store milk up to 3 months in the freezer. I hate feeling "full" so I pump when I feel that way, but will leave enough if he wants to eat after I am done.

it sounds like oversupply to me. you could try pumping to ease the pressure
a bit. that should help, it did for me, i have an electric breast pump, and all the bottles and things for it, drop me an email and we can go from there.
my email address is ____@____.com
K. h.

My daughter was the same way. I had the most difficult time telling when she was hungry because all of the normal "cues" were just things that she did all of the time. I also had an oversupply of milk. She nursed about every 2.5 to 3 hours and I still could pump about 8-10 oz. per day for storage. I don't think that there is anything wrong with your sons weight at all. Some babies are just bigger than others. I've never been concerned with weight because this isn't an age where it's necessary to worry about something like that, particularly if they are breastfeeding. Perhaps he is choking because you have a strong let down. Same thing happened with my little girl. She is now 7.5 months and still chokes sometimes because my letdown is so strong and fast. I'll put it to you this way. She never took to a bottle because she could get it from me faster.

One thing you might try is only nursing from one breast. That's what I had to do to slow my production. Eventually my body leveled a little bit. I still produce more than she needs, but it's not nearly as much excess as it was.

Updated

My daughter was the same way. I had the most difficult time telling when she was hungry because all of the normal "cues" were just things that she did all of the time. I also had an oversupply of milk. She nursed about every 2.5 to 3 hours and I still could pump about 8-10 oz. per day for storage. I don't think that there is anything wrong with your sons weight at all. Some babies are just bigger than others. I've never been concerned with weight because this isn't an age where it's necessary to worry about something like that, particularly if they are breastfeeding. Perhaps he is choking because you have a strong let down. Same thing happened with my little girl. She is now 7.5 months and still chokes sometimes because my letdown is so strong and fast. I'll put it to you this way. She never took to a bottle because she could get it from me faster.

One thing you might try is only nursing from one breast. That's what I had to do to slow my production. Eventually my body leveled a little bit. I still produce more than she needs, but it's not nearly as much excess as it was.

by 8 weeks your supply should be getting around to what he needs..

I did have oversupply but my little girl was choking and gagging... they told me to pump a bit before she ate so the milk wouldnt choke her..

he shoudl eat on one side only.. so he gets all the rich milk.

call la leche..