Middle of the Night engorgement....OUCH!

I had the same problem.Wheni stopped pumping my milk in the morning they stopped being engorged.Try itfora week and see if it helps.

Hi Ranae,

Yeah!!!! A good nights sleep. I bet you thought that would never happen again, or atleast anytime soon.

I would like to introduce myself, my name is H. B. and I am a board certified lactation consultant. I agree with the three comments that you have recieved.

Yes, your milk supply will adjust but it may take some time. There are some things that you need to be aware of while we reduce the milk. If you are feeling fullness to the point of engorgment in the middle of the night, yes you should pump or hand express some milk out of the breast. The idea is to remove "ONLY ENOUGH MILK TO FEEL COMFORTABLE..." 2-5 MINUTES. We are not looking for quantity but relief. If you were to pump a 15 minute pumping (great way to build a supply in the frig/freezer),(I'd rather sleep) but this would simulate a feeding and continue making milk for that feeding.

Some other things to keep in mind.... keep your eyes open for plugged ducts, severe engorgment and/or mastitis (breast infection). This may happen if you went from feeding 2-3 times a night and just stop. Also wear a comfortable bra or no bra, nothing constricting. If the bra is too tight that alone can cause plugged ducts.
Any sign of red, swollen area's on or under the breast, flu like symptoms or a fever. These would be signs of possible breast infections. You would need to contact a lactation consultant and/or your obgyn/doctor. In the case of true mastitus, then antibiotics would be needed.

Usually it will take 3-5 days for each skipped breastfeeding. So, if you were only feeding 1 time at night it should clear up in 3-5 days. However if you went from3 hours to 8-10 hours between feeding, its probably going to take longer because multiple feedings are being skipped.

Most people are happy when thier baby starts to sleep longer stretches. Once we relieve the engorgment, you will be able to sleep the whole night too.

Most babies start waking again around 9 months old. It is not usually because they are hungry but because of seperation axiety. So if the pattern of sleeping thru the night and continues until 9 months. My next suggestion would be to offer him a cup of water. That way he won't get use to Bf at night again.

I hope this info has helped if you have other questions feel free to write me back. Good Luck! Enjoy your sleep when you can!

H. B.

P.S. I forgot to mention this..... when your breast become engorged, this is a signal for the body to stop producing milk. I would not like to get up to pump but I worry if you get too engorged you could lose your supply completely.

In my experience you will regulate to your son's schedule. This can be painful and there are a few ways to deal with this. "pumpstation.com" should have tons of advice for you, even ways to contact them. For me, I endured the pains, sometimes I would manipulate milk out by hand just a little to feel better rather than pump so that the breast didn't think it still needed to produce. This is only my experience, the Pump Station, as well as other mom's will have much more advise for you I'm sure.
Hope you find comfort soon!

N.

Your milk supply should even itself out. When my daughter started sleeping through her nighttime feeding, the same thing happened to me, but eventually my milk supply just changed to accomodate the lack of feeding at night. Hope that helps!

Hello. I had this problem happen to me too. I didn't pump and my milk supply eventually regulated itself, but I did get mastitis. I believe this happened because I was engorged every night. I was advised to pump a little at night. Don't pump a full four ounces or whatever amount you regularly get. Gradually decrease the amount you pump. Say you regularly pump 4oz, then pump 3oz for 3-5 days then decrease it to 2oz for 3-5 days then you should be fine. After my son stopped nursing at night I would pump before bed every night at 10pm. This allowed me to store some milk and make it through the night without leaking or becoming engorged. I hope this helps.

Yeah.. it will adjust. Pump for relief if you have to, but not too much/too long or it will encourage the supply to remain the same (unless you are trying to build a stockpile of milk--in that case, freeze the extra so you can have a night OUT!!)

Congrats on the extra sleep. Moms deserve it!!

I had the same problem. My son started sleeping through the night about 7 months old and I use to pump at night before I go to bed but every morning I would be full and ya it hurt like crazy. So what I did is that I would pump one night and skip a night and then I would skip two nights and so on and so forth. Now I pump in the morning time and I'm not in pain anymore. Just try that and if should work.

That is the same thing that I experienced... My daughter began sleeping through the night at two weeks old, and FOR ME, it did eventually regulate itself.

My body adjusted to a schedule, and I hope yours will do. I took me over a week of dealing with the pain. Owie! But, when I got there, it was worth it!

Yes, your milk supply will adjust to your son's not eating as much at night. However, if it is really painful for you, then keep a pump by your bed and pump just enough milk to relieve the engorgement, just a little on each side. When my son was 9.5 months I quit breastfeeding suddenly and suffered painful engorgement as well, so I would just pump off enough whenever needed to relieve the pain. Also, don't wait until they are so full that it hurts to pump, try to do it a little before that. Hope you find this helpful.

Skip the pumping wear a night time bra with pads or a sport bra because the compression helps slow the milk and after a few nights your body will stop producing unused milk and will wait until he needs his breakfast. Pumping is going to continue the milk being produced because your body sees it as being usefull.

R.,

I pumped right before I went to bed and then again when I woke up if my son was not awake. But I was so full all the time I could have feed twins. lol I did not loose anything that way either.

Hope this helps and sleep well.

L. C
Personal Nutritionist
www.herbalmom.com

I totally know the pain you are talking about. The best way to deal with it, is if you are already pumping in the middle of the night, just see if you can make the time spans longer, just endure the pain a little longer each night, say an hour or even two until you reach the time he is waking up. Then your body will adjust.

Hi R.
I have an 8 1/2 month old son. When he stopped nursing during the night it took a couple of days for my breasts to regulate. Those first couple of mornings were very painful. You could pump a little when you wake up in the am before he wakes up to nurse. I never did becuase I was told they would regulate and they did. Enjoy that long stretch of sleep. It is GREAT!!!