Producing Too Much Milk!

You are in the same boat I am in!!! I am trying to wean my daughter down to 1-2 times breast-feeding. However, I had that engorgement problem at first too. I used bags of frozen peas-15 minutes on, 15 off for about three to five days and only pumped off 2 ounces at most. This way, I kept what she might need, but reduced the amount. I'm confused on the weekend thing too, but maybe it's stress related, or loss of sleep. I know that if I don't get enough sleep, I'm engorged like crazy; if I get enough sleep, I have just the right amount.

Good luck with the bags of peas, I hope it helps.

Kim B.

i don't know if the time is available or not, but the first thing i would suggest is to nurse your baby more. maybe twice in the morning and twice in the evening. at only six months your baby needs to nurse more than she is. believe it or not, baby's saliva actually determines the nutrient qualities in the breast milk. therefore baby should be able to get the most out of this truly unique nutritional blend. if this is not an option and your freezer is so overflowing that you couldn't possibly provide her with even one more bottle of pumped milk during the day, then i would suggest that you continue to pump as often as works for you and then i would suggest you donate it. there are many women out there who have just the opposite problem. and even more babies unable to breast feed because their mommies are drug addicts and such. you can find out more about this option thru your local la leche league.

i actively breast fed my first until 14 months, and now my second who is 12 months nurses usually four times a day, not including middle-of-of-the-night feedings. and i work late three nights a week. both are incredibly healthy and vibrant with very few colds or signs of a weak system.

i hope this helps in your struggle.
D. :o)

have you tried heat or ice? I would get a duct that would clog and heat packs helps to soften it so the milk would flow easier for expressing by hand when I had to, or before nursing. And ice after helps to shrink swollen tissues. Both would feel good at different times. I loved getting into the hot tub, but you can't do that at work. I am thinking the ice might be really helpful. You can get small gel ice packs that would fit nicely into your bra, so no one would know and you could still get work done.
Good luck I know how much it hurts!!

Getting some softshell sore nipple cups will help greatly.. they gently create a suction on the breast while you nurse.. so you wear one on the side you aren't nursing, but you wear them all day too. it will help relieve the engorgement... you can find some good sized ones at www.birthandbaby.com the ones i recommend are teh medela softshells sore nipple kit... hope it helps you some..

By pumping, you are telling your breast to produce more. Try pounding the cabbage leaves slightly to release some of thier juice. I put the leaf on the counter and pound it a couple of times. You can try heated witch hazel on a rag and put it on your breast. This works best at home of course, and lay down if you can on top of the compress. Keep it as warm as possible. What helps is a heating pad on the couch or floor and put a bag to prtect the pad from getting wet, and than you lay on the rag on the heating pad. This will help dry your milk completely when you are ready to wean, so be careful not to dry too much!

Hello,

Ouch! I remember those very painful times - I'm big breasted anyway - but when I was breastfeeding - oh momma! Too your question...first off, you are quiting at a hard time to quit as your body and your daughter are actually ready to produce more but feed less...what I mean by that is your daughter is growing so is ready to take more milk in one sitting. Another amazing medical mystery is that when you are around your daughter all day, you her body is talking to your body - like when she cries you leak type stuff. You might want to keep it going a bit longer - definitely won't hurt her, but could keep your schedule a bit more hectic. The only other advice I have for you is to keep pumping just enough to ease the discomfort, over and over and over again. Your body will get the hint. Also you may wish to call a breastfeeding consultant or LeLeche group for help. My daughter was in the hospital for 6 weeks and they were always ready to help me.

Positively,
M.

Little about me - mom to a darling girl of 5 years and wife to an amazing husband for 15 - and farm girl to a host of animals....

Hi M.!
The only thing I can figure is it's cause you're pumping after baby go's to bed.Do you do that on weakends?
I had to go to the bathroom sink and just express milk(sqeez it out).Not real pleasant,but the more suction the more milk comes in.So you need to pump as little as posable.
Anyways that's what I had to do.Had same problem seemend like my milk would never stop.Embarrassing as it is.I even had to go to other poeples bathrooms and express and rinse it down.They didn't know,but still n ot pleasan.Hope you can get it under control sincerly.
Shelly W

When I had my 1st daughter, she wouldn't BF and I pumped... a lot. My mom had a friend who adopted a baby, long after I stopped BF, and this friend was going to attempt BF the adopted baby. To do this, she basically had to trick her body into thinking that she needed to produce milk like she had just had a baby. To do that, she did some hormonal stuff and she had to purchase breast milk to drip down a tube to her nipple so that when the baby suckled she got milk and kept suckling. Obviously she wouldn't continue to suckle without any results, anyway it worked for the most part. MY whole point here though, is that I would suggest you look into how to go about packaging and selling excess milk you produce while you have excess to sell. I don't remember how much my moms friend had to spend per ounce, but I do remember my jaw dropping and thinking that I wish I woulda known that when I had had my baby. I didn't have excess milk with my other 2 :( Otherwise, don't know what else to suggest. I will keep thinking though.

M.,

That whole body adjusting itself thing is relative. My body took a lot longer than three weeks to adjust itself to on demand production. Like a couple of months longer! I had to work through the pain or have my daughter nurse it out. My body finally did adjust though. Good luck!

Hi M.. The BEST and most natural way to curb overproduction of milk is sage (yes, the herb). I took a strong liquid tincture of sage when I wanted to stop pumping and it worked like a charm. Taken in smaller amounts, you can curb an overproduction problem. I got my sage tincture through a great company called herblore.com (www.herblore.com).

Two things I can think of: 1 is that when you think about your child your milk will come in. If she is not with you you may be worrying or thinking about her. This is the bodys way of keeping mom and baby together.
2 is your diet. Do you eat or drink differently on work days? Some substances can make your milk come in too.
Le Leche League is an awesome resource. If there is not one in your area there are LLL online groups. Contrary to some peoples beliefs they will help you get through any nursing issue you have, to make nursing be the experience right for YOU and your family.

It could be that because pumps are not quite as good at emptying a breast as your daughter is, you are not getting as much out with the pump when you are at work and it's filling up again quicker than it would at home.

Get in touch with La Leche League. Silly me. I thought it was for Spanish speaking women only until my neighbor invited me. Turns out only one woman in the group could speak Spanish. They know everything about breast feeding and you don't have to go to a meeting if you don't want to. Just go to the website to find someone in your area and give her a call. They would be able to help you find resources for some of these other ideas that you've gotten also. Maybe you CAN make a little extra money selling your abundant supply. La Leche League would probably know what company to sell it to. If you just want to cut down your production, La Leche League will help you do that too. I went to them for help with a personal goal of nursing for at least 1 year. I ended up nursing for 3 years. No, they didn't make me. It just worked out that way. The leader of the chapter in my home town was also my real estate agent and she helped my husband and I buy a great little house too. I told you that because I want you to realize that La Leche League isn't just a bunch of bored women sitting around talking about their boobs. They are professionals and non professionals who provide a great community service.

Pump it more, or feed off that breast more.

You don't have too much milk, your baby wants and needs your wonderful abundant milk! Is there any way you can cut back and work part time, or leave work (or have someone bring her to you) at lunch time so you can also nurse her then? 6 month old babies need to nurse more than just twice a day.

Hi M.,

try eating something with the herb savory or drink some savory tea. Savory tea is used in Germany if you want to quit nursing or reduce the amount of milk you produce. I have a friend that had an ample milk supply like you and she drank it and it helped.

Hope this helps you.

Sorry I ment sage!!