Hi Ladies!

Okay, so, I just gave birth last Thursday the 19th to my second child. My milk supply came in last night at midnight, and I am dealing with very engorged breasts.

My question is, what can I do to relieve some of the pressure? I am nursing on demand, so whenever Xavier (my son) is hungry, he nurses, and sometimes he just nurses for comfort. I also have a double Medela brestpump, and I have been pumping as well to build up a supply for the freezer for later on down the line, and I also have tried the hot shower to encourage letdown to releave some pressure..

However, even after doing these 3 things, my breasts are still really heavy and full feeling. Is there anything else I can do?

My children are almost 12 years apart, so I cant remember what I did to deal with engorgement with my 11 year old.

Thanks for any ideas!

Congrats again on Xavier's birth!
 


You're doing everything right--nursing on demand, hot showers, pumping a little. Be careful not to pump too much because your body will respond to that and continue making that much milk. So it's okay to pump, but just don't pump so much that you're continually overproducing.

Ibuprofen and Tylenol are safe to take and will definitely help relieve discomfort.

You can also try cabbage leaves on your breasts. Another thing some women do is put some hot water into a disposable diaper and put those on your breasts. The moist heat (as well as the moist heat from the cabbage leaves) serves well to relieve engorgement.

Rest assured that it will get better. It'll probably take a couple of days but you should start feeling less engorged soon.

You're doing a great thing nursing Xavier!
 

Congrats on your new bundle of joy!!
 

I totally agree with everything Deanna said.

I agree with the above. It's not good to let the breasts get too full, but you also don't want to overdo the pumping because too much pumping can cause overproduction. If your uncomfortably full at the end of a feeding or between feedings, then pump just enough to relive the engorgement no more then 10 min's. And don't worry if you find your having to pump for comfort often, it will soon level out and you wont get engorged as much.

avoid to much heat between feedings because it can cause more inflammation. When you do use heat or warm showers to help with milk flow, limit to a few minutes only. Use cold compresses (ice packs over a layer of cloth) between feedings; 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off; repeat as much as you need to