Engorgement

Breast Engorgement

Amelia and I went home from the hospital on day 2. My milk came in the evening of day 2. Engorgement started in the morning of day 3 and was awful until day 5.

Thankfully, she latched immediately upon being placed on my chest after birth. I needed to use nipple cream almost immediately, and shortly switched to Lansinoh Soothies Gel Pads which were a godsend! I hadn’t planned to pump because I didn’t want to mess up on demand feeding, but I was so engorged the inflammation was out of control and I felt like I was going to pop. They were hot to the touch, held indentations from my nursing top, my hair follicles were visible from across the room, and even the lightest touch made me cringe in pain. Don’t even get me started on how horrible it was to shower without any support for those big things. If I had to guess, they went from an F (what they got to during pregnancy) to at least a J. I didn’t have the guts to measure them, because I surely would have been disgusted. I used my ice packs 20 mins at a time throughout the day, which was helpful but they didn’t encompass the entire breast. So I ran out to Target and grabbed Lansinoh TheraPearl 3-in-1 Breast Therapy, which were amazing and I could also pump whilst wearing them. I ended up pumping just a little at a time so as not to damage the already fragile tissue. I got one or two ounces the first time and that alone helped relieve some pressure. Later that evening before bed I pumped again and got about 4 ounces out of each breast and I felt such relief. I then pumped twice the next day and the next. I now pump 1-2 times per day for storage purposes, since I am mostly relieved. I am not sure how much longer I will do that, as I don’t want to get too much of an oversupply that I have to keep up with. My nipples bled a bit and became slightly blanched from all the pumping and frequent feeds. To remedy this I used Motherlove Nipple Cream (after I stopped using the gel pads), which I highly recommend! I still have initial latch-on pain, which I expect to subside after a week or so. I am pumping a ton, and Amelia is already back to her birth weight and then some, and it hasn’t even been a week!

I want to offer a bit of advice to other breastfeeding Moms in the very first week post birth.

~Get baby skin to skin as soon as possible and make it known to your labor and delivery team that you want to breastfeeding immediately.

~If you are unsure about how to get a baby to latch ask for help. If you get a couple bad latches, your nipple can be easily destroyed. This happened with my first baby when I had an awful lactation consultant who forced her on my nipple and then ripped her off. This resulted in massive amounts of pain, a defeated attitude, a hungry baby, and I had to use a Medela Contact Nipple Shield for several weeks just to combat the pain. If I had not had that experience, I would have been a lot better off. Nevertheless, I pushed through and ended up having a greater appreciation for the struggles of breastfeeding, and the value of milk!

~Nurse on demand and continue skin to skin for the time in hospital, if baby is tightly swaddled all the time, it is hard to notice hunger cues.

~Do not give up. If you want to exclusively breastfeed, do it. Persevere and get good help if you need it as soon as possible.

~If you want to supplement because it is easier and/or more convenient and you are worried about your baby’s well being (not eating enough), do it. Do not let others pressure you into one method of feeding over the other. Just be sure to educate yourself on the benefits and cost of all methods.

~Know that pump and dump is not really a thing and does not help reduce alcohol in your breastmilk. If you are going to drink alcohol, you generally need to just wait about an hour per drink to feed or pump (alcohol leaves your milk as it leaves your blood). There are many schools of thought but if you feel sober, you are usually safe to breastfeed. I always follow the 1-hour/drink rule, and my first daughter turned out just fine! Also, note that alcohol consumption can reduce milk supply.

~Relax as much as you can. I am a firm believer that babies sense your emotions and will mirror your anxiety or sense of calm.