[purplekitty]

^ I also introduced a dummy for comfort sucking to stop overfeeding and stimulation of supply.

[lucky 2]

Regarding caffeine and breastfeeding, I don't think there is any evidence to support the thought that caffeine decreases milk production, at a stretch it could impact on let down but not the production of milk.
It can have other effects such as irritability of the baby (as it is a nervous system stimulant) but that is dependant on the dosages, how the mothers body deals with the caffeine and the age/maturity of the baby.
http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/lifestyle/caffeine/

[Liz75]

I had a major over supply with both my kids, which never calmed down. I did manage to get to 6 months with both and the only thing I felt when I stopped was an immense sense of relief.

For me the support of the community LC was invaluable and I was a regular. I don't think I would have lasted so long if they were not there to help.

I would say the issues did change over the six months, so what feels unachievable today, will be just a matter of course next week. Also as babies get bigger they are better at coping with the let down and you find ways to deal with the spray. Babies also feed less often and are more predictable so it is easier to time trips out so you don't feel like you need to feed in public.

Things which helped me were block feeding, stopping comfort feeding and limiting expressing.

Good luck, seek help but remember do what is best for you and your baby as only you know what will make you both happy.

[bluedragon]

I had oversupply too OP, I remember the weeks of squirting everywhere and soaking through clothes etc. it wasn't pleasant but it certainly wasn't going to stop me breastfeeding, I was determined lol.

I won't repeat the advise from others other than to say I wouldn't be expressing, but what I found helped me was:
- only feeding DS from one side at each feed. I would alternate sides, not block feed like others have done, and found this helped. DS kind of naturally fell into this pattern too as he struggled with the flow and was more than satisfied with one.
- tried many breast pads. I wanted to use cloth ones (we use cloth nappies and wanted to use reuseable pads as well) but I would soak though them too quickly. The Pidgeon disposable ones were definitely the best for me. At around 8-9 months I went back to the cloth ones and stopped using them all together around 11 months.

I didn't really feel comfortable feeding in public until around 12 weeks when the spurting if DS pulled off settled down.

I know it seems like it won't settle down at this point but it does eventually, I promise, some just take longer than others.

Think of it this way, you have an abundant supply of milk to help your little one grow and be strong and healthy. You aren't stressing about if he is putting on enough weight or is getting enough milk. You aren't thinking about having to top up with formula because you're not producing enough. Your body is so good at its job you have the opposite problem While I did struggle at times with the over supply I was always so greatful I had the opposite problem to most of my mothers group who had almost all moved to 100% formula by 3 months. I hope this helps you to see the positives in your situation and helps you through the difficulties.

Good luck, you are doing a wonderful job

[Dettol]

I cant feed him any way other than keeping him upright. He has silent reflux, and it has involved a trip to hosp and an overnight stay becuase he choked.

I think the attachment is ok, it doesnt hurt and he attaches quickly and easily, it hurts when he rips off when he starts thrashing around though. He attaches takes 5 or 6 sucks and swallows and then he rips off this can go on for 15 minutes at a time.

Might go back and see the LC again I think. They are the ones who told me to use a towel, wait for it to stop spurting out pop him back on, burp him and go again every few mins if he was struggling. I use a dummy and have been from a few weeks old.

He takes EBM from a bottle really well, much happier baby. This is my only option when I go out I take a bottle with me.

He only feeds off one breast per feed and he cant even drain that. I have a coffee every morning, I dropped it at one stage to see if it helped the reflux but it made no difference so I started having an espresso shot each morning again.

Thank you all for your replies.

[Escapin]

If you can afford it, a private LC is the way to go. Then they can come to you whenever you need it. Mine was $90 per session, worth every cent. If you're in Sydney I can PM you her details.

[Dettol]

Just thought I would give an update, went back and seen LC, and devised a plan, attachment was good so nothing I could work on there. His reflux is at its worst from lunch time until evening. So I am expressing and using a thickner in the EBM, and I have a much, much happier baby.

Had to come up with a solution as he was only just putting on enough weight each week due to the fighting and not wanting to feed after the first 5 mins. Will continue to feed overnight and early morning and bottle feed EBM in afternoon.

Thankyou for all the suggestions.

[Toothfairy01]

Dettol, speak to your paediatrician about it but I think you can also give thickener during the feed to the baby without needing to mix it with EBM and using a bottle (so that it thickens the milk in their stomach). Just thought you might be interested if you didn't want to use bottles.

[froglett]

Op, I'm in the same breastfeeding hell that you are right now, ds is also 8 weeks and I have massive oversupply. As one of my girlfriends has said, i could wet nurse for a whole village! And yesterday I just came down with mastitis, so pain, fever on top of a windy bub is not fun.
I've done a lot of reading and have consulted a LC which has really helped. Here is my experience, maybe this will help you?
Because of the oversupply, ds hasn't been able to fully drain each time he feeds, so he's been suffering from lactose overload pretty badly (windy, screaming in pain, green frothy poos). I've been doing block feeding, where you feed from the one breast for a set block of time. I'm my case I've been doing 4 hours. This does a couple of things. It allows the baby to get the fatty hind milk which helps settle the wind and aid digestion. Ds has gone from 18 wet nappies in 24 hrs to around 10. The other thing it does is signal to decrease milk production, as the breast you don't feed from I the block is allowed to become al,oat uncomfortably full, and this triggers a hormone to slow milk production (can't remember the name of the hormone sorry!)
I've been using a nipple shield, which slows the flow of milk (in my case it was to heal cracked nipples - we've now got a better latch though), so maybe this will be helpful for you? You do need to be careful though, as nipple shield use is linked to mastitis.
From what I've read expressing is not a great idea. In the beginning before. Knew all of this, I was expressing to build up a bank in the freezer, but I think this has contributed to my problems (I could express 150ml in about 5 mins!).
Right now, I do take a little bit off before the start of a feed, just so ds can latch, but only say 30 seconds worth. Whilst full breasts are really uncomfortable, expressing will just increase supply.
The other thing my LC suggested is to take off bra/clothing whilst feeding, and allow the breast your not feeding from to drip.
Hopefully there is something in there that might help you! I'm just hopeful that my body will start to settle down soon, so I can keep feeding... I've really struggled with breastfeeding, so completely understand your pain!

[Dettol]

Hi,

I persisted and bf my son until he was eating a good 2 solid meals a day. So I went until 7 months. He is ff now. It did get easier but every feed was a battle, I stopped feeding from one side entirely and that seemed to help. Supply finally settled down at around 5 months. I was fortunate to have never suffered from cracked nipples or mastitis. I did use a nipple shield in the early days as well, as I read that it was supposed to decrease supply, and it stopped the pain when he was ripping off.

One thing I found bizarre was that when I started feeding him formula, his excema settled down and his skin cleared up as well.

I am glad I persisted as long as I did I made my goal, But I had had enough towards the end.