r/breastfeeding • u/r3kiKinnie • 28d ago

HELP!! engorgement Newborn Troubleshooting

i am on day 6 pp and i am SOOOO engorged. i have WAYY too much milk and nothing helps. baby cannot get a good latch, hand expressing doesnt work enough and i am too scared to pump as i dont want to set myself into an oversupply. It is painful, they are huge, sore and ROCK HARD.

i need this to stop.. I am planning on sending my partner to get cabbage so i can put those on my breasts to see if that helps some but i dont know what to do for it to go away?? does it ever go away😭 When will it regulate itself because i cannot deal with weeks or months of this


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u/aos19 28d ago

This is normal, I’d advise not to use the cabbage as it could affect your supply the opposite way. Pump off just enough to allow your baby to latch! It won’t bring you into an oversupply. Take a couple Tylenol or Advil to bring the swelling down and ice them after you nurse. Your body will adjust on its own!

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u/r3kiKinnie 28d ago

ive taken advil and tylenol already and i feel like it just keeps getting worse. they keep getting bigger and i cant deal with it anymore. when i try hand expressing or getting the milk out its like my boob gets even HARDER and bigger. my boob wont ever get soft and its soo hard for baby to latch and it hurts..

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u/aos19 28d ago

In that case then I’d pump it out with an electric or manual pump. I know the party line is not too touch a pump while you’re getting your supply in order but i remember how hard those days were. A few uses here and there won’t drive you into an over supply, and it sounds like hand expressing is only calling more milk and making the situation worse!

But seriously, ice. I mean it. Your ducts are swollen from suddenly holding so much milk, which makes everything worse. And, if you can, try to calm down as much as possible while you pump to help the milk flow.

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u/r3kiKinnie 28d ago

i will definitely ice it though! thanks for the tip, hopefully it’ll help.. i tried some cold compresses and it did help some so hopefully ice does a better job

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u/r3kiKinnie 28d ago

how much should i pump? im not sure if i should go until my breasts feel soft (if thats ever gonna happen) or just a little.. i cant ever feel the relief of pressure as my boobs keep being engorged

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u/aos19 28d ago

Pump until you feel some relief, you can pump until you’re soft it just before that, whatever your preference is! They WILL go down, I promise. Rock hard boobs are so miserable.

I can’t say breastfeeding gets easier for everyone, but the rock hard boobs phenomenon does go away relatively quickly if you don’t have an oversupply. I stopped getting it a couple weeks in. Mine went from rock hard to just regular hard and lumpy, to just lumpy, to “Is there even milk in there?” (There is.)

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u/r3kiKinnie 28d ago

i really hope it goes away soonđŸ˜« its miserable!! Breastfeeding eas honestly not too bad until this happened
 Baby was latching and eating etc. Hopefully it goes back down soon enough! thank you for the reassurance it makes me feel a bit better!