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Engorgement, You, and What to Do

You get home with your baby, everything is going really well. Your baby is latching, and nursing, and happy. And then it happens.

You look like the star of Buxom Beauties 4. Where exactly are the triplets you are supposed to be feeding!? Milk is everywhere. Your baby is sputtering and choking if they are able to latch at all. It is possible that your nipples may sort of disappear into the mass that is your breast tissues, and for the baby, this is a bit like trying to fit a bowling ball into their mouth.

What I am describing is called “engorgement” and though it is common in the early days of lactation. Usually starting the day you get home or the day after. You know, when all your hospital help disappears. Latching a baby on an engorged breast can be difficult, painful, and complicated, so it is a good idea to soften that breast with hand expression or pumping first.

It may be  It is possible that you may not even be able to pump to relieve some of that pressure because of all the fluid compressing your milk ducts. If this happens, contact your IBCLC for help, the milk must be removed from the breast to avoid clogged ducts, mastitis and drying up.

For most women, this feeling of being constantly over full is over in a few days/weeks. However, sometimes supply doesn’t really ever regulate downwards. In this case, you may have an oversupply.

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To Eat or Not To Eat (Part 2)

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The Myth:

There are a number of foods that people (and Pinterest) will tell you to avoid eating while breastfeeding. Beans will make the baby gassy, dairy and citrus will make the baby break out, cabbage will give baby a tummy ache, spices will make the baby fussy, caffeine will make the baby sleepless, and alcohol is pretty much the same thing as child abuse. I even saw one article that said to avoid garlic, because it has a strong flavor.

The Truth:

Variety is the spice of life. Any thing that you drank or ate all the way through your pregnancy, is going to make your milk taste familiar and delicious when you are breastfeeding. Garlic has actually been proven to make babies eat MORE at the breast, not less, and as long as your baby has been exposed to caffeine in the womb, it is unlikely it will affect them that much outside of the womb. Eat what you like, drink what you like, and keep it all in moderation. Science has also proven, the more variety you eat while pregnant and nursing, the less of a picky toddler you will have on your hands. BONUS!

If you are the kind of person who likes rules, here are some:

  • Don’t go crazy with the carbs and sugar, because yeast LOVES sugar
  • Don’t restrict calories
  • Watch your baby, if a certain food doesn’t agree with him, don’t eat it as much.
  • Don’t go overboard with alcohol because:
    • In SUPER high doses it can affect the baby’s eating and sleeping
    • It can inhibit your letdown reflex, and cause the baby not to get as much milk
    • No one wants to deal with a newborn with a hangover! However, pumping and dumping is not recommended. You can’t get the alcohol out of your milk by pumping any more than you could stop being drunk by draining your blood.

 

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Foods to eat, or not to eat (Part One)

Two questions I hear very often from breastfeeding parents: What can I eat to increase my supply? and What should I avoid eating during breastfeeding? This Monday I will focus on the first question, next Monday I will focus on the second.

The Myth of the Galactagogues – “The More Milk Makers”
There are a lot of urban legends floating around about foods that will boost your supply. Recipes for “lactation cookies”, steel cut oatmeal, flaxseed, and article after article about supplements such as fenugreek, goats rue, and blessed thistle. One mother I knew drank pineapple juice, an entire glass, every time she sat down to nurse. I know of a mom who was force fed milk by her mother, because “to make milk you must drink milk.” Most recently, and oddly, women are swearing by blue Gatorade and Oreo cookies. I don’t know why it has to be the blue flavor but apparently IT DOES.

There are tons of old wives tales, cultural foods too lengthy to list here, and homemade remedies. I am sure, SURE, someone is selling an essential oil that they say will make milk flow like the Mississippi.

The Truth
I say to you. The best way you can make more milk is: FEED YOUR BABY MORE OFTEN. Yep, that’s it. The more you feed, pump or express your milk, the more milk you will make. The longer you let your milk stay in your breast, the less you will make. So, eat to hunger, drink to thirst, and avoid eating too much sugar, it will only make you pack on the pounds and possibly land you with thrush. Is steel cut oatmeal a bad idea? Absolutely not! It is a nutritious breakfast full of fiber! Have at it! Do you need to drink gallons upon gallons of milk or water or eat five cookies a day to meet your baby’s needs? Nope.

Remember, you are enough, you can do this. Below you can see my favorite recipe for lactation cookies.

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