Breastfeeding ?'S - Plugged Duct and Pumping

I went through this overproducing stage with my middle child, and managed to stash TONS of bags in the freezer. I pumped when he wasn't hungry. Several weeks later, he was hungrier than my production and gobbled through the bags in no time. Save it if you can, be patient, it will even out. When you are home, use the football hold, it is the best way to get rid of the clogged duct. To avoid future clogs, use varying nursing positions. (hard to do with pump) Kudos, and hang in there!

Consider pumping some after she's nursed, to take the edge off during the day when you are home.

I pumped for a year so I know 1) it can be done but 2) some days are hard. I was also pumping at work 3 x a day and nursing on demand at home. It worked out.

I also liked kellymom.com for info. Your baby may be the best cure for a plugged duct. :)

I'd freeze what you don't use in a few days so you have a store to rotate on less productive days.

If you have extra milk and the extra time at home to pump, then try that to take the edge off and freeze the milk for later growth spurts when she'll want more and you aren't producing at the higher rate. You'll both be very glad you did.

I even wonder if you can pump one side at the same time she is nursing one side, since she is only taking one side? It would have been too much for me to handle, but some mom's are pretty clever.

You must be doing a very thorough job of pumping at work to have so much extra milk when you're home. So if you want the production to taper off, then you could probably pump for less time or cut back on one pumping session?

And the best cure for your clogged duct is to have the baby empty your breast while you simultaneously massage the sore area, thereby assisting with the milk flow. I had one duct that always backed up, and I always had to massage during nursing. The position of the baby's mouth can hinder the lactiferous glands from emptying properly. So your manual massage of the tender spots helps.

GL!! It's great news though that you are making plenty of milk for your baby!!

Pump at home and freeze! It's VERY common to hit a pumping slump around 6 months or so and a good freezer stash will make your life then a LOT easier. And even if you don't hit the pumping slump you can use it to mix with cereal or put in a sippy cup when you're doing solids. Milk in the freezer is ALWAYS a good thing

I didn't read your other answers before posting mine...

When you nurse her - you are doing the right thing with one side per session... you can PUMP the other side during each session... every bit helps to keep up your stockpiling supply in the freezer!!

America is very hard on Mothers - especially those who wish to actually be a Mother and there with their child and those who want to breastfeed. I really wish our politicians who talk the talk about being a family friendly/values country would walk the walk - like all of Europe, Canada, Japan, Scandanavia - damn even Cuba and China offer a better maternity paid off package!! These countries give Moms a chance to bond and stabilize their breastfeeding relationship before having to return to work - and do so in addition to a stipend so these new Moms aren't going into bankruptcy just for wanting to be there and do their best with their newborns.

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How much does she drink from the bottle when you bottle feed her? I would probably only pump out as much as she drinks and increase as her needs increase. As far as the clogged duct get a warm/hot washcloth and do a hot compress on your breast that has the clogged duct or take a hot shower and kinda massage it and then pump afterwards, dont be surprised to see a glob come out its kinda disgusting. If you are engorged after she is done feeding only pump until you feel comfortable not until you are empty. If you pump until you are empty your body is just saying i need to make more to meet babies demands and you will continue to stay engorged. Best of luck to you

Yes pump even at home. Eventually your supply will begin to decrease so get a much now as you can. Plus it will elp with any duct problems.

Regarding the plugged duct. Massage it while breastfeeding and pumping this will help some. Also apply as hot a compress to it as you can handle & massage some more. It will hurt but it will help to unplug the duct. Also try making sure she nurses mainly off the plugged side until it is unplugged (not exclusively as you will then have the same problem on the other side).

www.llli.org
find a local la leche league leader/group!

so sorry for your difficulties.
some rules i know of for pumping:
always nurse baby when you are with baby!! this is important as the pump wont stimulate the breast the same way.
if she cant seem to latch on, self express some milk to take the pressure down a little.

just have patience. it sounds like you are doing good; you at least still have milk right! :) your body will adjust. talk to that la leche league leader. she will know more of what to do.

Because of the pumping you are producing more than your daughter is taking. Breasts make milk on supply and demand. I'd say to cut back on your pumping at work and limit to 5 or so minutes per side. You body will adjust in a couple days and everything should even out.

Another alternative is that if there's a milk bank in your area you could continue to pump everything and donate the excess milk.

Both of my kids would only nurse on one side, so I would pump the other side and freeze it. That way if I needed to be gone for an extended time, my husband could do a bottle. Sometimes I would just pump until I felt some relief. I hated pumping, but if I didn't I had the same problem with engorgment.

Definately pump and freeze. My daughter decided to stop nursing at 11 months (much to my dismay). I had a large supply of milk in my freezer so she stayed on breast milk for an extra 2 months. Also, for a clogged duct put cabbage directly on your breast. Make sure it's the green cabbage and not the purple. I'd leave it on the whole day and let my bra hold it in place.

Check out #5 on this link:
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_unclog-milk-duct.html

Like some others have suggested, take advantage of pumping and freezing the extra milk while you can. Your milk supply will probably go down around six months and you might have a hard time pumping enough for her to eat. You can never had too much milk in the freezer! Emptying the breast fully will help with the plugged duct, you can massage the area while pumping or nursing, especially if there is one certain hard spot that you notice. If you don't keep emptying the breast, it will just get worse.

The more you empty, the more they fill.

For a clogged duct, try warm compresses and hand expression.

My favorite site for nursing -- kellymom.com

You might want to consider hand pumping when you have engorgement. You can express just enough to relieve the pain, but not enough to cause your breasts to stimulate production.