Engorgement
I remember the midwife at my antenatal classes describing engorgement as waking up to discover that you have transformed into Dolly Parton. Now being small breasted, a part of me thought — YAY! Finally, I'll have large breasts and naturally too!!
My baby was about 4 days old when my milk came in and I can tell you now that I will never again use the expression "YAY" to describe my engorged breasts. They were huge, sore, full, and heavy. But the lovely thing, or the thing I could at least feel great about is that my body had actually gone from making the all important colostrum to breast milk and that was a huge milestone for us.
Allowing your baby to breastfeed as often as they need to — generally between 8—12 times in 24 hours— can help your breasts feel less full and more comfortable. It's likely that your body will eventually settle in and work out how much milk it needs to make for your baby and when it does, your breasts may actually feel a lot lighter, they may even seem empty compared to the full state they were in before.
If your baby sleeps through the night without waking for a feed you may find that you wake up soaking wet or sore and full. My boys woke up every hour and a half so I didn't actually experience this problem myself. If this is a problem for you, you can feed your baby through the night as you need to. Most babies continue to sleep while they feed as long as you don't change their nappy or interact with them, their sleep probably won't be disturbed at all.
The other option would be to express a full feed at least once during the night. So if your baby feeds last at 10pm, you may want to express at say 2am and then feed at 6am, or whatever time your baby wakes.
Trying to feed your baby with really full breasts can make it difficult for him or her to latch on, so you might like to try hand expressing a little before a feed so that they aren't so full.
You can also express for your comfort too. Many mums find it helpful to express just enough to ease their pain. Expressing to empty your breast may tell your body to produce more milk which may make things worse. Using a warm face washer before and during a breastfeed and cold packs after or in between feeds can help with any pain.
Substituting your breast feeds with water or formula, or making your baby wait a certain time period before letting them feed can make you feel fuller or lead to blocked milk ducts.
Usually the simplest way to deal with this common and temporary problem is to keep feeding your baby. You might find that you become engorged when weaning your baby or toddler. If this happens you can try weaning more gradually.
Please always remember to consult your health professional to find out information that is relevant to your specific situation.
Do you know someone who may find this article helpful?
If so click 
to SHARE it.
Where would you like to go now:
Return from Engorgement to Breastfeeding Problems
Go to Flat and Inverted Nipples
Go to Sore Nipples
Go to Mastitis
Go to Cracked Nipples
Go to Thrush and Breastfeeding
Go to Breastfeeding a Teething Infant
Return to The Essence of Breastfeeding
