New mom, breast feeding

I started feeding DS (who was born a week ago) straight from my breast, then DH decided he wanted to be able to feed him too, so I pumped, and he was able to feed him. It turns out the baby has gotten used to ONLY taking a bottle, because it's easier, not to mention my boobs are so full of milk all the time, it flattens my nipples and he has no nipple to latch onto. Now I'm pumping only (and I like it better this way, I know exactly how much he's getting, and I don't have the stress of him latching on), and my boobs are filling up too quickly. Any suggestions on how to slow it down? I was going to just stop pumping as much, but it gets to the point where my boobs KILL because they're so full, I want to continue BF'ing but I don't know what to do about the situation.

[Whitneylauren]

Well you have only been nursing for a week- it takes 6 weeks for your supply to get established. That said, you can try cabbage leaves and warm baths (my personal favorite) for some of the discomfort.

After a few weeks your supply won't be so varied- it is more of a supply and demand kind of thing. You will produce what your baby needs, and if you pump more than he needs then you will make more milk. Be patient- once your supply is established you won't experience any more (severe) discomfort.

[GermanBaby]

I have had to breastfeed through a breast shield because my nipples were too flat for about the past 4 weeks. The pump actually helps my nipples come out. However I am trying to teach my son to latch on at least once a day without the shield. The shield can be a pain in the but.

I also read that it is easily if a bottle is introduced after 3 weeks so the baby does not favor the bottle over the breast. I gave a bottle at 1.5 weeks but I only give it once a day every other day. Usually at night since I have less milk then. I also start with the breast for 5 minutes then give him the bottle.  

That's amazing yopu have so much milk to start with. How many ounces are you feeding, out of curiousity. At 4 weeks I only get around 40-60ml (2 ounces) from a breast.

[Kimberlee_20]

GermanBaby - I'm getting 4 ounces between each boob everytime I pump, he usually eats about 2 ounces at a time though

[kylesMom09]

I had the same prolem in the beginning and it took a couple weeks for it to resolve itself.  I am not sure if you are interested in nursing at all but when my breasts were so full that it flatten my nipple i pumped for a couple minutes and then it was much easier for my daughter to latch on. Good luck and just remember it will get better!!

[hkenny]

mine boobs seemed to be always overfull at the begining,I would say at about 7-8 weeks it resolved. Once you get a routine and your body knows what babies drinks they wont be like that. Trust me it gets better!!  Just be careful not to overpump ( pump way more than the baby eats) otherwise they will always be like that. A good trick if you want to try breast feeding again is stick your boob (S) in a hot bowl of water and express some milk, enough so that your nipple isnt flat,then baby can latch on. I found this easier than hauling out the pump everytime. Good luck and yes it gets better!! MUCH BETTER. my nipples were cracked and bleeding the first week of breast feeding....now I have no problems at all.