Milk coming in - pain and struggling to feed

My son was orem at 24wk, I personally wouldn't ditch the bottle just incase you can't feed bubba or you decide you want to bottle feed with your milk for example... Use a warm compress slightly massage your breast sounds like you could have blocked duct , also feeding as often as you can even if it's only 15mins and then you could do a formula top.up feed with bottle? Remember she was early and still growing! Also if you have a pump , it would be good to pump inbetween feeds, due to my son being born so so early i was pumping 8-10x a day , I even would set an alarm in the middle night as if he was with me cos I'd he was I'd be getting up all hours. Also I've never tried this but i hear cabbage leaves in your bra also help with pain and swelling. I hope some of this helps 💜 P.S my 24wker is now 3yrs old little warrior xx

Hey congratulations! I think she is having a hard time latching initially due to engorgement. Try to hand express some milk so it is easier for her to latch. Ditch the bottle and keep her on your breast. You will know she is well fed when her wet diapers are consistent with her age. If you are inconsistent with your feeds, your breasts are going to keep hurting no matter what bc your milk won’t be able to regulate. Also I think what your daughter is doing is called “suckling” she is sending a message for your let down to come (I feel tingling when this happens) and then stops so she’s not working super hard during the time your milk isn’t flowing. As long as you see and hear her swallowing she is okay.

Also I just had my second baby a month ago and this time around my engorgement and pain was 1,000 times worse. My son came at 38 weeks and was smaller than my first. His latch was very shallow and could not get enough of my breast into his mouth. He also seemed to have a hard time seeing my nipple and would only go for his hand. I eventually had to only feed him on the left breast and pump out the right bc of his poor latch. I got milk blisters and clogged ducts. I just learned how to assist him to open his mouth wider after my right one healed up.

I found with engorgement my baby struggled to latch, look up ‘reverse pressure softening’ to help baby to latch. This is if you want to continue to breastfeed- I would also recommend seeing a lactation consultant or if you’re in the uk the national breastfeeding helpline is open 9-9 everyday

Try holding a damp warm towel or wash cloth on your breast for 10 minutes or have a quick shower which will help release some milk and soften the breast and see if she will latch. Try not to use the bottle as it is easier for the baby to get milk than the breast as they have to suck for a while and wait for the let down and babies like to take the lazier option and then will get into the routine of waiting for the bottle. It’s perseverance and trusting the process. If she still won’t latch contact your midwife or HV and hopefully they can offer support. Hope you have have a better time with it today ❤️

If you have engorougment you should try breast emptiness with hand expression, frequent. Warm water in the bath can help. Baby suckling is usually best for breast emptiness to try diffrent positions and angles for complete breast emptiness. You should also advice LC to evaluate baby latch.