Ah, Engorged at 9 Months Post Delivery

         Did anyone else just see that "milkfall" in my living room? I can't believe that I am 9 months post delivery and I am still having days when my breasts are ENGORGED! I love nursing my daughter, but I'm having second thoughts about weaning her...ever! j/k

           Although she still does not have any teeth, we have expanded her daily "solid" feeding to twice a day last month. I haven't noticed a problem before because she still nurses regularly even with the feedings. Or at least so I thought! It seems to be catching up with me just about every morning. I wake up in a puddle of milk-soaked sheets with my breasts as hard and heavy as rocks that I think I may just topple over from being top-heavy as I toss my legs over the side of the bed. (I always seem to stay straight up thank-goodness.)

          My original goal was to nurse her for three weeks. I told my husband that if I can nurse her for three weeks that would be better than her not getting any super-awesome breast milk. I survived, and she gained the right amount of weight. So, I had started to get the hang of that breast-feeding thing and wanted to continue. I told my husband that if I can nurse her for three months she should have a good start at building a super-awesome immune system. I survived, and she continued to gain the right amount of weight. Now, I thought I was a pro at this breast-feeding thing and wanted to continue. I told my husband that if I can nurse her for six months she will have the healthiest super-awesome start in life that we could have ever given her. I survived, and she continued to gain the right amount of weight. At six months we started introducing solids two times a week. At seven months we picked up the pace to once a day. At eight months we started her eating twice a day.

         Here we are now. Nine months. My new goal is to nurse her till she is one-or till she gets teeth and bites. (Fool me once…I've heard that tales.) Which brings ma back to the original reason for this post...I'm engorged at nine months. I don't want to bad-mouth my milk supply (I'm glad I have it,) but ENGORGED, really? I have found that sleeping on my stomach actually increases this result contrary to posted reports stating it actually helps ease engorgement. If I sleep on my back I wake up feeling fine most of the time, but I'm a tummy sleeper who likes to bounce her foot off the edge of the bed. That's not the real problem.

        The problem I'm having is that I seem to be the only one facing this engorgement at this stage. I'm not trying to wean her yet, so I don't want to do anything drastic to slow the supply down too much. I searched the internet as a whole. I searched message boards. I searched blogs, and no one really seemed to be complaining about it unless they were trying to wean. I have found one solution that helps me to throw out there. I have found that pumping for just a few minutes in the morning before she wakes release enough of the supply that I can be comfortable. It's not really enough milk to do anything with, so I usually just toss it. (We're trying to skip the bottles altogether.) That is my only sure fire way to hit comfort in the morning to start my day.