When my daughter was around 4 months old, we began to see blood and mucous in her stools.  As part of beginning to figure out what was going on (we later found that the blood was due to an anal fissure), I spoke with a lactation consultant who attributed part of the problem to an oversupply issue. 

Without realizing it, I had gotten in the habit of switching sides so frequently that neither breast was getting fully drained.  When I felt myself getting engorged, I would nurse to relieve the engorgement, which simply told my body to make more milk.  As a result, my daughter was only getting the less-fatty foremilk, rather than the rich hindmilk that comes as the breast is draining.  Also, being in a near-constant state of engorgement causes cells in the ducts to stretch.  Larger proteins (such as the proteins in cow’s milk) can then enter the milk, and these, in turn, may cause digestive difficulties or food sensitivities.

My lactation consultant advised me to try “block nursing” – and it quickly became a key feature in my nursing scheme.  Block nursing involves assigning a block of time to one breast at a time.  For example, from 2-4 pm, I nurse on the right side.  If my child nurses a lot during this time, the right breast is drained, while the left side becomes full.  When a breast gets full, it signals the body to stop making milk.  This reins in the oversupply and brings the body’s milk production back in line with what the baby actually needs.  In this way, engorgement is a healthy part of the nursing process. 

If the 2-hour blocks do not seem to be long enough to get the results you need, you can lengthen the block to 2.5 or 3 hours.  (Just to be clear, I am not advocating nursing on a schedule!  Nurse the baby on cue, but keep using the same breast within a given block of time.)  Cabbage leaves and sage tea can be considered to decrease supply, but use them with caution.

As always, Kellymom has great info on oversupply. 

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