u/-strawberry-shark

I need help. I gave birth on 5/9 so I'm currently 6 days PP and my milk started coming in a few days ago and now I'm miserable. My breasts are huge and painful. I'm already taking a 600mg ibuprofen from the doctor, using Lansinoh therapy ice packs, cabbage leaves, Earth Mama cabbage cream, cold showers, and wearing my tightest bra 24/7. Is there anything else I can do to help speed this up?? I know it can take a week or two but I just want to stop being in pain. I ended up getting mastitis twice with my first baby when I threw in the towel on pumping in 2023 and I really wanted to avoid that this time. Is there anything else you know of that will help with engorgement and pain? I really do not want to (or really understand how to) hand express. I don't want to take any chance my body gets a signal to keep producing or produce more. TYIA!!

As the title states I need some advice on how to best advocate for myself and my decision to exclusively formula feed. The hospital I will be giving birth at is "baby-friendly" (which if you are unfamiliar is a facility certified by WHO and UNICEF that follow the "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding" and are VERY pushy when it comes to breastfeeding).

I'd be happy to go into detail if requested or needed, but I had a HORRIBLE experience trying to breastfeed/pump with my first. I had horrible PPA, I got mastitis THREE times and I was a massive under-supplier and had to supplement with formula from the beginning anyway.

I'm now 37 weeks exactly today with my second baby and for the sake of my mental and emotional health (honestly, physical health too) I've made the decision that this baby will be exclusively formula-fed and I will not even attempt to breastfeed.

That being said, I am TERRIFIED of going into the hospital and having the staff try to force breastfeeding on me. When I had my son in 2023 they were very pushy when I mentioned wanting to exclusively pump and did everything they could to convince me to breastfeed my son. Eventually they realized it wasn't going to work and they basically threw a hand held pump and some formula at me and disappeared. It made me feel horrible; like I was failing as a mother and that my hospital staff no longer cared about us.

This time around I'm hopeful that by telling them right from the beginning that we plan to FF will keep the lactation consultant vultures at bay. I plan to make a short and sweet birth plan mainly just to highlight this decision in black and white and hope that that makes it clear enough to them that my decision is solid and not to pressure me or send in unwanted lactation consultants.

I truly believe in 'fed is best' because my now 3 year old is incredibly kind, sweet, intelligent, brave, funny, playful and so many wonderful things and you'd never know if he was BF or FF.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on how to combat unwanted opinions and recommendations from hospital staff should they occur? I'm a naturally very shy, reserved and quiet person and I've struggled in the past to stand up for/advocate for myself.