Is my baby getting hindmilk? How do I know?
I’m a first time breastfeeding mom of a 4 week old. I also have a 3 year old who never latched so I exclusively pumped with him for 6 months which was miserable. Due to the pumping trauma i was super excited my newest LO had a good drive to latch and nurse. After many moments of fear and reassurance from my Pediatrician that she’s latching and gaining weight recently (since week 3) she’s gotten very fussy and gassy at night (around 7pm-6am). We do the normal movements to help her fart but I feel like over the past few days she’s gotten worse. Her belly looks bloated and she has more sharts and gas then poops. She’s making wet diapers like normal but when we nurse I’m not sure she’s emptying my breast. They also seem to have milk in them when I express them even after nursing in different positions for 20-30 minutes. I actively massage my breast while nursing which makes them feel soft and I hear her drinking but idk if my supply is too much and she just can’t keep nursing all the milk in there? I have elasticy breasts so they’re very stretchy and fleshy which can make latching slightly difficult after she’s nursed too long.
My question is how do I know she’s getting hindmilk and does anyone have tricks to help your milk come down? I’ve read foremilk can cause gas if that’s all they’re getting and when I do a little pump to empty my breast milk still comes out so should I be pumping before I nurse her to get the foremilk out or just save the pumped hindmilk and feed her that. I really want to keep breastfeeding but I feel bad for her with the gas.
Update:// Should I stop pumping and just feed on demand?
The pediatrician originally recommended I pump to empty my breast to increase my supply but now I think I’ve created an oversupply so should I stop pumping entirely?
Thank you!