Am not bf but my boobs are killing me!
Hi All just a quick question as have my hands full. I am not BF for many reasons, but today (3 days after giving birth) my boobs are the size of Jordans and they hurt soo very much. Any ideas or advice because it is killing me. Thanks Fw xx

ahhh honey I sooooooo sympathise! I didn't breatsfeed either of mine but after Ryan i wanted to chop the F**kers off! All i can say is jump in the shower run cool water over them, take co-codeine tablets as your not BF, and where a bra if you can (without wire...) huge hugs

I feel your pain!!!! Mine are getting better today but they've been killing me since Saturday. I've been wearing a sleep bra at night & taking plenty of pain killers. Have found they go mega hard & painful when Emma cries!!! The joys of hormones!!!! Hope yours are better soon. x

The most relieving thing I found was lying in a VERY hot bath with flannels over each boob. Pity the relief didn't last when I got out of the bath... and getting out of the bath is a whole nother story!! Even though you're not bf, you could try expressing either by hand or with a pump (I found the pump was a life-saver). Then you have the option of feeding Henry the breast milk from a bottle as well. The relief from not being sooo swollen and huge is very noticable. Day 5 was my worst day and I was sooo huge that Alexander couldn't even latch on.

Cabbage leaves is meant to help,cool from the fridge. Or perhaps try putting disposable breast pad in the freezer or fridge and then putting them in your bra?

The flannel in the bath advice Lizzi suggests worked for me - it just eases the pain a bit. Bear with it, I know it's really painful but just keep a supportive bra on and in 24 - 48 hours time they'll start going back to normal. The burning, pulsing feeling is horrible isn't it. Hope they feel better v soon x

Flannels on them when in the bath helps alot.... just dont help when you get out the bath tho so not a long term help... just hope they dont hurt you for much longer xxxx

Hi Ouch! I feel your pain as I had exactly the same with DD1 who was bottle fed. I found the engorged boobs worse than labour they were so painful! Your breasts are engorged due to your milk supply building up with no where to go. Try not to express the milk (or only the bare minimum) because your body will think it is being used to feed baby and will carry on producing it so your boobs won't get any better. Try and ride out the pain best way you can. Paracetomol or pain killers as not bf'ing and all the other suggestions above. In a day or two your body will catch on that the milk isn't going anywhere and dispose it through your body - it will only take a couple of days or so for your boobs to get back to normal but boy does it hurt!! Hope it gets better soon!

Thanks Everyone, they are feeling alot better today so hopefully they are on their way down!