Help! Exclusive pumping to EBF

Em

I need some tips/advice on going from almost exclusively pumping to EBF. My daughter is 12 days old today and we’ve had trouble latching since she was born. Background: We tried a syringe a few times in the hospital and at home, but I was still mostly nursing at that point. She wasn’t having enough wet diapers, so 3 days after she was born I decided to give her a bottle. Since then nursing went down and after a couple days she was almost exclusively bottle fed. I offered the breast before every bottle and she might feed for a minute or two, but we were only getting 1 or 2 complete feedings from the breast each day. She preferred the bottle. Well Thursday in the middle of the night something clicked. It has now been 2.5 days since her last bottle. Yay! I’m so proud! But my breasts are killing me! I have a really good supply. I typically pumped 5+ oz. I’ve used my hakaa a couple times to relieve some pressure, but I haven’t pumped in a few days. I saw lactation yesterday for her latch (appt was made before she made such progress) and they aren’t at all worried about her. She’s latching but it just takes some practice. They said I am still regulating my supply and only recommended pumping to relieve pressure. I’ve been noticing white chunks in the small ducts on my nipples. Are these clogged ducts? Do I need to pump to remove them or should I just deal with the discomfort to let my supply regulate? It’s not horrible pain at all, but it isn’t particularly comfortable. I’m worried about the risk of mastitis!

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