pinkimum and jenny, i had blogged ducts when breastfeeding my firstborn last time too. I consulted lactation consultant and she taught me how to massage. massage or do hot compress only before you pump or feed. u prob know where ur block duct is from the red/not red lump on your boob that hurts when u press it, so massage that lump, then slowly massage in a straight line from that lump to your aerola. than hold the aerola in between ur fingers and massage gently. idea is to clear the entire passage of the milk ducts for the milk to flow freely. jenny, ur boobs hard even after pumping and no milk come out probably coz the duct is blocked so u have to clear it first like what i said above. it could also be because its so engorged the pump cannot "latch" properly to the breast. so when u are doing the massage above, ur breast may soften a bit and some milk may leak out, then ur pump or baby's mouth can latch better. u try?
pinkimum, i latch on baby and only fed bottle 3 times so far, she is 8.5weeks old. i dun generally pump after latching her. the reason why ppl pump after latching is :
1. when they need to store milk for outings, when mommy not around, when mommy going back to work
2. when going back to work soon, so gotta establish pumping schedule so that boobs know when to produce milk and get boobs used to the pump.
3. to increase supply when supply low.
4. to prepare for those episodes of growth spurt when they suddenly increase their milk demand
5. for me, i pump once a day, usually after the morning feed, coz I wish to maintain a slightly higher supply than what my baby needs, and also at night sometimes i drink DOM, so i need a spare bottle in case she wakes up unscheduled.
If you are pumping to ease engorgement, than you do not really need to pump after feeding. if you do that, you are telling ur body u need more milk than what ur baby is feeding. so natually ur body produce even more milk, more and more at next feed and it continues to blocked or be painful. perhaps u can try massaging before pumping or feeding like what i said above, but if u pump, pump only to ease engorgement. then slowly daily pump less and less. until ur ss is just right for baby, and perhaps a bit more.
hope this helps....
breastfeeding mommies, do jia you and dun be disheartened. its tiring but its worth it...