Engorgement sucks. Ice helps. You can nurse through it (and should) but if you’re running late on a feed, you want cold.
Lansinoh makes breast therapy packs that work hot or cold. I used them cold almost exclusively. They mold to the shape of your boob, which sounds like a weird thing to care about until you’re trying to curve a rigid ice pack against a curved surface. They fit inside a bra or nursing tank, so you can walk around the house like a semi-functional person instead of lying prone on the couch worrying about leaking all over the leather.
I also tried Booby Tubes, which are like long flexible gel tubes you wrap around. They’re fine but harder to keep where you want them. The Lansinoh packs stay put better.
One note: if you’re engorged and need to feed, hand express into a burp cloth until your boob softens enough for the baby to actually latch. Feeding from a rock hard boob is hard for them. Then ice between feeds.
For the full boob situation (leaking, clogged ducts, mastitis, all of it): Boob Maintenance.
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