My baby is 12 days old, and close to 10 pounds (he was born 9 lb 3 oz and had surpassed his birth weight at his 6 day appointment). I breastfed my first child for 2 years, but suffered through multiple episodes of mastitis in the beginning and later, clogged ducts. This baby was born with a tongue tie which resulted in a shallower latch, making my nipples incredibly raw. He had his frenum clipped 4 days ago and his latch has improved/deepened since then, and my nipples are sort of healing (no new cracks).
My issue is, I'm getting clogged ducts from the start with this one. I had pretty intense engorgement for about 3-4 days that resolved maybe 5 days ago. My left breast in particular wants to clog, and I always start him on that breast. I've tried pumping and expressing on that side, and finally had to have my mother help me massage out the plugs while he nursed. My milk supply seems to have greatly diminished on that side despite my efforts. I would say my right side makes at least 5 times as much milk. Naturally I have hard wedges on that side, too, but the rest of the breast still fills up with milk. There is even a noticeable color difference - the left side is still making yellowish milk while the right is much whiter!
I'm at my wit's end. Literally every day my breasts are clogged. I have to firmly press and massage each breast while my baby nurses or he doesn't get much out. I'm taking soy lecithin and drinking plenty of water and using warmth right before nursing to encourage flow. I think my breasts were "ruined" by my earlier mastitis and clogged ducts with my daughter, although she was at least able to empty my breasts without my having to massage them while she nursed - and her latch wasn't as strong as this one's is!
I'm thinking of giving up. I feel like such a failure for struggling so much with breastfeeding. I'm starting to associate my baby with pain and dread feeding him. I'm crying several times a day, especially when every single nursing requires all this effort to get milk out (I'm definitely having multiple let downs, but milk flow stalls mere seconds after the letdown). I feel terrible for thinking about depriving my baby of breastmilk when I nursed my daughter for so long. I absolutely despise pumping, which barely draws any milk out (again, I have to massage the breast which constantly breaks suction with the flange, and it hurts).
Will my supply ever return to the left side without pumping? He nurses it dry every 3-4 hours (he refuses to nurse more frequently than that). I'm very, very depressed and heartbroken and worried. He poops and pees every day, but not nearly as many poops as my daughter made at this stage. Maybe 4 a day max(not counting little squirts), while my daughter had huge poops after each feeding. He also poops in clusters - he will go 8 hours easy without apoop and then poop 2-3 times within 15 minutes. He doesn't seem dehydrated or anything, but I also haven't weighed him since my engorgement eased off (he seemed to be getting much more milk when I was engorged).
Help, I'm *thisclose* to giving up breastfeeding and feeding him formula. But I'm worried it will make my depression worse, not better, to give him bottles.
My issue is, I'm getting clogged ducts from the start with this one. I had pretty intense engorgement for about 3-4 days that resolved maybe 5 days ago. My left breast in particular wants to clog, and I always start him on that breast. I've tried pumping and expressing on that side, and finally had to have my mother help me massage out the plugs while he nursed. My milk supply seems to have greatly diminished on that side despite my efforts. I would say my right side makes at least 5 times as much milk. Naturally I have hard wedges on that side, too, but the rest of the breast still fills up with milk. There is even a noticeable color difference - the left side is still making yellowish milk while the right is much whiter!
I'm at my wit's end. Literally every day my breasts are clogged. I have to firmly press and massage each breast while my baby nurses or he doesn't get much out. I'm taking soy lecithin and drinking plenty of water and using warmth right before nursing to encourage flow. I think my breasts were "ruined" by my earlier mastitis and clogged ducts with my daughter, although she was at least able to empty my breasts without my having to massage them while she nursed - and her latch wasn't as strong as this one's is!
I'm thinking of giving up. I feel like such a failure for struggling so much with breastfeeding. I'm starting to associate my baby with pain and dread feeding him. I'm crying several times a day, especially when every single nursing requires all this effort to get milk out (I'm definitely having multiple let downs, but milk flow stalls mere seconds after the letdown). I feel terrible for thinking about depriving my baby of breastmilk when I nursed my daughter for so long. I absolutely despise pumping, which barely draws any milk out (again, I have to massage the breast which constantly breaks suction with the flange, and it hurts).
Will my supply ever return to the left side without pumping? He nurses it dry every 3-4 hours (he refuses to nurse more frequently than that). I'm very, very depressed and heartbroken and worried. He poops and pees every day, but not nearly as many poops as my daughter made at this stage. Maybe 4 a day max(not counting little squirts), while my daughter had huge poops after each feeding. He also poops in clusters - he will go 8 hours easy without apoop and then poop 2-3 times within 15 minutes. He doesn't seem dehydrated or anything, but I also haven't weighed him since my engorgement eased off (he seemed to be getting much more milk when I was engorged).
Help, I'm *thisclose* to giving up breastfeeding and feeding him formula. But I'm worried it will make my depression worse, not better, to give him bottles.
