help please! getting very discouraged

[hopeful2012]

My little girl is 2 weeks old (3weeks on Monday)! I'm still having lots of pain with breast feeding. The right nipple is cracked and every time it starts healing it reopens. The lactation consultant thought I had a yeast infection but that has cleared. I pump when it hurts to bad to nurse. I seem to be getting less the last 2 days and at night I can't seem to fill her up. She nursed for 5 hours with only a couple 10 minute breaks. I ended up having to give her a bottle of expressed milk so we could get some sleep. I feel like my supply is dropping. I plan to see my doctor next week if the pain doesn't stop.

 

[Elsa50501]

A few things, 1. Baby might be going through a growth spurt. To increase your supply she'll eat all the time. There were times in the early weeks that my l.o. Never. Stopped.nursing. It passes though and then they've suddenly outgrown their onesies overnight. 2. Is the pain due to the cracked nipple or deep and stabbing within the breast? If it's still that stabbing pain it could be yeast. Did you treat both yourself and your baby? If it's the cracked nipple causing the pain, you could talk to your l.c. About nipple shields and use lanolin until it's healed.

Hope this helps, but if not: good luck, you're doing great . Mommy hood is a struggle in those early days.

 

[c1403]

It's good you are getting help. With my first DD I had so much pain and I didn't seek help so we gave up after 5 weeks. This time I got the help and advice I needed and after some pain in the first few weeks we got on track and are still going at 5 months. The pain is unbearable I know, keep going back to your lactation consultant to try and figure out a way to keep going. During the early weeks your baby is also learning about what to do and they don't care if it hurts you as long as they get the milk, it's a process really teaching you and them so you find the best way to feed. I used to think I'd always be in pain but I can safely say once we sorted out our issues its been plain sailing most days (apart from a few pumping issues)
Best of luck

 

[c1403]

Also the first six weeks it felt like LO nursed all day long, once we got to 6 weeks img started to sort itself out and got much easier ( alon with sleeping too)

 

[mara16jade]

I was a human pacifier for the first 6 weeks (at least!). My LO wanted to nurse all day and all night. It HURT!! But I finally got a nipple shield at around the one month mark and it was easy sailing from there.

 

[noon_child]

It is normal for them to want to nurse a lot as they are building your supply BUT when combined with pain and damaged nipples it could be a sign that she is struggling slightly to get what she needs because she isn't latching correctly. This in itself is very common and you shouldn't feel bad - not all babies 'get it', and often time is all it takes to sort it out. However that doesn't mean you should put up with it, as the more damage she does during a feed the less inclined you will feel to latch her for the following feeds and tension and pain is a sure way to a worse latch.

Look for any and all support avenues to keep you sane. Do you have a good nipple cream like lansinoh? The best ones ensure that scabs remain flexible so that when tugged around during feeds they don't rip straight off and cause even more damage.

Also, inspect the shape of your nipple after feeds - if it is flattened, angled, squished etc this means the latch is not right however good it looks from the outside, and can give your lactation consultant a clue as to what is going on.

 

[twobecome3]

it took us a few weeks to get the latch right

I spent the first couple months in my rocker glider with her on a nursing pillow. snacks and water close by. lots of shows queued up

some ladies feed with baby in sling. ive never tried tho it seems to be a good idea if you are feeling stuck and want to move around. I preferred to sit or lay down and just let her feed !

 

[hopeful2012]

The right seems to be squished after her feeding. The left is usually okay until about 20 minutes in a feed. She nursed today, but tonight I've had to pump due to severe pain. Sadly my LC doesn't work Sunday or Mondays, so it will be Tuesday before I can see her. Tonight they started out tingling but turned to a sharp burning pain. I think the doctor is going to have to give me oral meds for yeast infection and treat the baby too. I feel awful having to pump but just couldn't take the pain even with my pain meds. Hopefully it will get better soon. I can't take this much longer. I don't remember having this much trouble with the first.

 

[Dream.dream]

Hang in there mama

Pp are right and the nursing a lot is normal especially between week 2-3 because they have a growth spurt .

Has baby been checked for a tounge and lip tie? Do you ever hear a clicking sound when baby is nursing or is her tongue look heart shaped when she cries? Can she stick her tongue out of her mouth?

 

[ButterCup17]

Don't feel bad about pumping, be proud of yourself for doing what it takes to get your LO breast milk! The cluster feeding is normal, I don't think it means ur supply is dropping. If anything the frequent feedings will increase your supply. I had a terrible time in the beginning. My nipples were bleeding and everything else. Terrible! I nursed off the breast that was OK and pumped in the other one. Nipple shields also helped wonders. The trick I learned was that he wasn't opening his mouth enough so I would point my nipple towards his chin to get him to open wider then shove it in! Lol it worked warm washcloths on your breast also helps with pain and also with milk production. Hang in there, the first couple weeks/months can be tricky but for me once we hit three months it was the easiest thing ever!

 

[hopeful2012]

Turns out th yeast infection never went away. They treated me with 2 doses of diflucan and after several calls and a heated debate with the pediatrician they are treating her as well with nystatin. I'm also using the cream after feedings, taking probiotics and using ibuprofen when the pain is bad. It seemed a little better last night and today until she nursed every 20 minutes all day. Now I'm hurting again. It seems that neither nipple is disfigured after feeding so I'm thinking it is just the yeast infection that hasn't cleared yet. I still have one more dose of med for tomorrow. I finally gave her a bottle of expressed milk and I'm about to pump again. I feel like my supply is low (I only express 1-2 ounces each pumping session and she usually takes 3-4 with each feed. Doctor said her weight is fine. Iv been eating oatmeal, lactation cookies, and drinking water. I'm gonna try increasing my water even more and fenugreek.

 

[noon_child]

I finally gave her a bottle of expressed milk and I'm about to pump again. I feel like my supply is low (I only express 1-2 ounces each pumping session and she usually takes 3-4 with each feed.

A lot of babies eat more from the bottle than they would from the breast. Is your pump a decent one? You are doing a great job!

 

[Silverlilly]

Aw, definitely don't feel bad about pumping! Pumping will help keep your supply up when things are rough right now. Is her weight ok? That would give you some indication about whether she is getting enough.

I second using a nipple shield to help the nipples heal. Because your nipple looks squished, it does sound like a latch issue -- the nipple should come out of baby's mouth the same shape as it went in (longer is ok, but not squished). Check for tongue and lip tie just to be on the safe side - if this is an issue the baby may not be nursing efficiently enough to keep your supply up, and over time it can really drop. A lactation consultant can help with latch if this is not a problem and the baby just needs to learn a bit more.

Finally, have you heard of Dr. Jack Newman's all purpose nipple cream? He has some great info on his website about it, and compounding pharmacies in the US and Canada can make up the cream. Many moms find it helps a lot with healing.

 

[hopeful2012]

I actually have two pumps-both medela pump in style. I'm not as sore today after pumping all day. She's nursed tonight and we tried changing my hold on my breast and it seems to help. I also increased my water intake, got some fenugreek, and started pumping after each dressing/ pumping session. The baby doesn't seem to have a lip/tongue tie. Thanks for the support.

 

[hopeful2012]

I remember looking forward to breastfeeding again but at this point I'm so discouraged because of pain, toddler demands, and the baby never wanting to be put down. She constantly wants to nurse, but by bedtime I'm so sore. Her weight is fine, I'm trying to increase supply with fenugreek, oatmeal, water, and brewers yeast so I can put up milk for when I go back to work. Any suggestions?