Need a bit of help / advice.

[Helzy]

Hoping some of you ladies might be able to guide me through this, as I desperately don't want to give up breastfeeding, but I'm running out of patience with my own body!

LO will be three weeks tomorrow, and i'm trying my hardest to make sure he only breastfeeds. I don't want to supplement or change to formula, but I'm feeling as though if things don't change for the better soon, I will just give up trying. We had a tough start with BF, and last week I stopped feeding him with my left breast as it was bleeding and cracked, and I was in a lot of pain. I went to the doctors and he confirmed it wasn't infected mastitis. I had a blocked duct, but I thought everything would be fine once that cleared. My breast began leaking like mad, and I assumed that once it stopped, it would be fine and once the bleeding and cracks had gone, I would begin feeding LO from this breast again. (I expressed from it entire way through and fed him BM from the bottle, whilst trying to feed him most times from my right breast.)

My right breast is fine. It's getting a bit sore now from over-use, but otherwise it's good. LO is gaining weight well, so i've not got a problem with my supply at all, thankfully.

My first problem is my left breast is constantly - and I mean CONSTANTLY - leaking. Sometimes it's only a little bit, but other times it saturates my clothing. At night, the bed is soaked when I wake to feed LO. I express whenever I can, but is this itself the problem? I don't have set times to feed him, I just catch and express when I see/feel it leaking.

Also, as my nipple had become less painful and was looking pretty normal again yesterday, I thought I would feed LO from it. We tried a different position to make sure latching wasn't painful (went from usual cradle to under the arm hold) and I thought it was going pretty well as LO seemed content and I wasn't in pain. However, once he was done, I was in a lot of pain afterwards. I would say it was a sharp shooting pain going through my breast. I'm assuming he cleared my ducts as I didn't leak for a good while afterwards, which I thought was a welcome relief. However, I did see immediate bruising and slight bleeding, and my nipple was immediately raw afterwards. It's as though it's lost some of it's skin, as I can see the ducts that the milk is coming from when I'm expressing, whereas my other nipple is still perfectly complete. Then, as a result of the bruising/bleeding at the very entry to the duct, my breast decided to become engorged as the milk couldn't flow as freely, thus I woke up with one very swollen, milk-filled breast. Didn't last long, as I'm now leaking all over the place again..

I'm using lanolin whenever he isn't feeding / after expressing. I don't know what to do with myself, and i'm finding myself at my wits end. For example, 4am this morning, I fed LO and he was still hungry after being on my right breast for half an hour, my bed was soaking from leaking, I was hungry and thirsty, and my left breast was constantly leaking all over me as I was trying to get LO to latch on my right.. I burst out in tears, completely frustrated.

I've got a social event to go to in a week and a half. I haven't been out since a few months into my pregnancy, so I'm really looking forward to it. Now I'm beginning to think I won't be able to go as I'll be constantly in fear of my breast springing a leak and soaking my clothes. Breast pads are no match for the leak - In the four hours we spent outside of the house yesterday, I utterly soaked two, expressed 2oz, and still managed to come home with a soaking bra.

Hopefully someone can help me before I scream!

 

[ButterCup17]

Had the exact same problem a few weeks ago with the cracked and bleeding nipple, had skin missing from it also. Breast shields r the answer!!!!! I use it every time I bf now and no more pain or bleeding or cracking!!! I would also assume Inc eu start bf regularly with the other Breast again that it will stop leaking. Hope u feel better soon,i know how painful that is!

 

[Helzy]

I did buy some the other day, and was very hesitant to try them as they seem so thin! I think I attempted getting LO to latch, made myself anxious about them not working, felt his gums clamp onto my nipple and almost shot through the ceiling! I'll have to try again, I think; get back on the horse, as they say!

 

[patch2006uk]

I'd cut back on the expressing if he's latching ok. You will probably be running at quite an oversupply if you're expressing and feeding frequently. It's also pretty normal to have one breast that's sorer than the other - I found my right nipple was sorer last time than my left, as my right hand was better at supporting DS in cross cradle, whereas my left hand slipped during a feed. It is just something that you'll get better at with time. Have you considered breast shells rather than shields? You don't wear them while feeding, but they allow your nipples to air between feeds. They can also be used to catch milk (although some have holes in the top and can cause a bit of a torrent if you bend down when they're full!) so you might find you don't need to express as much. Is there a breastfeeding support group you could go to to get some pointers on making sure you get a good latch every time? Your nipples will heal and your supply will regulate soon (usually around 6-8 weeks), you just need to allow your body to figure itself out.

Also, have you considered cloth nipple pads? Bamboo ones would be much more absorbent than disposable. You could even wear them with a disposable for more absorbency.

 

[Super G]

I leaked lots. The only breast pads that didn't soak through really quickly were lansinoh. Cloth breast pads didn't last more than 30mins.

Also, not very glamorous, but for night time you could try a nappy in your bra, this is obviously very absorbant.

Might need to work on your latch, is the nipple coming out mis-shaped?

 

[wish4baby]

"However, once he was done, I was in a lot of pain afterwards. I would say it was a sharp shooting pain going through my breast. I'm assuming he cleared my ducts as I didn't leak for a good while afterwards, which I thought was a welcome relief. However, I did see immediate bruising and slight bleeding, and my nipple was immediately raw afterwards. It's as though it's lost some of it's skin..."



Make sure you don't have a yeast infection (thrush)!
The only time I ever had pain/difficulty breast feeding, that was the cause. It went undiagnosed for so long, it was awful. In fact, my symptoms were a lot like what you are describing. My baby didn't have any symptoms, and may not of even had it in his mouth (but he did get a medicine from the doctor just in case). I used gentian violet, vinegar & water, sanitized everything that touched my breasts or LO's mouth and lots of air - no wet breast pads!!! I did get a prescription pill but decided to try and clear it up naturally first, and it worked.
Good luck

 

[meli1981]

Vasospams can also cause shooting pain thru your breasts...its from babies strong sucking causing circulation problems thru your nipples.....are your nipples white once he unlatches? Just covered um up afterwards to promote blood flow again
Really...i strongly suggest a lactation consultant...thry can give you the support to get over this early hump and help you regulate your milk to help with the engorgementDONT pump right now...it might be screwing with your supply...let baby determine milk supply..
For blocked ducts..dont stop feeding from that side....and try something called letchilin (sp?) itll help with the viscosity of your milk so its less sticky and less likely to block up the ducts

 

[ButterCup17]

I did buy some the other day, and was very hesitant to try them as they seem so thin! I think I attempted getting LO to latch, made myself anxious about them not working, felt his gums clamp onto my nipple and almost shot through the ceiling! I'll have to try again, I think; get back on the horse, as they say!

They r kinda thin but somehow help! Like u, u pumped on that side for a few days first to give my nipple a break, then used the shield and it really didn't hurt after that

 

[Maxy1]

As pp said, breast shells are great if you are worried about excessive leaking, you can pop off to the bathroom and empty them regularly and they make you look lovely and pert under your bra

I used to soak my bed clothes every night (and sometimes during the day). The only breast pads that worked for me were NUK ones. They are bigger (circumference) than other brands and super thin. I have accidentally put these puppies through the washing machine and they didn't explode like other ones I have done the same with. They are awesome. I found the cloth ones absolutely useless, which I was surprised about because I swear by the cloth nappies we got DS.

If your LO is clamping onto your nipple with gums then he is not getting a correct latch. You may be getting vasospasm which will cause the pain after feeding, your nipple may look flat and purple/red/white and get tingly. The initial latch might hurt momentarily, be fine all feed then be extremely painful after. Its from bubs holding on for dear life, this may be due to an overactive letdown that is overwhelming your LO. This is likely given you have said you have issues of excess leaking and your LO is having trouble even though you changed your hold.

Do you feed off that one first? I don't know much about how to control overactive letdown. DS just got better at it for us. But I know there have been previous threads on how to better help LO with that.

 

[patch2006uk]

I never leaked much after buying them, but remember cloth pads need to be prewashed 3-5 times to get the absorbency up (same as you have to do with cloth nappies), and remember that fabric softener will coat them and make them less absorbent.

If you have new ones and they overflow quickly, I'd stick them through the wash a few times to see if they improve after that (sorry if I'm stating the obvious!) x