will baby get milk even if nipples blistered?

[justkitty]

Oh gosh I feel so sad?

My little girl is 1 day old. At first she was nursing 10-15mins every 1.5-2hrs. She is sooo teeny and has a really shallow latch andi have big nipples. I'd noticed they hurt so was offering one boob per feed & using lansinoh. Last night she started from 7pm cluster feeding on the hour for 20+ mins and screamed every time ww tried to put her in her moses basket. By 3am & no sleep I crack. Both nipples are so blisteted i cant bear anything touching them and can no longer squeeze colustrum.... so after many tears my dh suggested formula so we got some rest. So between nipple pain, after birth pain and my awful stitches on 2nd degree tear I sterilised a single bottle and offered her an oz of formula which she took most of then fell asleep on dh for almost 2hrs until 515. Still she won't settle in her moses. Any way I put her to the breast and she fed for 6mins of pure agony and is asleep on me.

I don't want to co sleep as she is so tiny. I don't want to swap to ff without giving bf a good go. Seeing my midwife today so hoping she can help improve her latch as I seriously can't feed through that pain.

I know cluster feeding is normal but how do I get her to sleep in her moses? How do I improve shallow latch? Apart from lansinoh how can I improve my nipples to get through this?

 

[rachy01]

I know you don't want to cosleep but maybe accept for the first few nights you aren't going to sleep anyway and have her sleep on your chest. The skin to skin will help bring your milk in and once she's getting a belly full of milk, she will sleep more soundly and you can sneak her into her moses basket (by the end of the week I reckon).

Try to feed through the pain (my nipples are nearly totally toughened up now 2 weeks on) but if you cant, send dh out for nipple shields. Try not to use formula if possible because the more suckling at breast the baby does, the sooner your milk will come in and your body will regulate the supply naturally. Dont feel like you are starving her, your body will make enough milk. Are you in uk? If so you could buy some lactation cookie mix - worked for me...went from no milk to boobs dripping milk in half an hour - look on facebook for mamas cookies. Let me know if you want more info on that xx

 

[seaweed eater]

Hang in there, mama.

Improving her latch is the highest priority IMO. A shallow latch will destroy your nipples and could also prevent her from getting enough milk, which could delay your milk coming in and ultimately hurt your supply. I am not saying this to alarm you, but to encourage you to GET HELP in person with her latch, and get her evaluated for tongue and lip ties. It's good that you are seeing your MW. Is there any way you could also meet with a LC? From what I've read on this board, MWs are not always super educated about BF.

Get her to open wide before you latch her on. Tickle her lips with your nipple if that works. You could even do it when she is opening her mouth to cry. Then, use your hand to cup your nipple and areola from underneath so that the nipple is sandwiched in areola (sideways). Use a nursing position where you have good support/control of LO's head, like football or cross cradle. So, do the sandwiching with one hand, and use your other hand to shove her head toward your breast so that the nipple and areola go into her mouth with the nipple pointing toward the top of her mouth. It doesn't sound nice, but once she gets the hang of latching herself on and taking in enough areola, you'll be able to stop the shoving.

It's very hard to explain this theoretically. You really need in-person evaluation and help!

As for healing your nipples, in addition to the lanolin, give them lots of time to air out with colostrum or milk on them. Don't wash them.