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Infant feeding

Baby not gaining weight and I have a horrible feeling I'm getting mastitis...

5 replies

dietcokeandwine · 09/02/2013 21:09

Baby is 12 days (DC3) and has - or so I thought - been breastfeeding really well since ELCS delivery. Latch is good and he has seemed contented after feeds, feeding every 3 hours or so, brings up wind easily, plenty of wet/dirty nappies etc. Has lovely calm alert periods in between feeds/sleeps. So I was slightly Shock then that at the day 10 weigh in he was nowhere near back to birthweight (had put on barely an ounce since day 5) as he'd been feeding so well. Both my older two had soared back up to and even over their birthweight by the day 10 weigh in, so DS3's lack of gain came as a bit of a shock!

And now I suspect I'm getting mastitis...midwife had advised to up DS3's feeds to 2 hourly during the day and no longer than 3 hourly at night, which I've been trying to do, but to be honest I don't think he has fed as efficiently at the 2 hourly feeds (not hungry enough/too sleepy, I'm not sure) and I'm not sure he's been emptying the boobs properly either. Tonight I've noticed the right boob feels particularly inflamed and sore, with a small red patch on it...this could be mastitis couldn't it? And if so what can I do to calm/clear it?

I have managed to effectively dreamfeed DS from that boob for about 20 minutes this evening, he has pretty much drained it which has helped somewhat...I have taken ibuprofen/paracetamol (which I'm on for post-C section pain anyway) and am doing the savoy cabbage thing (thank goodness we had one in the fridge, DH obviously psychic doing the shopping run yesterday!). Anything else I can do? Is there any way I'm going to be able to ward it off a bit, or is full blown mastitis pretty much inevitable now? I am seeing midwife tomorrow anyway as she is due to reweigh DS, so I'll ask her about it and get her to have a look, but will I need to go to the dr as well?

Serves me right I suppose for thinking that BF was going so well this third (and last!) time Hmm...

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Believeitornot · 09/02/2013 21:11

Keep it up - it might pass.

Could he have a tongue tie? Dd had one - I got full blown mastitis twice as she didn't drain my boobs properly. Her weight gain was very slow unlike her greedy brother!

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nillynoon · 09/02/2013 21:26

Feed, feed, feed, massage and express, hot and cold compresses and feed some more. If it's still hot and red tomorrow, you will need antibiotics x

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dietcokeandwine · 09/02/2013 21:45

Thank you so much ladies Smile

I don't think he can have a tongue tie as he was checked by paed in hospital and she said he looked fine - he can stick his tongue all the way out and I've had no difficulties getting him to latch either...

I have one of those lavendar wheat bag things so will heat and apply that now, have been doing plenty of massage and about to feed DS again...fingers crossed I can clear it!

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crikeybadger · 09/02/2013 22:30

Might be worth getting someone else to look for tongue tie as they can be difficult to spot and being able to stick the tongue out isn't always a sign that one doesn't exist.

Maybe the latch isn't as good as it could be, which means the feeding isn't efficient. This would tie in with the slow weight gain and your feeling that your boobs are being 'drained' properly.

Are you happy that the weighing has been accurate and figures have been taken down correctly?

Hope you feel better soon and don't forget to rest as much as you can. Smile

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TandC · 10/02/2013 21:52

Try co-sleeping too. I believe my DS fed a lot in the night at that age because of my close proximity. It helped with my supply, his weight, the whole shebang. Good luck, stick with it and hope you're okay.

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