So here is my situation - any advice please!

[Dozeyland]

DD - 5 weeks old
Breastfeeding

So i'll try to keep it short (ish)......

I am BF my 5 week old DD, I have a cyst on my left nipple which i believe is making it hard for her to latch, which is why i have had mastitis (now nearly gone) and an open wound on nipple from bad latch.

I alternate boobs at each feed, the left is EXCRUTIATING, but i've been biting my towel and using offensive words to try and help me through - today i've decided to give expressing ago. I fed her on the bad side this morning, then the right and then hand expressed my bad side to relieve the milk.

I have been to BF counsellor, they say to keep feeding and the pain will go in time.

Advice needed on:

1. baby doesnt seem to fall asleep at the boob anymore especially in the day. she gets tired but wont give in. so i give her the dummy sometimes and then she nods off.
   

1. I will keep feeding on the bad side, but today i want to give it a rest and express alternating with my normal feed on my right. does this sound ok?
   

1. fast let down on my right causes baby to have wind then quite sicky. so i try and feed laying down now to go against gravity. is this ok?
   

1. I really want to be able to feel comfortable feeding in public but at the mo where the pain is SO bad on my left i cant bring myself to, and even with my good side, the let down is so fast, and it soaks her then she chokes etc. when will this calm down??
   

1. When did you find yourself saying "ah finally, established breast feeding - what a doddle" :-)
   

I cannot wait until my BF is fully established - no pain - and 110% enjoyable. and feeding in public is easy as riding a bike.

sorry for the essay!!

[Ineedsomesleep]

Dozey, sorry haven't got time to answer all your questions but has the bfing counsellor actually seen your nipple? Are you sure its a cyst?

Kellymom has some information on fast let down. HTH.

[doneit]

hi. Sorry xou are having a rough time. Can't really advise much except to say stick with it. It will get easier and please keep on asking for help. Good luck

[PeanutButter99]

Hey Dozey
My left side was my sore side too. I used to move away from DS when he tried to feed. It was like a battle! Bad words helped too :) I found my labour breathing exercises worked well.
I found that at 8 weeks I had stopped using the lansioh cream, it had stopped hurting and had become something to enjoy.
You're over half way there! :)
I expressed quite early on (DS was 5 days old). Sometimes just feeding from the right and expressing from the left gave me the break I needed. Back then I was all about just doing one feed at a time.
DS is 20 weeks old now and still ebf and it's great.
Keep it up. You're doing fantastic. The first few weeks are the hardest and you're over the worst :)

[Dozeyland]

ineedsomesleep I have been watched by a BFC, no thrush, and i got cyst checked by GP (had this since before preggers) I believe its a big factor as its so sore to touch and its where her bottom lip meets on my boob (where she pushes the milk! ouch)

doneit Thank you.

Peanutbutter99 Yes like a battle! I go so tense too and then my back kills! I know "baby is more effective than expressing" but you're right sometimes the boobs just need a break. i was expressing sometimes in the early weeks for when we went out to see family. (or i'd feed in private upstairs) how did you find expressing the left along with feeding alternatively on the right? Like how often did it mean you pumped along with feeding. would you pump after feeding on the right, or would you leave it a bit??

I know i can't wait until that day comes. really can't. :)

PS. how often did your baby fall asleep/be content after feeding? my DD doesnt seem to 100% settle on the boob, she tends to fuss at the end then be moany for a bit, then igive the dummy then she nods off.

She is a bit better at night thankfully though.

How long did your 5 week old sleep in the day?

[Ineedsomesleep]

Poor you. Just wanted to check that the bfing counsellor had actually seen it and not just spoken to you over the phone. The GP checking it out is good too.

Hope you situation improves soon.

[PeanutButter99]

I can't do the express while feed thing! I think back then I would express the other boob after I fed. Then DH would give him that bottle at the next feed. Sometimes he'd have to come to me after the bottle cos it wouldn't be enough!
I can't remember how often he fell asleep after feeding. Maybe half the time. I do what you do now though. If DS looks sleepy but doesn't fall asleep on boob I'll give him a dummy. A few sucks and he's away to noddy land!
He's only just going for naps in his cot. For the first 3 months he would only nap on chests or in laps!

[RufflesKerfluffles]

Dozey, have you tried feeding in different positions on the left? E.g. If you normally feed with him across you, try rugby hold instead, as it might put less pressure on the cyst.

[pastahat]

Hope you feel better soon, mastitis is horrible and made me really weepy as well as feeling rough.. poor you having the cyst as well. I can only reiterate it will get better- I also had v fast let down reflex, i think infacol helped DD2 a little with the subsequent wind. I did resort to nipple shields for a week but i know thats not recommended as interferes with latch, agree try diff positions. I think the turning point for us was around 7 weeks, so you're doing brilliantly. DD2's now 21 weeks and bf is v easy (apart from being nosy & pulling off to look at things!)Good luck & well done

[MamaChris]

dt2 also doesn't feed to sleep often anymore. when he gets tired grouchy, I can sometimes sling or rock him to sleep. it's annoying because dt1 still wants to feed to sleep, but good because I remember ds1 who would only go to sleep if being fed until about 8 months , so be pleased!

if you think the pain on your left might never improve because of the cyst, could you consider feeding only from the right? I know this is common in some cultures, and lots of people with twins assign each baby a side, so it is perfectly possible for one breast to make enough milk for one baby. BUT WARNING: I am not a bf counsellor, please talk to one to decide whether I'm making a silly suggestion or not. also, on how you'd actually go about stopping feeding from that side so early on, and increasing supply from the other.

[Dozeyland]

Peanutbutter Is it possible to feed from right, express from left after i've fed. then keep repeating this and just store the breast milk. or do i have to give DD the expressed too to keep the supply correct or does this make a difference?? sorry i'm hving baby brain moment.
My DD loves either napping on your chest too or on my bed! we need to get her a cot, as shes not keen on her moses! she's nearly out of 0-3m clothing too only 4.5 weeks old!

I have nipple shields but not sure how my nipple would go in there its that flat lol

I haven't tried different positions on my bad side yet, i did try lying down but DD wouldnt calm down and her arms were flying. and she just doesnt know where to go with her head even if i help her. :(

[plasticface]

Hello, DD is 13 weeks, I have recently breastfed in public, alone, for the 1st time and it was fine! Have done quite a few times with other mums, it gets easier every time and you feel so proud of yourself afterwards.
Breastfeeding is now easy and I'm so glad I got through the early weeks of soreness. I can't remember when it got easy, just gradually gets better and better. Good luck!

[crikeybadger]

Dozeyland- what has DD's weight gain been like?

[PeanutButter99]

Dozey, I'm not really sure. I think that should work. Feed from right and express from left. And you'll have a good freezer stash built up. But it might lead to an over supply but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing if you're expressing. You really should speak to a bf counsellor. This is my first baby so I'm basically learning as I go!
I'm back to work and my freezer stash is nearly gone. Can't express enough anymore to keep DS in ebm when I'm not there. But that's a different thread!!
I've only just got the hang of feeding lying down and DS never like his moses basket. We also had a swinging cradle which was great. Spent most nights at the beginning sleeping sitting up on bed with DS on my chest!
He's now in the nursery in his big cot. Time flies. And don't worry about the clothes. DS was in 3-6 by 6 weeks. He's getting too big for them now so will have to get his 6-9 month clothes out.

[peakythepoltergeist]

just to add that you are doing fantastically! I was in foot stamping, sweary, tearful agony for six weeks, and it gradually got less and less until at about 8 weeks i realised it didnt really hurt anymore! Sheer bloodymindedness along with alot of support from friends, a bfc, health visitor etc really helped. NCT were great. Feeding in public got gradually easier, i found going out for coffee with other bfing mums really helped my confidence and skill.
Keep going, it really does get so much better. It sounds like you have everything checked out, but dont be afraid to keep asking for help, getting latch checked again and again, help with diff positioning etc.

[Dozeyland]

How did you do you expressing and feeds Peanutbutter?

plastic face - I can't wait to feed comfortably in public with no pain!

crikeybadger - HV said she's gaining well, thriving!

[crikeybadger]

If she was putting on tons of weight then I would think that oversupply could be an issue. You may have already come to this conclusion of course as it's associated with a forceful let down.

You could try block feeding for this (see Kellymom again)- maybe chat this through with a bf counsellor.

You can also try leaning back a bit when you feed so that gravity works for you.

Definitely try and get that wound healed though- can you get to a pharmacy to pick up some jelonet. This way the scab doesn't dry out and fall off each time the baby feeds.

Stick at it though- you're doing great and all this pain and hassle will be a distant blur in a few months time.

[PeanutButter99]

DS was sleeping through from 9 weeks so I expressed in the morning before he fed. I was very full so it was easy to get enough out. I built a big stash in a small amount of time doing that. Now he's back feeding in the night so I barely get 2 oz in the morning. :(