sore boobs from baby pulling off boob constantly- thinking of giving up bf...

[mumofthreeboysS]

I've got a 13 week old boy and have been bf him (apart from expressed/formula feed at 10.30pm that dh does) and I've been through a lot- first tongue tie, mastitis, blocked ducts etc and now just as I thought it was getting easier hes started pulling off the boob loads- sometimes through fussiness, gas etc other times due to being nosey and looking around but it seems to be constant and the 'new' way he wants to feed now. As a result my nipples are so sore and I can't see a way forward. On top of this I have two other dc's to look after and have found bf such a challenge in terms of taking care of them etc. I'm not sure what I want to do - have been thinking about perhaps mixed feeding or dropping a feed and seeing how it goes. I'm worried i'll regret it if I stop bf but at the same time I think it'd make life so much easier!

any advice/similar experiences welcome!

[lauriebear]

HTH kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/distractible-baby/
This did pass for me, and I'm glad I didn't quit, but it's really a personal choice whether or not to keep going - have you got some lansinoh handy to soothe them? x

[mumofthreeboysS]

Thanks for the link- I can't click on it so will have to wait till I'm at my computer tomorrow to copy and paste. Yep got the Lansinoh. Yeah it is a personal choice- I just need to work out what is best for me, baby and my other kids I guess. A tough decision...

[RedKites]

clickable link for you

[Superworm]

Is he starting to go longer between feeds? I had this for a while before realising he was stretching them out a bit more.

[3boys3dogshelp]

I don't have much advice but I'm feeding my third baby and I feel some days like he was sent to stop me having any more babies!! He is gorgeous but he is the hardest by far to feed.
He is 5 months now and definitely does the pulling off the boob thing that you describe and it bloody hurts! unfortunately i don't have the option of swapping as he won't take a bottle. i have noticed he is worse if it is noisy and busy where i am trying to feed him so recently have tried to take him upstairs or read a book or put tv on for other kids while i feed him and it does help. Hope you feel better soon, and if you don't remember there are no medals for breastfeeding ;-).

[mumofthreeboysS]

superworm He does go 3-4 hours between feeds but feeds arent that short despite him supposedly being able to feed for 10 mins on each side at this age but that's probably because I have to take him off to burp him about twice on each side then theres the time he spends pulling off etc so a feed usually stretches out to an hour! I know formula may not be a massive improvement on this but at least bf in public won't be so hard- when he's pulling off and squriming I find it so hard to feed discreetly! I dropped the 10.30pm expressing last night as I figured DH fed him half formula anyway so why not a whole feed on formula. This has given me some freedom in the evening (even if it is to just have a bath or another glass of wine ;-)

thanks 3boys3dogshelp so you have 3 boys too! Can I ask what are the ages? I just find it so hard trying to look after/referee two other boisterous boys and bf! Tonight he's been feeding to sleep (then waking then feeding to sleep -repeat!) so I'm also worried if I change to formula he won't be able to settle at bedtime!

[minipie]

Are you sure the tongue tie hasn't grown back? his behaviour and the long feeds and need for frequent winding sounds a lot like TT to me. Could you get it checked again?

[mumofthreeboysS]

well his tongue tie was attached right to the end of his tongue (has a heart shaped tongue at the end as a result) and its definitely not attached at that point any more. Will try and see if it's grown back at all further down.

[minipie]

hmmm I wonder if perhaps he had a posterior tongue tie as well as the anterior one - and the posterior one never got snipped... Who snipped it, might they take another look?

[mumofthreeboysS]

maybe- can you see a posterior tongue tie? I mainly have problems with pain on one side which is strange I think- unless it's to do with positioning.

[minipie]

They're notoriously difficult to see unless you're trained to spot them (which most HVs/midwives/GPs aren't and even some LCs aren't).

Problems on one side mainly, hmm. Does he show any signs of neck stiffness eg does he always sleep with head facing one way or anything like that. If so, might be worth seeing a cranial osteopath to see if he's got any head/neck issues going on. Or are your nipples different (!) for example I found DD had more problems on my left side as that nipple is flatter, so with her TT she really couldn't get a good purchase.