my nipples are scabbing :(

[TotorosOcarina]

f*ck :(

This morning felt really good about BFing,

was sore but been told will get better, today every feed has benn really bloody painful.

were doing all the same things but my toes are just curling.

my left nipple has a scab on it now.

I couldn't feed him at dinner time (about 5:30) and had to take him off the breast as it hurt so much, so gave him a bottle and he had the whole 2oz and burped and has slept since :(

How old is baby? How long have you been BFing for?

Mine scabbed too in the first week or two, but after using nipple gel for a few days, the scabbing reduced and things have been fine since. And this is BFing lot number three!!

Keep with it, try and get the positioning right. If you're not sure, get help from someone who has done it before. Speak to your health visitor or midwife. As long as you are doing it right, then pain will continue for a little, but you'll start noticing it getting less and less very soon.

Good luck.

It does get better. My midwife described it as breaking in new shoes.

Have you got any nipple cream in? If you can send someone out for some do.

In the meantime expressing small amounts of milk and rubbing it into the whole nipple area can help, as does air exposure and keeping the nipples dry by using breast pads so they're not being aggravated by a damp bra/ top.

I'm 16weeks in now and my toes curled reading your post remembering the tears streaming down my face on about day four feeding from the left.

I was particularly cracked down one side of the nipple (sorry if too much info) I found it far less painful to turn her around and feed her propped on a pillow in a rugby hold rather than tummy to tummy as her latch didn't stretch the cracked bit.

At the end of the day you have a contented sleeping baby that's the best any of us can hope to achieve, don't feel pressured by feelings of what you should/ shouldn't be doing allow your instincts to keep you doing what's best it sounds like you're well in control.

It's not too late to recover them!

I am not qualified in any way, but I did have a scabbed right nipple during week three of bf.

I took the rather drastic action of feeding from the non-scabbed side only while the scab healed, expressing from the scabbed side at every feed to keep up supply. Thick coats of lansinoh on both nipples at all times, and breast shells to keep clothes off nipples (and hence lansinoh on nipples). My supply survived, but then I was feeding twins, so maybe that helped. The non-scabbed side did produce a lot of milk for a while after all the stimulation, but it all calmed down after a few weeks.

I hope you find a way to work through this - bf gets so much easier the longer you go for :-)

LANSINOH cream & pain killers worked a treat for me the last time, hope if needed this time they will do same job!! I BF for 9 months so its worth sticking at it....Good luck I vividly remember dreading the feeds until I got nipples sorted, toe curling!

How old is your baby? It's awful when this painful. Sounds like you've done the right thing in my opinion with the bottle to give your boobs a rest. I've done that in the early days with both babies while the latch got better and my skin hardened up. To keep supply up when ever I gave a bottle I also expressed, usually asking DH to feed bottle so that it didn't take me ages to feed then express. Make sure the position is right and hopefully this should improve as your skin gets used to it. Personally I find Lansinoh unhelpful as it makes me vunerable to thrush as it creates the perfect breeding ground for it (and I'm very prone to it while breast feeding) plus prolonging the bedding in time as it keeps your nipples soft, I've found it better to let them harden up on their own. I also took pain killers and always wore padded breast pads and a crop top as that seemed to make them feel better inbetween feeds, avoid bras with seems that cross your nipple.

Sympathy! Reading this brought it all back. I remember blood staining the milk pink and being worried about baby drinking it - and the scabbing was awful. Used Lansinoh all the time - as felt I had to be doing something.

Sitting with my boobs airing really helped - did this in bedroom as didn't want to startle my teenagers!
Also used a breast pump - gently - to keep the flow going and to alleviate the pressure and just fed from the other one until I felt I could feed from that one again.
Was on verge of giving up so often - and strived to get through each feed. Was regularly in tears but was determined not to let this beat me.

The problem was that baby didn't have a deep enough latch and when she latched on and started feeding I didn't take her off and make her do it again properly. Once I did remove her and re-attached her the problem alleviated.

Good luck - I'm still doing it over a year later - and thought I'd be doing great if I got to 6 weeks.

I second lashings of Lansinoh and painkillers - it does get better.

Good luck

You don't need to break in your nipple's and they really shouldn't be like this. If there this soure it's a sign your latch isn't quit right. I think you need some RL help on this one.

Give one of the breastfeeding support lines a ring they will be able to help you out.

National Breastfeeding Helpline
0300 100 0212

NCT Breastfeeding Helpline
0300 330 0771

La Leche League Helpline
0845 120 2918

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers
08444 122 949

this website also has some good videos' of what a good latch should look like.

www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=13

How are things now TotorosOscarina?

hi

had a breakdown last night and decided i wasn't BFing anymore and gave him bottles all night.

this morning boobs were huge - milk came in and i felt really guilty.

my nipple was killing me so dh went and got me a hand pump and i got him 2 ounces,

but then fed him from boobs for day,
gave him the expressed milk and have carried on feeding him.

am struggling a bit but pushed through again.

midwife is here in the morning so am going to ask for help

x

thanks for asking btw

Oh, poor you last night

Good idea to get mw to give you some help.

Would biological nurturing be of any good for you?

Oh and I'll will get your username right eventually!

Hang in there- things can only get better

It will get better,it takes a while to get yourself and your baby used to it there are several things that can help (different positions, creams, nipple shields) to ease the pressure while the sore areas heal and keep feeding. If tomorrow's mw isn't helpful (not all are as well versed in bf as one another) then try one of the charity helplines/counsellors and find a local support group (is there one at your Surestart ?). Good luck

Just remembered one other thing that was really useful for me. Instead of just lifting baby to nipple - I started holding my boob in a certain way and kind of fed to baby. The certain way was - if feeding from left one, would hold it using right hand with fingers underneath and thumb on top - as if holding a burger. Bit weird - rarely see women do this but noticed someone at toddler group doing this too.
Good luck ( and don't forget the painkillers!)
Also don't beat yourself up if you do switch to bottles - breast feeding is a lot harder than many think