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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Pleas help! Engorgement leading to big BFing problems

8 replies

juneau · 15/05/2011 20:40

DS2 was born five days ago and BFing was going fine until my milk came in. Since then, my breasts have become massively engorged, nipples have become flat, and he just can't latch on. This happened with my first DS too and I managed the problem by pumping with double electric pump, regular feeding, and gradually we overcame it and I went on to BF him for 21 months.

The problem this time is that DS2 has come to associate being put to the breast with utter frustration, so now when I try he just freaks out immediately, screams, shakes his head, opens his mouth, but is so distressed that latching him on is virtually impossible. I'm at my wit's end! In desperation, because he just won't feed any other way, I've been putting the milk I'm pumping into a bottle and feeding him that way, but a) I'm terrified I'll never get him back on the breast and b) that he'll get into the habit of sucking on a rubber nipple and even if he does try to BF again as the engorgement reduces it will be agony.

Please, does anyone have any ideas or advice? I so want to get us back to BFing, but at the moment whatever I do to try and reduce the size and shape of nipples to make latch-on easier doesn't work (I'm taking Ibuprofen to reduce swelling, using massage and warm flannel to help let-down before feeding, hand expressing to soften the nipple - all in vain).

Feeling very Sad right now.

OP posts:
Parietal · 15/05/2011 20:48

After 5 mins of pumping, does your breast get softer? Could you try then?

BestNameEver · 15/05/2011 20:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RufflesKerfluffles · 15/05/2011 21:44

Congratulations on your DS!
This is exactly what happened to me - DS couldn't latch on after my milk came in. My midwife got me expressing milk, which we cup fed to him. It was a long couple of days before he would latch on again, but after that he did, and we're still BF-ing 9 months later. Re:cup feeding, if you want to go down this route, I'd advise talking to your midwife or a breastfeeding counsellor on one of the phone lines, but basically you hold the cup so the baby can lap at the milk.

Since then I have read about this and wondered if it would have helped DS to latch on - might be worth a try?

juneau · 16/05/2011 07:58

Thank you both for your responses. It's nice to know others do overcome this!

Ruffles - your experience sounds very much like mine. The midwife is coming over this morning to do the heel-prick test, so I'll ask her about cup feeding. I just really hate giving him a bottle, but when he's screaming and screaming and my entire breast - nipple, areola and breast tissue - is so engorged it's just impossible for him to latch on and it's the middle of the night I'm in tears from lack of sleep I just can't keep persevering indefinitely. Particularly because just putting him to the breast currently makes him very stressed, even if I remain calm. The link is interesting too because it says that pumping can make areola swelling worse - and I'm sure this is happening too.

I keep telling myself 'this too shall pass', but it's still horrible when you're in the middle of it.

OP posts:
TruthSweet · 16/05/2011 08:35

juneau - This might help you with the engorgement and this might help with the breast refusal - try it in a warm darken room, just you and baby, no trying to latch baby on, just letting baby enjoy being close to you, stroking his skin, talking softly and gently and hopefully that will trigger his feeding reflexes and he will latch on him self.

If you give a tiny bit of a feed before hand (enough to take the edge off) he won't be frantic and you will both have time to relax.

Hand expressing is gentler than pumping - you can watch a video on it here.

BestNameEver · 17/05/2011 20:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

juneau · 17/05/2011 20:27

Things are improving thanks! Engorgement seems to be easing a bit and I've been soaking my breasts in hot water and hand expressing before feeding, which has helped. Trying not to pump as I'm sure it's making things worse. So sleep deprived tho' - can hardly type.

OP posts:
japhrimel · 17/05/2011 22:09

Can you feed lying down? Good for you and the baby being more relaxed. Or try leaning back in a chair and having the baby upright in your lap on top of you. DD always prefers positions she is in more control.

Expressing a little so that nipples were milky has often helped us.

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