Expressing - creating a Super Boob?

[Mombojombo]

Having struggled EBF-ing my DS for nearly 10 weeks with one ravaged nipple (a 'crack' has turned very definitely into a 'hole') I've come to the conclusion that I've got to give it a chance to heal without DS chomping on it every 2 hours! I firmly believe our early probs with latch and tongue tie are over - the other nip is fine and dandy, I'm just still experiencing pain because the hole has never had a chance to heal properly.

So I've just started hand expressing every time I would normally offer the damaged side, so DS will only be feeding from good side for the next couple of days. This milk is going straight in the freezer for another day, as I've not yet tried a bottle with DS.

My question is - because I'll be feeding from 'good' boob every time (while also expressing from 'bad' boob every other time), will it create over/under supply in either? I'm a total novice at expressing...

I had the same problem with both nips - very sore. I found nipple shields were fantastic. They allowed them to heal without having to express every feed. It did take a couple of weeks to heal completely.

Have you tried jelonet, available in pharmacies I believe

Hi Reeta,
I should have mentioned I've tried nipple shields but DS absolutely refused to feed with them, and using them depressed me so much I couldn't bear it... (another reason I've not tried a bottle with him yet).

Maybe I'll give them another go... I'm loathe to though in case I can't get him off them afterwards. Did you manage to get rid of them in the end?

Yes, tried Jelonet but the wound opened up every feed. I'm going to slap some on now and keep it on for longer to give it a chance.

I keep banging on about this but have you had a swab done of the wound? There can be infections on the skin that can impede wound healing no matter how much jelonet/bm/lanolin you smear on it - especially if it is accompanied by pain.

Details here. Your GP should be able to arrange swaps/cultures and any necessary treatment if they come back positive.

Obviously I'm not saying for certain that's what it is but it's not going to harm you or baby to be tested.

I had considered infection, although only just finished a course of strong antibiotics for an infection in my episiotomy site (lovely!) - I wondered if they might knock off the nipple wound too, but no such luck.

I may well make another doc's appt - I seem to live there at the moment!

Does anyone have any insight about supply issues while I'm following my current course of action?

I did the same - only fed from one side to allow the other to heal, for several weeks. It worked fine in that: DD put on plenty of weight, and the bad side healed and I was able to reintroduce it.

However, 3 months later and the "good" side is still considerably larger. Not sure if the reason is that I fed from it more in those early weeks, or if I still somehow subconsciously favour it.

I don't know if it being bigger is an over/under supply problem. DD is growing fine and stopping feeding from the bad side, I feel, allowed me to continue breastfeeding successfully.

I don't think it really matters which breast the milk comes from (after all some women bf twins and some feed one sided due to baby's preference/surgery/injury) as long as you and baby are happy.

Yeah managed to get rid of them as soon as I could bear DS feeding on me again. He didn't really seem to notice much of a difference to be honest.

I definitely had a super boob! I was lucky not to face the horrific issues you have at the moment (definitely go back to the doctor, it sounds incredibly painful) but I definitely had one side that massively overproduced compared to the other.

Actually, the whole thing started the night my son was born and the midwife tucked him into bed with me attached to my left breast.

I fell asleep and he carried on sucking for something ridiculous like 7 hours and that was that! No matter what I did, that side was always bigger and always produced a ridiculous amount of milk. He was just a sucky baby and I ended up giving him a dummy at 2 weeks (always swore my kids would never have dummies) just because he needed the sucking but the milk flow was blowing him up like a balloon.

So yes, it might result in a change in supply. However, it really didn't seem to matter at all. He had plenty of milk when he needed it and that was the most important thing. I slowly tried to get him spending more time on the emptier side than the full one and it evened out a bit over time.

Definitely do what you need to do to heal and to keep him well fed, whether that is one-sided feeding, mixed feeding or bottle feeding.