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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Breastfeeding my 16 mo ds is hurting

13 replies

rickman · 27/02/2006 12:37

I'm not sure I can carry on much longer. He is like a really strong vacuum pump. He also keeps pulling back when he is feeding, but stays firmly attached. My boobs are becoming really sore and sensitive now, just brushing past something hurts.

Can I sort this out, or is it time to call it a day?

OP posts:

NotQuiteCockney · 27/02/2006 12:42

Nothing wrong with calling it a day if you want to.

Alternatively, I'd put him down and walk away, the first time he does the funny pulling back trick. He'll be pretty upset, but if you do this a few times, he'll stop with the interesting tricks.

Original poster

rickman · 27/02/2006 21:04

Thanks NQC. I'm not sure what to do really, I wanted to feed for as long as possible but I'm not sure I can put up with it. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't feed very often, but he wants to feed pretty regularly, particularly when he's teething.

OP posts:

NotQuiteCockney · 27/02/2006 21:06

I'm too lazy for feeding on demand at this age. From about a year, I feed only in specific places. So DS2 (who is 17 months now) know that he will only really get a bf in my bedroom or his. If he wants to feed, he asks me to pick him up, and points me to the right room.

Not that there's anything wrong with feeding on demand at any age, but DS2 went through a real boob-mad phase around a year, where I think he decided bf was his new hobby, and wanted to bf every five minutes. I got really tired of fighting with him, and him pulling my top up.

beansprout · 27/02/2006 21:09

Hi rickman. Sorry to hear this, it sounds really uncomfortable. I'd also suggest the unlatching when he pulls on you. How often are you feeding him?

chicca · 27/02/2006 21:13

Rickman I have a similar problem. I only feed DS (19 mo) to sleep and when we wakes during the night and the last few nights he has been pulling back as you describe but also, when I unlatch him with my finger he bites just in time to get me. It really hurts.
Sadly I have no magic answers but you are not alone!
I hope to be giving up soon as this extended bf is making me ill!

Original poster

rickman · 27/02/2006 21:15

It depends really on how busy we are. If we are out and about and he is kept busy, then he could go all day without feeding. Other days, like today, i seem to have fed him loads, he tends to feed and then want to feed again minutes later. I'm still feeding him during the night as well, although that tends to vary from once to bloody loads.

I'm useless aren't I? I'm turning into that woman of the breast feeding programme who kept whipping her boobs out for her twins every 2 minutes.

OP posts:

beansprout · 27/02/2006 21:19

You are not useless. You are b/f your 4th child at 16m. That makes you some sort of goddess in my book!!

Are you ok with the frequency of the feeds or would you like to change that as well? I'd definitely try the stopping feeding when he pulls and see how that goes for a couple of days. Don't know what else to suggest but hope it works out.

milward · 27/02/2006 21:20

I've bf on demand my toddlers. The only time it felt sensitive was when I was preg.

spidermama · 27/02/2006 21:22

Your nipples hurt when something brushes past? Are you sure this isn't thrush? I had this pain with thrush.
If you want to stop there's absolutely no reason why not of course. You've done brilliantly.

If you don't, my babies have done this pulling intermittently, sometimes when they're teething or extra greedy. It tended to come and go with mine.

Original poster

rickman · 27/02/2006 21:30

Beansprout - I think you're my favourite poster now. Goddess??? can you get fat, cranky goddesses?

Milge - I am most definitely not pregnant. Totally impossible. :)

Spider - I don't think I have thrush, I think it is ds's over enthusiasm that is giving me grief. Thinking about it, this happened a little while ago as well, so maybe it is related to the teething. Bloody painful, whatever.

OP posts:

hugeheadofhair · 27/02/2006 21:46

Would some cream help, as it may help cracked nipples? I would make it very clear to my ds that pulling away with nipple in mouth is not allowed. He's 16 months, he should be able to understand and be trained in that respect. A loud NO and put him down when he does it. And then he can come back on if he wants but no pulling!

FrayedKnot · 27/02/2006 21:47

rickman

DS did this for a while around 14 months-ish. I felt so stupid ringing the BF counsellor in tears when I'd been doing it fine for that long.

I was so sore and had permanent bite indentations round my nipples, but I really didn;t want to give up completely.

By that time DS was down to 1-2 feeds a day but nevertheless they were agony.

It did turn out to be teething related (top teeth) and lasted about 3 weeks.

I went back to using the lansinoh ointment and that really helped.

BF counsellor also advised me to give DS something cold to chew on before feeding, but I never got that organised!

Hope you can manage to get through it if it's what you want.

Original poster

rickman · 28/02/2006 20:23

I don't think that cream would help tbh, they aren't cracked or anything just hyper sensitive.

I'll try and keep going for now and see if things settle down when his tooth is through.

Hello FK, we should meet up soon.

OP posts:

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