Need advice please! Am having a dilemma re bf 2 week old!

[SnowBoo]

I have a two week old and am desperately trying to bf but its so painful. I have mastitis which isn't helping and a dh who isn't the most supportive. Baby has bottles thru the night as i'm so tired due to a million things going wrong since having him.
When he latches on its not right but try as i may i can't master it. He sucks for maybe 15mins max then sleeps. MW says he should be feeding for about 30mins each feed.

Really don't want to give up but not sure what else to do.

(Sorry if poor english, one handed typing whilst cuddling my bundle)

Sorry me again! I have just rememebered a friend of mine suffered with mastitis and she used to comb her boobs while she was in the shower, I said 'What?' and she would get an actual hair comb and comb her boobs in a downward motion and she found it really helped

Snowboo, if you're still awake then swap paracetemol for ibruprofen as this is an anti-imflamitary (sp??) and can even clear mastitis on it's own without ABS.
Let us know how you get on with the helplines and stick with it - bfing is FAB once it all clicks into place!
Would echo the advice about feeding lying down too -I always do this for night feeds and once they get a strong latch you can snooze away....

Edka, nipple shields might not be a good plan as they can hinder the baby draining milk properly from the breast which isn't what you want with mastitis (or, indeed, at any time!).

Welcome to MN - keep posting please or I'll feel bad for scaring you off!

snowboo, thanks for starting this thread, i have a friend in your position, im going to show her this thread, i hope it helps you both

I'm not scared! I just found that (as with most things when you're trying to get breastfeeding established) that every problem is an immediate one that needs an immediate answer and anything that can help is a godsend. I tried shields for 2 feeds, it got me through them, my DS didn't seem to like or dislike them and still fed. I then found it too painful to use even the shields for subsequent feeds - then 24 hrs later discovered I could feed again without needing them at all - result!

Well haven't had chance to call anyone yet.
Been feeding thru the night and it wasn't too bad but he has been at the breast more or less every half hour! Had to give in and he is having a bottle now to give me a few minutes rest!!!!

Thanks for all your support, will let you know how we get on!!

Keep up with the feeding and make sure you put cream on your nipples in between so they don't suffer with the frequency. Something like Kamillisan that you don't have to wash off....
Remember he won't always feeed this much.

Hi snowboo how are you doing, hope its getting a little better for you

Hope things improve for you Snowboo - my ds is the same age as yours and yesterday I finally got to see an NCT bf counsellor (had already been to LLL and got some help but she couldn't identify the prob) as I had started to find latch-on extremely painful and nips were just breaking up! The NCT counsellor immediately noticed that my ds's tongue wasn't coming forward to latch on so he was sucking/biting very hard instead. Now I know what to look for I have been able to encourage him to stick his tongue out (including a bit of cup feeding to get him in the habit of lapping) and already things are improving no end. Tiny adjustments can make such a difference.

Well have been using lansinoh and he latches on a treat. Think it has greased him up lovely....

Thanks for the tips and advice, three weeks in and i'm still bfing!!!! wAHAY!!!