9 months in and still in total agony

[feesh]

I’ve been breastfeeding for nearly 10 months now and I honestly can’t take much more of it. The trouble is that my baby has suspected CMPA so I can’t give him formula, or even wean him onto cow’s milk at 12 months. (I know I could give him hypoallergenic formula but I doubt he would take to the awful taste at this age).

History: wouldn’t latch after birth so we used nipple shields to get us through. (His older sister had also had the same problems and I had been a lot more reluctant to use nipple shields with her, with the result that our breastfeeding relationship completely failed after a few days, so I was much more ready to use them this time around).

I had a lactation consultant from the start who came to see me in hospital and every few days thereafter to help with latch and to sort out a tongue tie which he was found to have.

He was losing a lot of weight in the first two weeks (can’t remember the exact amount but it was way over 10%), so we went onto formula top ups.

Over a couple of months I gradually weaned off these until he was 100% breastfed.

I have really been through it to my absolute limits and my lactation consultant has always been amazed that I carried on despite everything we went through in those early days.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we have always been dependent on nipple shields (it’s a combination of me having weird inverted nipples, him having a very recessed chin and me never having the emotional energy to address the shield thing after everything else we went through).

One day, when he was about 8 months he spontaneously gave up the nipple shields. I was so happy as it felt like I was doing it ‘properly’ and that it would be easier from now on.

However I soon ended up in agony with shredded nipples and called my lactation consultant out again. She basically looked at his latch and said that he has got into such bad habits that it’s too late to change them and I should go back to using the shields. We tried to get him to latch better, but he wasn’t having any of it.

So I went back to the shields, quite gladly actually as I was in so much pain. The thing is that ever since then, feeding him on my right side has been absolute agony. I actually can’t cope with the pain any more. I have cut down feeding from that side at night and during the day (so I basically only use it for two feeds), but I’m worried this will affect my supply.

I don’t know what to do. If he has got CMPA then I need to breastfeed him until he’s two, and I honestly don’t think I can cope with that.

I’m using Multi Mam compresses round the clock by the way.

Has anyone got any other ideas about what I can do?

Sounds bloody awful for you.
Could you pump and bottle feed?

I would express and feed expressed milk by bottle. Would that work?

I would try him on special formula. You can add vanilla or milkshake mix to make it taste nice.

It sounds like feeding is seriously affecting your enjoyment of your baby. At least try mixed feeding, one or two bottles a day to give yourself a break.

I'd express the sore side for a week or so to allow it to heal then have another go at feeding from it. If it's still problematic I would feed from the good boob and express the right.

I understand the feeling of being trapped as my DD is allergic to milk proteins too so I will be BF for much longer than anticipated.

I manahed to wean my dd (also cmpa) onto aptamil pepti2 at about that age. Used a mam trainer bottle with handles as she was v. reluctant to switch to bottle but being able to do it herself made her more willing.

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it, especially as the last feed resulted in blood all down my shirt!

So there is hope for getting him onto HA formula? Maybe I should try that. And express. I hope he still takes a bottle, it’s been a couple of months at least since he last had one. Ok will give it a shot, thanks for all the advice.