HELP ....... Brestfeeding is not my friend !

[Louloubrighton]

Can any one share some advise with please ? Also sorry this is soooo long ........ grab a coffee if you can !!!

I have a 6 wk old son who I have been brestfeeding from from birth and 2 weeks ago introduced combi feeding as he is never satisfied after a feed.

I experienced very painful nursing from the beginning and it was discovered he had a severe tongue tie which was cut. In the meantime my nipple where so damaged that my health visitor recommended I used nipple shields to allow my nipple to repair. Once repaired I attempted to nurse without the shields and although the pain doesn't last for the full feed, it was very painful for approx 2 minutes at the beginning of each feed. Like a clamp on each nipple !!

2 weeks later and only being able to feed with the shields a lactose consultant notice my sons tongue tie had re-attached and also with scar tissue. This was cut last week and I am trying to feed again without the shields with the same pain as previously.

I feel I have so many problems with nursing and I don't know how to move forward or do I just except that I am unfortunate (as the lactose consultant said) and continue as it is !!

• My son has always been a healthy weight and lost 2% early on so no one is concerned there.
• My let down is soooo painful, sometimes when I am not even feeding my toes curl form the pain.
• When I am not feeding I feel like little electric shocks in my boobs
• My son is never satisfied after emptying both Breasts. Only after being on the boobs followed by formula is he satisfied
• At wk 6 I still experience painful feeding for the first 2
Minutes of latching on If I don't use the shields
•When I do use the shields my son will only latch on for about 5 sucks max then will come off and re-attache.
• Everyone has said his latch is good enough and my nipple should be able to feed well
• Nipple are itchy after feeding

Any advise ? I would love to be able to feed without the shields but would love to not be in some form of pain pretty much 24/7 !!!

Thanks xxx

Itchy nipples sounds like thrush: can you get Daktarin for his mouth from pharmacist?

'Not satisfied' is a red herring. Many babies like to feed and feed until they fall asleep - he's boosting your supply. My sons both fed every hour for the first few months,6 weeks being a particular growth spurt (DS1 was on the boob for 24 hours solid at that stage). I never introduced a bottle and my supply/let down pain subsided after a few weeks.

Lansinoh ointment is good for sore nipples. I agree that "not satisfied" is tricky to define - a baby doesn't have to be hungry to want to suck, and cluster feeding for hours on end is to be expected (and is necessary to establish your milk supply). Also bf babies get fed little and often compared to bottle fed babies - I feed approx. every 2hrs and sometimes feed even more frequently.

The more formula you supplement with, the less your baby will suck your breasts and the less milk they'll produce... so you'll have to supplement with even more formula. It's a vicious circle! To boost your milk supply you need to encourage your baby to nurse for extended periods. Which you will probably find difficult due to pain...

I found the pain did stop after a few months. I think your nipples become immune, but I remember it being very painful at the beginning of each feed for a few minutes until let down.

Did they give you some exercises to stop the babies tongue reattaching - I've not experience of this personally but heard of it.

I had to grit my teeth a lot at first but it became pain free and very easy after a while.

Electric shocks in your breasts and itchy could be thrush. Can you see the GP or lactation consultant to see if you need treatment?

I had toe curlingly painful let down every time I fed for the first six weeks. And my ds spent the first week of his life cluster feeding. Latch was fine and baby was feeding well but my nipples just needed to toughen up I think. I survived with paracetamol, buckets of lansinoh and by going topless if I really needed to. At about week six it just eased massively and became much much easier. My midwife told me sometimes it is painful at the start but if you grit your teeth and get through it, eventually it will get easier and she was right.

If you're going to supplement with formula maybe try pumping at the same time to keep your supply up. Obviously take advice from your midwife on that, though. In the meantime if your baby is having plenty of wet nappies and is gaining weight then try not to worry too much! And as others have said, baby is putting in his milk order at the moment, your production will respond to his request. It's bloody hard though, so try and be kind to yourself

As others have seaid the 2not being satisfied thing" is a red herring. Also, as you are hittingthe 6 week mark you wil lfidn your suply started to settle down and this is thepointhat many women giv eup as they think their milk has dired up. This is definitely not the case so do keep on going, you are do so well!

It does sound like you have thrush. When I had it, it felt lieksoemoene was rubbing crushed glass on my nipples. You need to make sure that BOTH of you are treated for this. Grape seed extract is really good at clearing it up. You'll find this useful reading.

I am going to be very bad here....I experienced the agony you are describing for four ghastly weeks before giving up. Toe curling or teeth gritting didn't come near to describing the pain I was having. Eventually my health visitor pointed out that a happy bottle feeding mum was better than a breast feeding mum who was beginning to dread her baby waking up. 25 years later I am still all bitter and twisted because I was such a failure but of course my daughter is absolutely fine!

Echoing others. Don't feel that two sides is all that can be offered- during hungrier times (i.e. growth spurts) we had up to 5 sides. This is fine. Your boobs aren't empty- best analogy is they're not buckets, they're rivers, there's always milk there, just switch sides again.

This is key to ensuring your milk supply keeps up with their needs. It lessens off sometimes too, but right now but you're still in the earliest phase where the baby is working hard to get established. Don;t feel you need to supplement.

The pain is another question and I can only add that latch and letdown can be painful (although not horrendous) for a LONG time. My letdown is imperceptible now but still was a bit ouchy after 18 months. Not saying to discourage, but let you know it's within normal range.
For the latch, my anatomy isn't ideal and we had trouble really until 7 weeks. First baby was on shields, we got off at 16 weeks, fed til 14 months. Second baby no shields, much more painful, but it sorted itself out dramatically around 7-8 weeks after I visited an IBCLC consultant and was assured I just needed to sort out technique. In particular with careful attention to positioning, and getting a very deep latch- try making sure you aren't bent over the baby sitting up straight, but lean back somewhat, and bring the baby inwards and downwards onto your nipple, so there's a bit of gravity helping. You can also try them sitting astride your knee for a similar effect, just watch their nose isn't covered. Don;t be afraid to experiment with any crazy positions to see what works.
Try youtube for "flipple" "deep latch", there's some helpful videos.

Just to add I had a lot of success feeding ds rugby hold style, tucked under the arm, feet behind me, with pillows to support my arm underneath him. The first few days I tried to cradle him but rugby hold was just so much more comfortable for both of us.