engorgement woes...tips or support desperately needed

[aquasea]

Hi everyone, I had my ds 5 days ago and am trying to bf him but am struggling at the moment. He is completely nocturnal and i am feeling exhausted and hormonal and teary. my milk has just come in and my breasts are huge, swollen and painful and the little man is struggling to latch on which is distressing him and me. He gets on eventually but then it really hurts. My nipples are raw and so painful. I am not giving up but I really understand why people do. Any help/advice/support/tips please, I am getting desperate.
Thanks x

hi aquasea, could you try expressing to help with the engorgment? i had trouble breastfeeding my ds too but it does get better, you are both learning at the moment. the main reason for having sore nipples is the baby not being latched on properly, could you get someone to help you make sure he is positioned properly, your midwfe or a breastfeeding counsellor perhaps? hope this helps

Okay, first of all congratulations! I know how tiring these period is but you are doing really well and keep at it.

In terms of attachment - click on my pics to see some examples of how a properly attached baby should look. Get some nipple cream to help with healing.

Express a bit of milk to get rid of the engorgement. Once your baby latches properly the problem will start to dissapate in about 48 hours. Meanwhile take two paracetamol (for the pain and to reduce your temperature - you are normally hot when your milk comes in).

Do you have some help with breastfeeding around you? If not contact LLL or your midwife. They are there to support you for 30 days from the date of delivery (whether they like it or not!)

I had this - midwife showed me how to hand express and advised I did it for a good five minutes before latching on to soften the area around the areola. It worked well & the engorgement settled after a couple of days.

hi! well done you! I had nipple agony for the first three weeks...all because dd wasnt latched onto the whole nipple.

Use LANSINOH cream ONLY as you dont have to wash it off before any feeds, other creams you do and it makes them worse.

really stop and take the latching on very very slowly, and take him off if it is still wrong, put a finger gently in his mouth to get him to let go..

wait till his mouth is really wide open, it takes practice and timing and her is learning too. It will get better.

Apparrently cabbage leaves out of the fridge in your bra help with the awful pains, and paracetamol, you can take that while feeding
X

Savoy cabbage leaves! Honestly, they work and are so soothing. Good luck

lovely pics, whomovedmychoc,
what kind of recording studio is it?

lol at the specificness of 'savoy', foxy!!!

Hi Aquasea, Not sure I can offer much advice but someone else may be along soon to help. Just wanted to say that I had the same problem for a while. My breasts calmed down after a couple of days when they'd got used to how much my DD was taking. I found a hot shower helped a bit for the engorgement. On the latch front I had huge problems but eventually sorted it out by looking at the videos on www.drjacknewman.com website. The man is great. I looked at them over and over again for about 2 hours (they're only a couple of minutes long each)! Then the latch clicked and everything was so much easier and less stressful. Many congratulations on your new baby and also just remembered I was the world's chripiest mother when my baby was born but then wailed over my DP for a good couple of days when my DD was about the same age (I think it may have something to do with a release of hormones at that stage.) I felt so much better by the end of the week. Good luck!!

(((((((((((((sympathy)))))))))))))))

hot shower, and dp sucking some milk off

Sorry girls it was the ONLY way I got ANY relief

VoodooMama - just your run of the mill recording studio - we do all sorts.

Aquasea - try this page for some latching pics and advice

I just wanted to say that my dd wanted to feed continously at night for the first week or two, and my nipples were also very sore (Kamilosan lotion helped). When I rang the emergeny midwife service in the early hours in sleep deprived, very painful state, they advised that DH take DD for a couple of hours and do whatever to give me a break (earplugs in etc), as I couldn't feed non-stop. For a few nights we sort of did a shift pattern with me feeding DD for an hour, DH taking her for a couple of hours etc - Worked out so that she never went more than 2 or so hours from end of one feed to start of next. It really helped us over this initial mad upside down period (and gave my poor nips a break) .
It did get better and I breastfed her exclusively to a year (obviously introduced solids at 6 months).
Good luck!

Ooops on the first line of my message front - Agree with all the other messages - You didn't have any replies when I started typing mine .

Engorgement - massaging my boobs really helped. Also make sure your bra fits correctly as this can cause engorgement. I would recommend a soft cup night time bra, as I used to get engorged at night due to a badly fitting bra and ds not feeding as much in the night as he did in the day.

Sore nips - lansinoh, lansinoh and then more lansinoh. Then work on the latch on - which is no doubt a bit poor if you're engorged.

Also, if you feed on demand you are less likely to become engorged as you will be feeding all of the time. So before your boobs become too engorged put ds on.

Oh, and good for you for persevering. It does get easier, I promise you.

hiya aquasea
congratulations on your ds. hang on in there, it's rough at first but things should soon settle down.
lanisoh is fab for cracked nipples, put on after every feed, no need to wipe off before a feed either
I wonder if the latch is not great if you are getting cracked nipples. try to get someone to check out the latch, like the mw, bf counsellor etc, but also try to readjust the position so it doesn't hurt, even if that means breaking the latch during a feed. my dd always seemed to slip off a bit during a feed and it would start hurting again and then open up all the cracks - ouch!
hopefully the engorgement will go down soon, it doesn't last long, i heard with the savoy leaves it's good to roll them with a rolling pin first, but have never tried it.
keep going, you're doing a great job

hello aquasea, congratulations on your son and sorry to hear you are in pain. the milk settles down fairly quickly once you get supply and demand established. but if it is hurting please do call a counsellor to get latch sorted, i delayed too long and it got quite bad which affected my supply.

it is usually easily remedied so do call for help. i found evenings were good time to call as vols aren't at work. i've pasted these from an earlier thread (thanks bookthief!)

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers
Helpline: 0870 401 7711

NCT Breastfeeding helpline
Breastfeeding Line: 0870 444 8708

La Leche League
24hr Helpline: 020 7242 1278

Breastfeeding Network
Helpline: 0870 9008787

oh and i forgot, every breastfeeder's question answered here at kellymom

BTW - babies aren't born with a circadian rhythm - they have no idea what day and night are so it's not surprising - but their hormones don't kick in till at least six weeks on this front.

There will come a point though when he knows night from day. Sleep whenever and wherever you get chance, learn to bf lying down (we all do it because you can nod off at the same time) and honestly try not to do anything more than brush your teeth in a day in the first six weeks - it may seem like you are achieving nothing but you are doing the most important and valuable job in the world.

nicely put.

oh my god, thank you all so much. All your lovely responses made me cry (clearly hormonal!!). I guess he isn't latched on properly but it is so hard to get him on. Little arms all over the place, wailing little mouth, head from side to side and me trying to get him in the right position. Its all very distressing. I dont know how i can take it slowly. I know how he's supposed to be but i find it so hard to actually get him like that. i dont know if it makes any difference that i have big boobs anyway - DD... now they must be an F or G at least... i am not sure he can open his little mouth any wider to take in more of the nipple!

I have big boobs (was a J when my milk came in), you have my sympathies. Have you tried swaddling DS before a feed? may help to calm him down and def stops the flailing arms. It will get better, honest. My DS is now 10 months and still breastfed.

I found swaddling a big help too, ds would be flailing around otherwise. I've found BF really hard work but when I look at ds's chubby thighs and think "that's all down to my milk" it makes it worthwhile.

aquasea, have you got lots of support? newborn baby is full time job, like whomovedmychoc says do not try to do anything else unless you really want to.

are you co-sleeping? i had ds on my chest for about a fortnight too scared to put him beside me which wasn't all that restful for me, but it was about a million times better than trying to get him into frigging moses basket.

Yes, I have loads of support. My dh is amazing. your moses basket comment made me laugh (no mean feat at the moment!). I have had so much differing advice on all this my head is spinning. /one if the women (midwife?) in hospital made me feel that I shouldn't even cuddle him, that he should always be in his basket if not feeding or being changed. I felt this was wrong but didnt feel i could argue with professionals. consequently ive felt guilty if I hold him/have him in bed with me and if i put him in his basket and he looks so small and lonely! I cant seem to win!

I've just had my third DS. My advice is:

Lots of lansinoh

Express a little before each feed

Nipple shields

It is hard but keep going and you will et there. Go with your gut instinct.