why is bf painful after nearly 9 months!

[dirtymonkey]

I feel like I've jinxed myself by suggesting I might try cutting back on bf when dd is a year old.
I was discussing it with my hv at our 8.5 check up,
Since then I've had blocked ducts, milk blisters, intense pain when dd latches on and a constant dull ache down one side of my left breast which seems to be constantly made worse by being elbowed, kneed and poked by her.
I am now worried that I may not last much longer please tell me it is just a phase!

in my experience it is just a phase- i fed both my two until they were 12mths, then they went straight onto full cows milk..... with my daughter (child number 2) i had not a single problem no pain or anything, but with ym son (child number 1) i had endless problems, thrush, blocked ducts, painfull sore cracked nipples till he was 3mths, but i have to say that it was well worth working our way through it, this may sound a little strange but when baby is napping or playing sit down with a brew and no bra or top on and let your breasts relax and re-couperate- it helped me loads......just remember you may want to close the curtains first!!!

i just want to add my sympathies. I've had a fair few problems so know how tough it can be.

i have no big ideas (dd onl four months) but wanted to keep this in active convos for you until those lovely BF advisors see it.

Well Done though for keeping going this far!

Thank you but things are just as bad this morning. Last night I was so close to sending dh out for formula.
Also I would love dd to sleep better at night she is up so much every 2.5 hours on average can she really be hungry at 8.5 months does she need more than bf at night?

Not at night no, is she on solid foods??
It could be useful to try and feed her up all day, get her as much fresh air as possible, really tire her out and do not allow her to sleep much during the day.
Then at bedtime, give her a quite active bath, lots of toys and splashing etc. be calm when actually getting her ready for bed, feed her, put her to sleep and then if she wakes up in the night only give her water.
It's likeloy that after a few days or so of this she will realsie there is no point in waking up, and will be so tired and full she wont want to anyway!!
It would also give your breasts some time to recooperate over night!

sorry to be a devil's advocate, but at 9 months i would say that babies do sometimes still need night feeds. there are many reasons babies wake in the night, and only one of those reasons is for food. is she in her own room? my ds never did particularly well in his own room, and slept a lot better when we brought him back in with us. now we co-sleep and everyone gets a half decent night. having said that, sometimes he does just want to nurse all night (i started a thread on this further down!!)

also - i've found that ds sleeps much better if he naps well in the day. if he's overtired and fractious he's a nightmare to put to bed and sleeps very fitfully. agree with the plenty of fresh air though - take her out for a lovely long walk in her buggy (although my ds always sleeps in his buggy, so wouldn't really tire him out!)

as i said - i'm being devil's advocate, but i personally don't agree with restricting breastmilk. i plan to feed on demand till he self weans, but i realise that it's a very personal choice.

good luck!

also meant to say - ds is a very wriggly feeder, and i've been known to have some spectacular bruises all over my boobs! IME babies do go through a wriggly phase at this age, and it's something they grow out of. stick with it if you can, there's nothing like the feeling of having a lovely snuggle and letting your lo nurse to sleep.

sorry not sure if more info will help or not ,we have co-slept since she was born. Which I love even though some nights I'm in her bedside cot while she is sprawled out in our bed!
She only has 2-3 naps a day for about 40 mins each I don't usually even try to put her down for them as she just wakes even sooner!
She has days when she refuses virtually all solids and others when she eats so much she ends up constipated.
She is our pfb am sure that was obvious to you all.

I can see urbandryad's point(I used to live in northampton too btw), but I still think trying to give water rather than breastmilk would help her sleep longer, if it is important to you. At nealry nine months I dont think the small dream feeds being restricted would make that huge of a difference to her.

Lorayn - you got out of Northampton, lucky you! FWIW - i think you're right, nutritionally speaking, it wouldn't make any difference to drop the night feed, but as i said before IMO babies night feed for other reasons than nutrition! also, i would find it more of a hassle to give a botte/cup of water than to just roll over and offer boob! at 9 months, i don't think babies are designed to sleep through, some do and some don't, and i don't think it has much to do with how much milk or water or whatever you're offering!