Baby 1 year old and having problems feeding - any suggestions?

[oxocube]

Hi everyone. Can anyone offer any advice? My son has just turned 1 and I am b/fing, but after a very successful year, I have run into a few problems. My right breast (always smaller anyway!) seems to have given up the ghost and I find that although baby will suck at the nipple, which gets the let-down reflex going, there doesn't seem to be any milk there. I have developed a crack in the nipple on my left breast which is making feeding very painful, esp as my d.s. sucks so hard. I think this was due to a mild bout of thrush in d.s.'s mouth which he kindly transfered to me!!

I am feeding usually only morning and night now, but occassionally mid-afternoon and would really like to continue for at least another 3 months but am getting a bit down about the painful feeding. My mum reckons I should call it a day and d.h. says its entirely up to me to stop or carry on, so no help there! D.s drinks milk from a beaker (since about 11 months) and I have never had any success whatsoever with expressing with any of my kids.

Does anyone have any advice about how I can either increse the milk supply from the right breast or cure the cracked nipple on the left? It seems a shame to stop because of this as d.s. and I are both very happy to continue.

Thanks xxx

oxocube,have you had the thrush treated? things aren't going to get any better if you haven't. I've no experience of cracked nipples at that stage but they do suck b**y hard, don't they???!! when dd was younger I used a combination of nipple shields and Kamillosan to soothe and allow it to heal. I found La Leche's helpline brilliant - and they posted stuff onto me with all sorts of scribbled notes around the edges of factsheets! and I carried on breastfeeding until dd was 23 mths (only in the morning, the rest was cows' milk in a playtex bottle). it is as your mum says up to you/ds if you want to carry on..but you may need a little help/encouragement! what's your hv like? do you have a breastfeeding group - I didn't at my healthcentre, but a friend did at hers which was a really positive forum, albeit for probably much younger babies. good luck.

I agree, if you still have the thrush, you should get that treated. If it has been treated and it's still sore, don't know if you do this already - but I found that sore nipples were best treated with breastmilk itself. Just squeeze a bit out at the end of the feed and wipe it all over the sore one. Then leave it to dry naturally before covering up. Breastmilk is a fantastic cure-all, I have squirted it into sticky eyes and even conjunctivitus and it works a treat. I have even heard of people with throat cancers drinking it and it halting the progress of the disease. Was told all this at breastfeeding workshop before dd was born, best antenatal class I had!
I also have the problem of one being bigger and fuller than the other - what I did is try to stop 'favouring' the big one, always starting with the smaller and making sure she really drained it before swapping over. It's supply and demand, the more you use it, eventually the more it'll make. Good luck!

Some encouragement to Oxocube: I totally agree with Bundle and Cha. First treat the thrush(that means a course of treatment for mother and baby at the same time) or you can re-infect. The use of breastmilk is a winner and I too have used it for sticky eyes etc. I think its a cure all for all sorts of things! There is a new product on the market, that is available on prescription. It is called NOVOGEL and is for cracked nipples. It contains a soothing gel that helps in the healing process and is also absorbant, for any leaks. Although your ds is a year old, it would be a shame to stop on a low point as you would probably regret it. There may also be a danger of mastitis if you stop before the infection has cleared up. Keep feeding on both sides, then the small one will get bigger and the sore one will get better! Hope that is some help.