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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Bleeding nipple

1 reply

Kittycaz · 15/09/2022 07:58

Hello my DS is 4 months old and our breast feeding journey has not been easy he had a tongue tie at the beginning and had it snipped, health visitor said at 2 months that it was starting to reattach but at that stage I didn't want to put him through the op again. For the 2 months since then everything's been fine I've had to feed in a different position and be extra diligent when feeding. Last week he's started to squirm whilst feeding and will turn his head towards any slight sound, whilst still latched (ouch) he's also when coming off not unlatching himself he's sucking like a straw as he comes off. It's made my boobs sore but I've been told it's just a phase and he will grow out of it. So last night when feeding him before bed I noticed blood coming out of his mouth. I unlatched him and looked in his mouth thinking oh god his mouths bleeding. Then I noticed a stream of blood coming out of my nipple there was blood on my babies face to. I put nipple cream on that breast and haven't let him on that side all night. I have pumped that side and gave it him in the bottle. But any advice from people about how to get through this stage without my nipples bleeding like that again would be appreciated.

OP posts:
Mumsneat · 20/09/2022 04:52

Hi @Kittycaz sorry to hear you're in so much pain. Bleeding cracked nipples are so sore and can make feeding really difficult. Moist wound healing is recommended - see info here:

kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/nipplehealing/

I know you mentioned the tongue tie but from the sounds of baby's new feeding behaviour, baby is being a totally normal 4 month old. It's so frustrating but so many parents go through the same. Baby is suddenly aware of everything and so difficult to keep interested throughout the feed without being distracted. The twisting the head and tugging can do some damage to nipples.

It would be really useful if you could get a full feeding assessment done by your local breastfeeding group so they can help you with latch. At this age babies often have a shallow latch which can lead to these problems. Also, as soon as baby is getting distracted, unlatching then making sure they latch again properly helps.

Lots of mums find it helpful to feed baby in a quiet, dark room to avoid this distraction. It doesn't last long and baby will go back to feeding better but for some reason 4 months is when they become interested in everything all of a sudden!

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