Nursing a 19 month old and a bit sore, any suggestions?

[TinkerbellesMum]

For some reason my one nipple has become sore and I've been avoiding using that side. It doesn't look sore or damaged in anyway, but it does seem to be hard all the time making me aware of the pain when I have my bra on as it gets squished.

I don't think after all this time it's a latch problem and I don't think she's biting, the right side is absolutely fine.

She feeds in the morning when she wakes, I've had to tell her dad about bringing her back to me in the mornings as she's been having three feeds some mornings and I'm not getting sleep (I can only sleep in the mornings, I have always been awake and alert till early hours). She will usually ask for another feed in the day, sometimes two.

I'm starting a breastfeeding peer course tomorrow (for the NHS, how great is it that they are doing that and it's a paid job, but anyway) I was thinking if all else fails I've always got my trainer, not sure how good that looks though

Any suggestions?

It's a bummer isn't it? I'm thinking blocked duct - have you had one before to compare it to? I had them a few times when dd was tiny, but then again just before Christmas, when she was coming up to 18 months, and you just think, so why now?!

So - feels hard, sore to feed on that side... Any other symptoms you can see feel? Any redness or heat coming off it? If so I'm defo thinking blockage. What works for a lot of people is:

1. Moderately firm massage, towards the nipple, while under a warm shower and/or with application of warm flannel. I found massaging with the flannel was a winner - I got more purchase!
2. Continuing to feed (yes, ouch...) and/or express from that side, in a different position, so that gravity helps - leaning over child eg.
3. Get child's lower jaw lining up with the bit that you say feels hard - that worked a treat one time with us. Although it does mean said child can end up in odd positions (e.g. legs over shoulder!)
4. Paracetemol can take the edge off when you're feeding through it.

Good luck

BTW, meant to saw that peer supporters are allowed to have problems too! I did peer support training (nct/nhs collaboration - also a great thing) and felt like I'd failed somehow when I got a bout of mastitis! Had to be given a good slap.

Yeah, it's the idea on my first day going up to my tutor and asking for help lol I'm just very paranoid.

I haven't had a bloackage before, so can't compare.

[lifts top and opens clip to have a look] My breast is cold (I have Raynauds and you can get it in your nipples when breastfeeding ) my nipple is a little blue, but that's normal.

The pain is right at the base of my nipple, between 12 and 1 and goes about half way up the nipple. It's almost a bruise type pain, kind of like when she was teething and nipped me, but I don't remember that happening and it's been like that for longer than I ever had with a nip.

My Dad's picking up my prescription pain killers that I take for my back today so hope that might help.

For some reason this reminded me of a bad mummy from last week and as I think about it, maybe it was this I thought it was the other side, but I'm thinking about how it happened, I couldn't have done this with my left hand, I'm sure. She was in bed with me feeding and we had both drifted off. I felt her start to press down so slipped my finger in her mouth. It was only as she screamed and woke me up I realised it wasn't her MOUTH it was her EYE I was poking! The scream got her off pretty quickly though lol

She had a nice bruise there for a few days. Of course nothing is ever Mummy's fault (one of the great things about breastfeeding) so as soon as Daddy came in she told him off and cuddled me