Hi
my baby is 5 months old and mainly BF apart from if he does an overnight with my Mum and then he has a mix of formula and pumped breast milk. I’ve never had any issues feeding aside from the first week when my nipples scabbed, although painful I was able to feed through it.
a few nights ago I woke with pain in my left breast. I had a huge lump that was visible through the skin and painful to the touch. Assuming it was a blocked duct I managed to relieve it with massage and 3 feeds later it had gone.
however yesterday I started to notice some dull aching pain. When I fed DS on the breast it felt slightly uncomfortable like when my nipple had scabbed but nothing major.
today I have fed him and had to stop as the pain is unbearable. It’s different to before as the breast itself hurts not just the nipple, it is like a burning pain. I have pumped from it to prevent engorgement and it was okay but I have a constant dull ache. It is only really painful when DS feeds.
does this sound like mastitis or could it just be that the nipple is sore again? Getting a GP appointment is an absolute nightmare so if I can avoid that with any at home remedies that would be great.