Hi Tiktok (and other bf experts), I need your help urgently!
Here's some background: I'm Maria (we've met on these threads before, I think). I'm breastfeeding my 5 & a half month old baby since birth. He's also used to taking bottles once in a while, since in the last 3 weeks we've been giving him one bottle of formula at 11. Under my current circumstances it's good that he's comfortable taking bottles.
So. Yesterday, around 4 pm, I had a bad accident. I fell on my face (onto a plate) & broke several teeth- some came out completely- and other teeth are misplaced. I will need extensive dental work. I also had big cuts all over my mouth, & was given extensive stitching at hospital (I went with an ambulance to A&E). As you can imagine the whole thing was extremely traumatic, I lost lots of blood & didn't know at first what was happening. I'm very relieved that the damage is only on my mouth & teeth, as it could have been so much worse. But it's likely there might be some reconstructive work needed in the future, let's see.
About the medications I'm taking: They gave me morphine at hospital, for the pain. And then lots of local anaesthesia for the stitching. They have now put me on 2 antibiotics (Amoclan & Amoxillin) & one strong painkiller (Diclofenac). Plus, some paracetamol as needed. I will also be doing dental work, starting today, & that too will likely require more anaesthesia & perhaps more painkillers. Hopefully all this treatment will be completed within a week or- more likely- 2 weeks.
In the meantime, I can't & won't breastfeed, not without getting advice (hence my msg here), because I'm very scared of giving all this medicine to my boy through the milk. At the same time, I don't know what to do. Last night after my return from hospital I expressed & threw the milk away (to relieve the engorgement). This morning I also expressed & threw it away. Should I express & throw it out? If so, when? My boy usually feeds every 3 hours or so. At night we give him one bottle of formula at 11 (and I express at the same time) & then we usually give him EBM at 3.30 or so- this too we started recently & it helped our baby's sleep- so he's used to bottles at night. The rest of his feeds have been direct breastfeeds. Should I express on that schedule & throw it out? Could I then continue feeding him- when this ordeal is over- perhaps EBM in bottles if he refuses the breast? (will he, most likely, refuse the breast after 1-2 weeks on bottles solely)? I was planning & hoping to keep up the bf until he's 1 year old or so, perhaps keeping up to 3 feeds a day on the breast. Is that completely wishful thinking at the moment? Should I just give up completely? I don't want to, not in this traumatic & sudden way, but I also need to rest & recover.
Any advice would be fantastic. I can't talk to a bf helpline so easily because- as you can imagine- I don't talk clearly because of my cuts in the mouth. Which is why I'm writing here. I've always got good advice here....
Thanks in advance.
maria