week old dd feeding in a weird way - nipples getting sore.

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

dd is 9 days on. Started feeding 10 mins after birth and latched on well straight away. When my milk came in on day 3 I was really engorged and stuggled to get her to latch on properly, in a day I got really quite sore with blisters and stuff. As soon as the milk settled I was able to get her on properly again and my nipples are pretty well healed but now I get nipple blanching in between feeds that is absolute agony. Sometimes even the thought of her feeding is enough to set off my nipples. They go white and hard and the pain is unbelievable.

dd is also feeding in a weird way - she will feed continously for around 3-4 hours. By this I mean 30 min feed, 5 mins off, another 20 mins, 5 mins off. She is currently whinging in dh's arms as she wants to go back on, I have not had more than 5 mins without her on the breast since 7pm. When she finally goes she will then sleep deeply for about 3-4 hours which is nice but then she wakes up ravenous and it all starts again . She's my 3rd and the first two were real problem feeders but when they got it, I never had any pain at all. I really want to enjoy this but at the moment it's crap .

She never seems to do that slowing down bit either where they go all fluttery and then your nipple drops out of the mouth. DD stops feeding all together but is still clamped on really firmly and when I try to un-latch her she clamps down even further.

I am sat her now and both nipples are blanching at the though of feeding her again. She is crying in dh's arms and acting ravenous. She's gaining weight well and has plenty of dirty and wet nappies so I must be doing something right (I hope... ).

Any ideas? Have never been driven to the bottle before but am seriously considering going out to get formula tonight

[GreenMonkies]

Vasospasms they are real, and not just your imagination etc, and baby clamping down is mentioned in conjunction with over active letdown a lot, could this be the problem with you? When you unlatch her when she clamps does your milk spray out forcefully? Positioning can also be a reason for clamping. Perhaps a biological nurturing style would help, as often if baby is not held up enough and starts to slip of the nipple they will clamp down to try to stay on, so check the way you are holding her, even though she's your third you can still have positioning problems, as we slip back into habits that we formed when feeding our older babies who could move their heads and didn't need to be supported as much as a newborn does.

Hope some of this helps!

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

thanks, things have been a bit better today. I've been really strict on not letting her be even slightly not latched well. Also taking her off if she is clamping too hard and weirdly already she is starting to actually come off at the end of a feed. I think the nipple blanching is partly psychological, it's like my nipples are literally recoiling in horror at the thought of her going on again. Lansinoh is fab and I've been using it every few hours which has helped as well. I'm going to go to breastfeeding group next week and get them to have a look and check it all as well.

[littleweed10]

ps my nipples went white like this - didn't know it had an offical title GreenMonkies...!
I found (if you can manage it) a soak in the bbath (even 5 mins) boob side down followed by a gentle pat dry and application of lansinoh helped. It actually helped to'repinked' the nipples... very painful, poor you. Sounds like a powerful little limpet lips you have there..

[GreenMonkies]

Do you have a strong letdown? I remember reading somewhere that a strong letdown can make baby pull away and then clamp down. let me look into it later (once my monsters are in bed) and I'll try to get back to you on it. I've heard of this nipple blanching before too, it's call a vasospasm or something, again, back later!

Hang in there!

[littleweed10]

have you got laninsoh ointment for your poor nipples? apply after each feed. doesn't need to be wiped off b4 feeding...
And if you haven't tried, have a go with nipple shields. like you, I was really suffering, and using them just protected me whilst my nipples were really feeling bruised and battered. thinking of you, its a rather tricky time, but it does get better- I can even wear a dressing gown without a bra on now, without screaming!!

[logrrl]

The frequency/length of feeding, the baracuda grip-never-letting-go all sound very normal to me. The pain doesn't.

Have you phoned one of the BF helplines or are you still under your midwife??

[MIAonline]

bumping for you.

[trixymalixy]

Try a dummy?

[MIAonline]

Congratulations on your DD

Someone with good advice will come along soon, but my (usual) advice is, have you checked for tongue tie?