some help for a friend breast feeding her 2 week old v little baby please

[nowwearefour]

it really isnt me just to be clear- my dds are not breastfed any more (i fed both til 13 months which is poss why my friend is asking me for help). her dd was 1 week early and had never had a good latch. she was only 5lb 6 and had low blood sugar levels to start wtih and was topped up a little in hospital. anyway my friend suffers with sore nipples (adjustment and poor latch i would imagine) and now she has developed a crack. the pain she says is unbearable. she wants to express for a while. i advised this wasnt a good idea as dd would prob take more to thebottle and getting back onto the breast might be hard. but she really is in pain- had a c section so that is sore anyway. any advice on what i should say to her. i have given her number of a b/feeding counsellor and a drop in clinic times etc so cant do too much more but wondered what others suggest. i had cracks and just fed on through them taking painkillers.

those silverettes mini cups saved my life and let me continue to bf through immense pain!!! I wore them whenever I wasn't feeding. Helped a lot. I'm also finished bf as my little guy is nearly 13 months and am selling my sterilized pair..... if you're interested

You are a great friend to be helping her like this and your support is really going to help. However, she probably needs help from someone with breastfeeding expertise to get to the bottom of the problem. There is a lot of advice on here and some suggestions might work but solving the cause of the nipple trauma is the most important - so she is not in so much pain.

Two things are worth pointing out - nipple pain is never normal (beyond that momentary sensation when the baby latches on).

Nipple shields may cause more problems than they solve. They do not address the underlying problem and they intefere with sucking which can cause supply problems and nipple confusion - which can then lead to more problems with latch. They are probably best used under guidance.

A breastfeeding counsellor - today really - would be a good way to go. I do bf peer support and would happily listen to your friend if she came to our support group but I would also suggest a chat with a bf counsellor. I thought my community midwives were great - really professional, caring and pro-bf but none of them had specialist breastfeeding training (too overworked - they were waiting for updates on stitching and other courses too).

Expressing on the damaged side might give some temporary relief but it depends how she feels about that. Not everyone likes expressing.

How is the baby doing? Poos, colour etc.

I agree with needtomoveon. Silverettes helped me overcome pain and healed the nipples, but my bf counselor helped solve the problem. Because if nipples are cracked and really sore, there is usually a problem with the latch. I saw a bf counselor for about 2 weeks every single day of the week and then about once or twice a week for several weeks after that. Most people don't need quite this much but the support of a bf counselor is irreplaceable. There are loads of freephone numbers that you can call for support and usually they find someone close to you to help out. If you're near me, I know a few people personally that can help - where is she located?

Forgot to say that I personally had a small first baby (jus 5lbs) lots of early problems with low blood sugar, formula top ups. It was an incredibly anxious time. I hated those early weeks because I was so scared that something would go badly wrong with my baby (she is fine now). Good luck to your friend and keep making her tea/toast/hot chocolate or whatever she wants for comfort food

me too, neetomoveon! Small 5lb baby and low blood sugar and they kept giving baby formula top ups during our 3 days in the hospital.I was so worried that my milk wouldn't be enough for him. But support of MN and especially bf counselor was so valuable and made all the difference.