Help Advice on cracked nipples please- suspend breast feeding till they heal?

[missslc]

Okay so I had a gorgeous baby boy by c section sunday evening. Have been breast feeding since then but yesterday my nipples were so raw- cracked and open flesh i used formula for 24 hours as it ws too painful to feed him.

My milk has only juts come in last night so today i fed from one breast that was less sore and topped up with one formula feed.

As it is xmas day i have not been able to vontact any professional for advice but am i doing the right thing?

Surely if i carry on feeding from cracked nipples i risk getting an infection and then i will be off b feeding for many days?

My husband was very anti me giving him formula( he said i have to just accept the pain and grin and bear it) but i just think- baby needs to eat and i need to not be in pain every time he eats and open sores on nipples should heal before i resume b feeding.

More experienced mums out there- what have you done if confronted by this. He was a big baby- over 10 pounds and has a huge appetite and i am not convinced he is getting all the milk from my breasts that he needs just yet as the milk isonly just starting to come in??

Congratulations on your new baby. What are you applying to your nipples to help them heal? Lanisoh will really help them to heal if you can get your hands on some form a pharmacy today. Failing that, apply some hand expressed milk and keep you nips exposed to the air as much as possible, ie, outside a bra.

No cracked nips do not risk infection as bm has antibiotic properties. What you need to do is see someone who can help with your attachment and positioning.

At the moment you can try getting your baby to self attach. Babies instinctively know what to do if we give them the time to do it and have a little confidence in them and in ourselves.

This page gives details on how it is done. Look at other related pages for additional info on helpful things like feeding lying down which is also good when recovering from a C-Section.

The size of your baby isn't so important here. All new borns feed a lot in the first few weeks which comes as a shock to most mothers. Keep him close, skin to skin as much as possible which will help him and you learn to follow your instincts about baby led attachment.

I remember this- I was in agony. I agree with christmas goblin- see someone ASAP about getting the position and latch right. I saw a lactation consultant who changed my world. Once I got it right the nipples healed quickly. In the mean time, look at your posture as well as the actual latch. That was where I was going wrong.

The consultant told me to sit back, against something firm, and bring the baby to the boob. I was hunching over trying to get my nipple in her mouth. Once I was in the right position, it just felt right.

Hang in there, it's hard but you do not just have to deal with the pain. It's awful in the beginning when they are slipping on and off.

If you want to return to breastfeeding after a time on formula, you will need to stimulate your supply - with expressing if you can't feed directly. I have no experience myself (the only time I tried to express it left me with sore nipples, which direct feeding didn't do) but I've seen lots of people say that they were able to use a pump without damaging their nipples further.

I believe that if you don't remove any milk at this stage - only a week after giving birth - after a few days it will be very hard to restart lactation.

Cracked nipples mean your baby is not latching on well - you need to see a breastfeeding counsellor or similar asap to get that sorted. Once your baby is latching well, feeding him will not make the cracks worse, and they will heal fine.

If you smear a bit of milk on your nipples after a feed, and either try to keep them wet, or let them air dry, that will help them heal too.

oh dear missslc, it is agony. try to keep them moist with lansinoh if you can, there are things called silverettes too which i belive are very good (they didn't have them when ds was a baby).

agree with nqc, you need help with positioning. have you tried looking up biological nurturing positions? see whether you can get ds to latch on by himself?

since the bfc lines are run by volunteers i have no idea whether they are more or less likely to answer during hols - some of them will be away from home but then a lot of them will be in.

just so know,biological nurturing and baby led attachment are the same things

Congratulations! Can you get some nipple shields - pharmacy, Mothercare or Boots - use them at every feed until your nipples have healed. After the feed, rub some breastmilk into your nipple, then leave your boobs out to dry in the air. Put Lansinoh on regularly. Don't use plastic backed breast pads, buy washable ones instead (Mothercare sell them). Pay attention to how your baby latches on, and in a few weeks from now it will all be super easy. Good luck!

Oh one more thing - if you have a bath, avoid your nipples being under water as you're still bleeding and you don't want to risk an infection.

Great thanks for the advice everyone. I have just moved overseas so have no family or friends at hand to check in with so it is just me and my hubby rumbling through it and making up the bits we don't know.

I am using lanisol. So he fed every 9o mins throughout the night for at leat 45 mins on both breasts, as the other breast had healed a little having had 12 hours rest. Have fed him this morning for 80 mins on both breasts- he just cant get enough. I supplemented with half a bottle of formula after as he was crying when he popped off as if there was no more coming through( this must be possible)as he just kept sucking and getting grumpy as if there was no milk coming- i squeezed and nothing came out after 90 mins- so i am going to just keep putting him on every hour or so to try to stimulate the milk production.My milk only just came through on christmas eve.

I think having had a long labour( 28 hours)/exhaused followed by c section i have been in such pain that it has been soooo hard to position him in any way that is not painful but now the pain is subsiding it is really getting easier.

I have no intention of not persevering as i want him to have breast milk- it is just a case of getting over these red raw crevassed nipples and giving them a days rest has actually really helped- they have scabbed over and i am letting the air to them between feeds.Great tip- thanks.

He wrinkles his nose up at the small amount of formula we have given him, but goes on to drink half a bottle after being on the breast for 90 mins this morning. we did not know what else to do as he just kept screaming- the hungry scream.

I know i have to be careful to keep him sucking so that the milk production steps up....so i will keep at it and thanks a lot for all the advice. I will pay for a lactation consultant to come over if i continue with the problem as i am committed to breast feeding unless it is physically impossible which i believe it rarely is.

I am enjoying every moment with him- even when it does hurt when he sucks- but today only for a minute at start of feed rather than throughout so i think this is good progress!!

I just feel so lucky to get the chance to be a mother- it is undescribably enjoyable!

Also- last question??????????

As we did not intend to bottle feed we have no sterilising equipment- i am just soaking bottle in boiling water for 10 mins before use- is this adequate? Got some hydrogen peroxide which they recommended here in chemist for other bits like the bulb syringe/pacifier if i need it- trying to avoid for now till he gets used to my nipples.

Really appreciate the help folks.it is a big help.

I had same thing and phoned midwife in tears- I found Lansinoh and Kamilosan-not sure I got spellings right- were fantastic, my nipples were better in 24 hours even though I kept feeding. I put the kamilosan on the side I just finished feeding on and lansinoh on the other one as was recommended to wipe off the kamilsan before feeding. Have you checked for thrush as its common due to antibiotics, also my friend had this problem due to baby being tongue tied so unable to suckle properly. This is probably all too late as you sound like your doing brilliantly now but thought I'd post just in case x

I had weeks of cracked nipples due to dd3 being Tongue tied and it was awful.

Do not let your nipples dry out and scab over. You ere aiming for moist wound healing. Liberal amounts of lasinoh cream can help with that and jelonet gauze if you can get it on prescription.

I was on so much pain, I had to bite on a belt to get baby latched on. In the end I expressed and gave dd3 feeds in a bottle for a few days and the relief was tremendous. I managed around 3 oz at a time but if this is your first you may not get that much. Keep expressing and give formula as necessary. J would attempt the odd feed too.

Well done. It really is exhausting especially after a traumatic birth. Get dome expert help with positioning asap. Check for Tongue tie

where are you living now? it is good that the pain is only happening at the start of the feed and not throughout. that sounds like how it is supposed to be. you can feed from the damaged side too, in fact, it is good to do this in order to avoid mastitis as long as you can get the same pain free feeding going. nothing wrong with taking him off and trying again and again if you start to feel pain. also, if you are having some engorgement before feeds and it is making it difficult to attach him off, you can hand express off some milk in order to make it easier for him to latch on.

this link is pretty good at showing where and how to locate your fingers in order to hand express

squeezing your nipple and having nothing coming out is normal. babies need to feed on an 'empty' breast in order to stimulate them in order to make more milk. and it also provides comfort and reassurance and a host of other important things to a newborn. a breast that is 'empty' to a squeeze of the nipple isn't empty.

Oh, congratulations on your beautiful baby and well done for doing so well and seeking help!

I am not a Health Care Professional but agree that Lansinoh is a great help and to keep going. Also, this isn't the official line but the odd bottle of formula won't completely diminish your supply - it may even keep you sane! (IMHO)

I was in AGONY with bfding first time round but kept going, but I was also dealing with a lot of stitches too. I found taking a painkiller just before each feed gave me the boost to get through the initial latch (again - not official bfding advice!)

Your DH will just have to get over that you have given DC a bit of formula. If he was recovering from major surgery, exhausted from a labour the equivalent of running a marathon and wanted to squeeze his nipples (or other sensitive body part) in the crack of the door for empathy, then he can criticize! (and we haven't even mentioned the hormones flying around!)

ALSO, there can be physical reasons why a baby isn't feeding well (I have huge nips and DC1 had the smallest mouth - or tongue tie etc) so ignore anyone who may say it's just cultural that BFding is so hard.

It can be hard. It does get easier. The odd bottle of formula isn't the worse thing.

Enjoy your beautiful Christmas baby and sit comfortably with your feet up and long glass of water by your side. Your DH is your waiter/butler/nurse at the moment - a little payback for your giving him the best present ever!

Well done, enjoy your baby

Foxytocin- we are in the states.

Thanks everyone- i am actually stepping up the painkillers given for my c section and this has helped with pain from crevassed niples but they are actually improving and i am reassurred that you can still feed even when they look like open sores- they have calmed down- it just hurt soooo much and i thought this cannot be right.

It is a lot less painful today- he just likes to stay on for ages and ages- which makes you question if he is getting the milk- maybe he is just a greedy hungry little fellow as he was so big- the nurses said he is the size of a 6 week baby!??surey babies weigh more than 10 pounds at 6 weeks?

thanks

Hi missslc and congrats!

I think you need to actually boil the equipment rather than soak it in the boiling water. But thats by the by - I think you should stop the formula top-ups if you want the bf to take.

I know thats really tricky when your ds is crying and it seems like there is nothing coming out but by continually sucking he is stimulating the supply for the next day etc and thats crucial at this stage.

At one point with my ds I had bleeding nipples (because of poor attachment) and used nipple shields for a couple of days and it was fine.

And they do stay on for ages and ages at the beginning - all day sometimes in fact - its perfectly normal - just let him dictate what he needs.

It is really not unusual for baby to want to stay on for ages and ages (and then want to go back on half an hour later!) at this stage - please don't fall into the trap of thinking you "haven't got enough milk". Baby is working hard to gain weight and to regulate your supply...It will calm down soon...And then you'll get a few days every month or so when he'll have a growth spurt and he'll go back to constant feeding again! (We're currently in the throes of the 12 week growth spurt - DD's been 'feeding' non stop since midday today, and was hourly yesterday!

Sounds good that pain has reduced to just at latch on, but would still be worth getting checked out by a specialist - Could you try LLL?

Re: weight - My DS was almost 10lb at birth, DD only 7lb 13 - it makes no odds - all newborns feed all the time!

You sound really optimistic and DH sounds supportive - make him your head chef/waiter/washer-upper and errand runner for another few weeks until you and DS have your b/feeding relationship well underway!

Soun

thanks all- still painful latching on so i think i need a demo on that one- seeing paedetrician tomorrow for 1 week check.

i take painkillers for c section and they are taking edge off that latching on extreme pain-i have to wait for him to open his mouth more i think.i banged the wall in pain today- fine once he starts sucking.

no formula today as nipples no longer bleeding but we were awake from 9 30 till 4 am last night- he fed every hour and would not settle in between so t night we re going to do shifts- i sleep after feeding for an hour then hubby can sleep when i feed.

got a 2 hour nap today as he slept and it was heaven.

i can manage on3-4 hours sleep but not 0-2!

we are getting there and i think he is getting enough milk as he is producing a lot of wet and solied diapers.

thanks for all support- excuse typing baby asleep on lap. just a nocturnal lil one.

Get paed to check for Tongue tie.

These early days are really hard but it's worth it in the end.

Okay the milk is now flowing and i am confident he is getting his fill and my nipples are no longer red raw- he actually let us sleep 8 hours last night- i feel like a new woman( he had 3 feeds in 8 hours is what i mean) rather than every hour which he is now doing during the day to some degree.
So problem solved.

thanks for all the sound advice.