Breastfeeding query

[CosyPinkBlanket]

Hi, I'm still breastfeeding my 13-month old dd at bedtime and through the night. However, my boobs are in a rather sorry state at the moment where her teeth have worn a hole into the base of each nipple. They are they open wounds where scar tissue tries to form but they get opened again when she feeds/nurses. One is worse than the other (as I've not feed her from from it for a day, a night and day) and I'm hoping to not feed her from that breast until it has closed up and then swap and only using the healed breast to let my other breast heal.

My question is will that affect my supply? She is day-weaned and I've never experienced engorgement. She's not ready to be night-weaned and I'm happy to keep going until she self-weans. So that really, can I not breastfeed from one breast but not dry up the milk while I heal? How long can I get away with not feeding without affecting supply?

Hi, I'm also still breastfeeding my son who is 22 months. I had exactly the same problem as you describe when he was younger but on one breast only. It healed eventually even though I still breastfed from the affected breast. I used Lansinol cream which helped a bit. I remember the pain was insane. As for your question, I don't think it will affect your supply even if you go for a few nights without feeding from this breast, because I know of a lady who hadn't breastfed her child for 5 days at all and her milk had dried up, then she started breastfeeding again and after 5 days it appeared all over again and she's still breastfeeding and has plenty of it still. So I wouldn't worry. It's important to let it heal I think. Use Lanisol and hopefully it will speed it up. Good luck and well done you!

Lansinol I mean

Also I meant to say that her milk re-appeared straight away, not after 5 days! What I meant was after 5 days of not breastfeeding at all. Sorry I'm typing and doing other 10 things at once

Ouch - i started to wind up breast feeding once my DS had one then two teeth and started to nip. I spent months expressing after this event with two BF a day before I wound it up. My supply definitely slowed, but the fact I returned to work had a bigger impact. it took an extra two months for the milk dribbles to stop after I fully stopped BF at 6 months. Can you express out of that boob? If you dont get the milk out of your boob, the supply will drop (not immediately) you might be able to up it again by cluster feeding/expressing

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I'd also be lathering on the lansinoh and doubt your supply will be affected at this point

Keep your nips and surrounding area covered in Lansino cream. Once the child have fed, reapply until next feed. Keep it on round the clock. I had a bad split in areola skin when my son was 18 months. It was absolute agony. It is likely to be a fungal infection problem rather than mechanical damage to skin IME. I had this issue 2-3 times when I was breastfed a toddler. My GP prescribed a fungicide, but it did nothing. Lansino successfully sorted the problem in 10-14 days. May take longer depending on how deep the wound is and how much the child is sucking. Good luck and hope it heals up!

If you have not previously had supply issues I would imagine that by this stage you'll be OK alternating sides on a few-days basis.

My right breast was my 'dominant' one and also the one I felt more comfortable nursing from at night lying down (the 2 are quite likely related) and although I did still nurse from the left it was used far less frequently. I never had a problem and both boys self-weaned.

Having said that I would really work on fixing the latch. It is unlikely she's getting any/much milk if she's sinking her teeth into you, more likely is that she's dosing off and just using you for comfort/teething (nothing wrong with that in itself, but obviously it's not working for you).

Could you work on teaching her not to use her teeth? It would be hard at night I know, but I'd say a week of work on your part would be worth it. When she bites, take her off, say "no biting, milk only" or whatever she understands, and repeat x lots!

Is she grazing you with her teeth rather than biting?
If so, try shifting her over a bit, as though she's a newborn again, so nose to nipple, so she's got to tip her head right back to feed.
I had the same problem, and a bf councillor suggested it, and it solved it instantly. It feels a bit weird at first though.

I can't believe how many helpful responses I've had! Shame rolefoheka's was deleted before I had a chance to read it and respond to them!

Anyway, I think it's dd's teeth rubbing while she's nursing as I never feel an obvious bite and I didn't notice the cuts until it was super painful. We've both picked up bad habits. Her latch I think is ok - I get a lovely wide mouth from her. Let down hurts and once she's properly feeding it doesn't hurt so much. I think the problem is I feed her to sleep while she's lying down so once she gets drowsy, she stretches with me still in her mouth and goes onto her side so the I get pulled and stretched all while she's nursing. I am also wondering if she's just nursing/feeding more vigorously than usual as I'm definitely not producing as much milk as she's day weaned and I don't think it's enough to satisfy her. I was up feeding her Weetabix at 1am this morning!