Need advice re breastfeeding :(

[ButteryJam]

Thought i would get a better response here. On day 5 and woke up to not being able to move left arm and unbelievable pain. Decided to use the Breast pump, had 2 paracetamol and 1 ibuprofen. Waiting for midwife to come. How long do I keep pumping for? It hurts so much!!

Also feeling feverish and completely shattered (was in Hospital past few days)

Sounds like mastitis? www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Mastitis/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

Have heard anecdotally gentle massage in a warm bath can give relief.

Day 5 post birth? I'd say the best thing to do is to get the baby latched on and keep him/her there as long as possible as frequently as possible. If you have a fever then it may be mastitis or a blocked duct - you may need antibiotics which the midwife should be able to sort for you, but frequent breastfeeding ought to get things moving. Is your baby managing to feed well?

KatandKit, didn't initially but is now. In just so shattered. Feel like giving up

Don't give up! is someone there with you - can they bring you tea and toast? jam or honey for an energy boost. Has the paracetamol kicked in?

Definitely sounds like mastitis, don't give up, I know it's agony but once you get some treatment it clears up so quickly you won't believe it! I know it's agony but keeping the baby feeding as often as possibly is the best way to keep the infection from getting worse in the meantime. And a warm flannel on the breast and gentle massage does help. This is such a small part of breastfeeding, if you persevere you could have months of breastfeeding without ever having this happen again so don't throw in the towel just yet!

You need to go to the gp

I think you should try and get someone to see you at home. perhaps if you give La Leche League helpline a call they might be able to get you some help just to check that your baby is actually transferring milk effectively - if he/she isn't then that is why it is getting blocked up in your breast. Don't give up - that definitely will make it worse if it is mastitis! the helplines are really great and often midwives and health visitors, no matter how nice they are, don't always have a lot of training in resolving breastfeeding difficulties.

Five days is a hard time. you are at the hormone crash baby blues stage too so be very kind on yourself. Of course you are shattered - you are recovering from giving birth and instead of sleeping you have to take care of a tiny baby. Get yourself into bed, get DH or anyone else available to supply you with drinks and snacks, put the telly on if you want and cuddle up skin to skin with your baby, try to rest when the baby sleeps.

The thing I found worked best was actually standing under the shower with a hot(ish) jet actually on the problem area. I found that warm flannels went cold very quickly whereas the shower gave sustained warmth to the area. It worked really well. It is really crap. I think you are at the peak of the crap bit I be honest. Please don't give up if Breastfeeding is why you want to do. It does get easier quite quickly of you can just stick with it.

I nearly gave up at one week because not only dis i hae mastitis but my nipples were shredded to ribbons and my baby was getting mouthfuls of blood at every feed. Had to resort to hand expressing till my nipples healed and now at 6 weeks DD is feeding fantastically! Am so pleased I stuck with it.

Sorry for all the typos in that! Must proofread in future. I agree with Kat about getting someone to come to you at home. I would try to take advantage of any support actually in person that you can get. Can make a massive difference of someone can actually watch what you're doing rather than advise over the phone.

It does sound like mastitis, you'll need to see the GP really. I feel for you, I got it at 7 days post birth and felt absolutely god awful. Luckily, my DH was able to do everything and just bring the baby to me to feed, so I stayed in bed with drinks, snacks and meds.

Have you got anyone to help? It should clear pretty quickly if you keep feeding, I wouldn't pump, just feed if you can and favour the breast that is sore. It should start to get better in around 24 hours, especially with anitbiotics.

Sorry, just to add, this might be cause by engorgement as your milk comes in, but it's probably worth getting your latch checked too (which means watching a full feed) as well as checking for tongue tie, as these could be a cause.

As others have said you need face to face diagnosis re mastitis and to do nothing but look after yourself and feed.
Just wanted to link to this website as I found it incredibly helpful For all my breast feeding challenges -

kellymom.com/?s=Mastitis

Pontouf sorry I know this post is for Butteryjam but just read through this. I didn't get mastitis (probably because I didn't feed for very long) but with both previous DC's I gave up BF around 1 week due to cracked bleeding nipples and didn't feel I had much support at all. I am pregnant with DC3 and so want to bf properly. I was also expressing blood and this freaked me out so much (apart from the excruciating pain) that i gave up. So you found hand expressing worked to get through that bit? I am sure I'll have problems again (I got anxious and I think in the end turning to formula took away the anxiety and made me feel I could cope again) I would so love to get to the point where I find bf is a wonderful experience like so many women do.

Butteryjam- hope you're pain free very soon!

i know you are probs too tired at the min, but have you looked for any bf support groups local to you? even if you cant get to one just now but when you are feeling better it might help to be able to meet with other mums and avail of their support and company? just an idea as i was looking up mat services at hospital im moving to and ive found bf groups near where i will be living that i can even go to antenatally. im planning on bf myself so i think the better support network i have round me the better. hope you get sorted xx

A tip my midwife gave me a couple of weeks ago re sore/cracked nipples was to put cling film over my nipples after I have put nipple cream on - it does not make me feel very attractive but has really helped my sore nipples & thus BF! x

Standing under a hot shower with the jet on the area is a great tip, I wish I has tried that! Just to add that I had mastitis at 2 weeks with my daughter and ended up breastfeeding her after that no problems until she was 13 months so try and remember that this agony really will vanish as quickly as it came once you get some antibiotics and then it will be so worthwhile. I hope the midwife has been to you by now and you have had some support

Thanks so much everyone! Midwife has been and you were right, mastitis! I'm trying the shower thing right now, on anti biotics and pumping from that side because too much pain to breastfeed from there. Gonna give la lache a call too. On very high pain killers and that is helping.

I'm wondering if my pump too much out will it keep producing too much? DH thinks that, whereas I just want to get it out.

You're not producing 'too much' though. When they say it takes 6 weeks to 'establish breastfeeding' they mean that your supply eventually regulates itself to the demand from your baby so it's quite normal that you are producing a lot (and very lucky, as others might have the opposite pb). The more your baby feeds, the better for your body to pick up the signs and regulate the production. This is a good thing! I had the same problem, although I didn't get mastitis, I had thrush and a flat nipple and it made those early days agony. Once that got sorted however, breastfeeding became much easier (I'm still doing it at 22 mths).

Your instincts are right about wanting to get it out. If you stop pumping your milk production will start to go down, but this is not a good thing as your body needs to be guided by the baby. I will echo what people are saying about trying to get your baby to take milk from that side. Even if it's just to try on the latch and have your baby take a couple of gulps. A baby's mouth is much more efficient at draining milk than the pump.

Good luck! I know (god do I know) how tough the early days are, especially with these sorts of problems on top, but I swear it is totally worth it. It will not last forever! You will feel much better very soon and look back in astonishment.