Monday, October 20, 2008
Breastfeeding.
I am trying really hard to breast feed my baby. My first baby wouldn't latch on and it was frustrating so I gave up and pumped for three months and then just used formula after that. But this baby is really good at latching. It has been 2+ weeks and one side has toughened up but the other is still really sore with an open cut. I need some ideas of ways to heal it and toughen it up. I want the breastfeeding thing to work for me but if it is going to continue to be painful forever then I am going to give up. I have used lanolin, a doctor perscription, and gerber breast therapy stick. Any other ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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8 comments:
i had the same exact thing happen on both sides.
two things:
i went and saw the lactation nurse at my hospital. it was free, until my baby was 2 months old. she let me know i was actually holding the baby wrong. i am tall, so my torso is long. i wasn't holding him up high enough while nursing, so he was pulling down which caused me to crack open and bleed (a lot). try nursing using the football hold whenever you can. pile pillows up next to you on your bed or the couch, at least as high as your nipple line, then rest the baby on the pillows.
the second thing are these wonderful nipple guards. i wish i would have had these way before i actually got them. they are these clear plastic things that go over your nipples, the baby latches on those and it saves you from a lot of pain. the kind i got were from avent, they were only like $6. i got them at burlington coat factory in their huge baby section. i'm sure you could get them at a specialty breastfeeding store as well, but probably for a lot more money.
good luck. it took me probably 3 months to really get the hang of it without being in a lot of pain. my baby is 8 months now and i'm still nursing. it gets better, i promise. as your baby gets bigger it gets better.
make sure you give yourself time to air out and dry after each feeding. yes, that means sitting around topless! :) but it helps to not have your girls locked up behind wet nursing pads in a bra all day for the skin to dry and toughen.
i second working with a lactation consultant or la leche league! it helped me a ton with my first and once i was done needing lactation appointments, i would call la leche league and just ask them questions if i thought something was wrong and they were great!
good luck!
I loved the nipple guards too. I used them for a few weeks until my blisters were healed, and it was smooth sailing from there. They didn't even give me the option the hospital, because I think they were worried that my baby wouldn't learn to latch correctly. If yours is already a good latcher though, nipple guards may be a lifesaver to reduce the pain! I got some at Babies R Us.
I agree with the nipple shields. I had a little cut on one of my nipples that just wouldn't heal. I finally got a shield and it started to heal within a few days. It was amazing!!!! I definitely recommend you getting one. Don't get discouraged it will sometimes take more than a couple of weeks for your nipples to get used to it.
Ask for a priesthood blessing.
The main thing I can say is "hang in there!" After all the initial pain (which for me sometimes lasted six weeks), it was very worth it!! I also used a lactation consultant with my second, which I felt was cheaper than formula. I only had to go twice, and it made all the difference in the world!! I would also suggest starting on the side that hurts less, because that is when your baby is sucking the hardest.
I used to also nurse on only one side each feeding--just allowing them to nurse as long as they want on that side. My lactation consultant said the baby was actually getting more "hind milk" that way, which is the stuff that keeps them full. It also meant my breasts were getting a four hour break instead of two--glorious!!
After nursing four children I can truly say it's one of my favorite memories.
Thanks everyone for the help. It is already going much better. I think I am actually allergic to Lanolin because when I stopped using it my chest healed and now I have very little pain and all seems to be going well. Now I just need to get my little one to nurse longer. She takes like 20 minutes total to eat! I always feel like she isn't getting enough!
20 minutes might be all she needs. Does she have full diapers?
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