Need a little help

[Twin Sister]

DD is only 3 days old and we are having problems. Day 1 in the hospital was great, no pain and I was really excited. Day 2 my nipples got a bit red and irritated but nothing major. The nurses checked us out and said all looked fine. Now we are at home and things are going downhill. Feeding off my right breast is actually ok, its a bit irritated and hurts for a few seconds when she first latches but then feels fine. My left breast is not doing as well. The nipple is cracked along the base and no matter how I attach her it is serious agony when she latches on. It eventually settles into a more bearable pain as she feeds. My milk is in so both breasts are already hot, swollen and uncomfortable so I tried pumping that side but it still hurt. I also tried a nipple shield but it hurt just as much as without. My nipple looks a TINY bit flattened when I unlatch her but really not much. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. We had issues with DS too and it took 4 month before we fixed it, I hope it doesn't take that lng this time. I'm hoping to see someone Monday but I still have Sunday to get through. DH is out getting me some nipple cream. Any tips would be appreciated. She has such a small mouth and my breasts are quite large so it's not easy for her.

[[M]umma[M]ia]

oh you poor thing Do you feel unwell at all? (could be a sign of mastitis).. could it be thrush? Try giving the ABA a call and see what they think, or even the nurse on call. Just put them in google and it will give you the number. If u cant handle the pain (it will be fine just to feed her from one side until you get it looked at if its just way too sore, just try and express a little out in the shower) head down to emergency and let them know... im sure there would be something they could do for you.

[MantaRay]

Hun, what a tough time you are having It's such a shame that mums don't get better help with breastfeeding before they leave hossy.

There are a couple of things to consider here. Firstly, it is mostly likely that your DD is not latching on just quite right yet. This is why it hurts, and why one of your nipples is damaged. Has anyone shown you Baby Led Attachment at all? Often this can help with fixing attachment issues. It is basically allowing the baby to find and attach themselves using their own instincts. Many mums find it works best in a reclined position, and with a calm baby (it won't work if she is screaming with hunger). When she is calm, try placing her between your breasts, skin to skin if you like, but you can both have tops on if you prefer as long as they don't get in the way. Gently support her as she either bobs or lunges towards one side, and allow her to attach herself with little or no assistance. If you would like to give this a go, there is more information here - Australian Breastfeeding Association - Baby-led attachment and the ABA 24 hour helpline - 1800 mum 2 mum (1800 686 2 686, drop the last 6 for VOIP) can also talk you through it if you like. This doesn't always work, but very often mums find that this is the best way for comfortable, pain free feeding.

The other issue is that your nipple has already been damaged on the left side, so that will hurt anyway at this stage until it has healed. Often putting some hind-milk on at the end of a feed and leaving it to air-dry works better than creams. Breastmilk has healing properties and also anti-bacterial ones, so it reduces the risk of an infection getting in where the skin is broken. If you use a cream, be especially careful with applying it, making sure your hands are clean. Germs can transfer into the wound from the cream, especially after a few uses. If feeding from that side is just too painful, expressing is an option although this will probably hurt also as you have found. If you can continue to feed on that side it will help empty the breast better.

The full breasts are also something that can lead to mastitis. Are your breasts always full and hard, even after a feed? How many feeds a day is your DD having and how many wet and dirty nappies? Feeding frequently (usually 8 - 12 times or more in 24 hours) is really important for establishing and maintaining your milk supply going forward, and also helps reduce engorgement. If you are feeling uncomfortably full, it is a good idea to express enough for comfort. If this continues and your breasts are really painful, some mums find a once off full express (getting out as much as you can from both sides) can really help. If you do this a few times it can delay your supply from settling down, but doing it once can help the excess blood and lymphatic fluid to drain away so that when your milk refills it is usually more comfortable than it was before.

All the best with it hun. I know you don't believe me right now, but this is the most difficult time and soon things will be easier

[Kmn]

It's also worth trying to express (either by pump or just by squirting into a towel) a bit before you latch bub on - if you're really full and hard then she can find it more difficult to attach properly.
Big hugs!

Also - the ABA helplines aren't going to be much help in canada (for legal reasons) - try http://www.lllc.ca/ instead

[Twin Sister]

Thanks so much for your replies, I really appreciate it.

I have been feeling a bit unwell but then I felt that way my whole pregnancy so I think I'm just recovering from everything. My breasts are always hard and warm even after feeding but my milk only just came in and I remeber with DS it took a few days for them to kind of normalize again. She's feeding quite regularly too, every 2-4 hours in the day, every 1-2 hours in the evening, and every 2-4 hours overnight. She is having 2-3 (big) poops a day and and additional 3 plain wet diapers on top of those.

I have tried pumping again today but can barely get a drop out with my pump, even when DD is feeding off the other side (a tactic which worked really well with DS and it's the same pump). I might go rent a really good electric pump and see if it works a bit better.

We actually have been trying bay led attachment overnight so I can lie down and let her attach but the results were the same, maybe a bit worse, at least if I position her she gets a bit more in her mouth and it's a bit less painful.

Last night I am sure she was biting instead of sucking at one point. When I removed her my nipple was not flat at all but was all white at the end and I could feel her move her jaw back and forth with my nipple clamped down in her gums.

We're coming up on a feed here in a couple of minutes and I'm just dreading it as it's the extra sore sides turn.

I live in a really small town with some support, so I will try to see soemone tomorrow. The hospitals one LC is out of town at the moment but hte public health nurses or nurses at the child development centre might be able to help us out a bit.

I'm willing to grit my teeth and get through this as it was amazing to nurse my DS, I just hope she picks it up quicker than her did. She's calling......

[deletedit]

I said this on another thread too ...

Cracked nipples take a few days to heal and they do hurt every time bub latches until they are healed. As long as you aren't using the same latch position that gave you the crack, they WILL heal despite hurting like bejeebus. I've had a couple of cracked nipples, all in the first few weeks. Making the end white means there's nowhere near enough nipple in bub's mouth. If you can't get her latching on with more (at 3 days, can't expect the world) what I find works until they get a bit bigger and grab more boob in (which bubs WILL learn, its very early days) is you can sort of poke extra boob into their mouth while they're already latched on just using your little finger or something, which might be enough for now.

My current baby was just nibbling on the end of one nipple on day 1, he made a raised white spot, which hurt and after a few days it had gone black and dropped off. Gross, eh?

Edit: and since I just happen to have a 3 week old baby on my lap, I've just noticed that I tend to sort of pinch the aerola together with my fingers a bit (like a cigarette hold, fingers lining up with his lips) when he's ferreting for boob, which means he gets a good mouthful - otherwise he only gets nipple. If you're very engorged it is very hard for them to get a good mouthful cos all the ducts in your aerola are full and they wind up with a mere morsel of nipple, which makes cracks