12 months old and he's just damaged my nipple!!!

Since yesterday afternoon, feeding on my left side has been quite painful. It's a sharp pain that's worse during let downs but is pretty consistent throughout the feed and it was still hurting after the overnight feeds (of which there were a few last night). It feels tender generally.

My left side has always been a bit more problematical than the right and we had lots of issues early on. I actually have scar tissue in three places on that nipple :( All the issues were pretty much sorted by the time DS was 4 months old though - especially in terms of the damage healing up and we've been feeding without any major dramas since then.

Why is he damaging me again now? I thought we were past all that? I have looked at the nipple this morning and it could be caused by a bite (which he does occasionally) but there's also a raised hard lump around it - kind of like a welt? It's not particularly angry looking though.

Any ideas or advice? Should I just keep feeding through the pain and keep an eye on it? Would Lanisoh help?

Arrgghhh!! So frustrating, I just posted in Jennifer13's thread yesterday about how I wanted DS to self wean and now I'm having second thoughts!!

ETA - Obviously I need to watch his attachment but that's always been good. The damage he did early on was from pulling back on the nipple which I noticed he was doing a bit last night. How do I stop him pulling back? I really struggled with this last time because holding the back of his head in place doesn't work. The pain interferes with my let down which makes him more impatient and prone to pull. It's a viscious cycle and I feel like I'm right back where we started!

Can you feed with you both lying down? Otherwise detach him as soon as he pulls back! Holding his legs may also help, as may giving him something to play with.
good luck...

Do you think the pain and lump could be from a milk pimple or blocked duct, early mastitis, thrush etc?

Usually pain from damage, thrush etc will slowly disappear after attachment and unless there is a problem with attachment the rest of the feed should be pain free.

Usually the only way to stop little bad habits is to stop the feed and put them down, letting them know it hurt.

Maybe have a lc look at his attachment and see if it has changed? Did he get any new teeth recently, it can upset them a bit?

Kaz, it could be that his attachment is not so good now that he is bigger and moving around. Sometimes mums find it helps to make sure they are still really close to mum while feeding so that the chin is well on the breast.

The other thing is that pain that is there between feeds as well but worse during them can be a sign of thrush. It might be an idea to have this checked by a doctor if the pain doesn't ease within 24 hours or so. Make sure that if that is what is, that the doctor treats both your nipples and your DS's mouth, or you can cross infect each other.

All the best hun, I hope it gets better quickly.

Oh Kaz. :hug:

I understand the pain and frustration from sudden nipple damage after so long! My DD waited until 2 years of age before causing me dreadful nipple damage. Watch his attachment carefully and pay attention if he's coming to the end of a feed particularly. Try a different hold (a lot easier said than done once they're bigger, but it may take the pressure off the sore area), or like Kmn suggested, lying down might work.

All of the nipple care stuff from the early days advice might come in useful too!

Try the ABA helpline too - 1800 mum 2 mum.

Thanks girls.

I don't think it's thrush, have had that before (twice) and I can see where he's taken the top layer of nipple skin off. It's an achey feeling after feeds but doesn't persist for hours or anything. It's made worse cause he's doing a lot of grabbing and hitting and rubbing his face in our chests atm :rolleyes:

I think it is a combination of his new teeth and attachment/position. He has always fussed more on my left and is more prone to turn his head while still attached and pull off that way. It's hard to know when he'll do it cause sometimes it's at the beginning (waiting for let down he'll come on and off) and sometimes at the end when the flow slows or he's had enough).

I might try lying down, (was never comfy in the early days but he's bigger now) and I have been stopping the feeds if he bites or pulls.

Ok - lying down was not so sucessful. He moved around heaps and was still pulling on and off.

I think the pulling back and forth while sucking is just the way he feeds. That's how all the early damage was done and I think my nipples just toughened up and I stopped noticing but now that he's broken the skin with a bite it's painful again. The welt thing has gone but the break is bigger. I have been detaching him when he pulls back (and the pain is too much, I have to get him OFF!!) but I haven't stopped the feeds cause I don't want mastitis. He just screams and screams so I don't know that he understands even though I'm telling him not to pull and that it hurts me.

Watching him drink from a sippy cup this afternoon I realised he still just wants it really fast (which is funny cause he's a slow eater). He wasn't interested in the lunchtime feed today so that gave my left side a much needed break. I think he'll continue to pull back and forth - I already hold him quite close to my body and he'll happily lie chest to chest but I can't get his chin to my breast - he fights that all the way and pulls back more :(

Oh well. I know it will eventually heal. At least today was better and not so painful. Going longer between feeds means that there is more milk there, the let down is bigger and he is not as impatient!

Just thought I mention that yes Lansioh worked last week for myself, I had similar issue with my right nipple, I put my down to L's teeth, not actually getting anymore but moving down as they grow. I just put Lansinoh on it for two days whenever I fed and it really helped. I also tried to feed L in the foot ball hold a couple of times, was actually a pretty funny sight feeding a 12 months old like that,
The look on his face was priceless, ( like this is not how I normally get my milk:p)

I hope it heals quickly...

Thanks Pinny. It's weird and unexpected that these twelve month olds are doing damage again! So frustrating. I managed to get near a shop and remember to pick up some Lansinoh (or however it's spelt!) yesterday so I have been using it since and I think it's helping.

I also tried the football hold last night! Was funny here too. He went along with it for a few minutes but then got frustrated (cause let down was still taking too long for him) and squirmed around too much.

Hope your right side heals up fast darl. xx

Can you hand express a bit so that the let-down has pretty much started and he doesn't have to mangle you to get it??
Hope things continue to improve.

:wall: and :angry: Grrrrr!! I feel so frustrated right now!! He's just done it again! Took ages for the break to heal before (well a couple of weeks it felt like anyway) and now there's a new break, possibly from yesterday :o

Feeling really over it atm. I don't want to wean him cause I know it's good for him to still have the 2-3 feeds a day he's having, even one a day would be good but I'm sick of feeding through pain. He seems able to do the damage very quickly. He is a fussy feeder, most of the time there's no issue at all, in that my bbies cope with him moving around lots and there is no pain etc. This break is different too. It goes from the base of the nipple, up the nipple itself - the other breaks were going around the base in a circle kind of thing. Hope that makes sense.

Arrgghhhhh!! What would you do? Would you wean and say, well he's had a good 12 months or would you stick it out? Feels selfish to wean but we're back to lots of screaming during feeds cause even when I moan (helps me with the pain lol!) he gets upset and pulls off :rolleyes:

Kmn - I used to hand express a bit when he was a newborn but it didn't help a huge amount. He wants the let down and then he wants the fast flow - once I'm in pain, both of those things slow up so we get into a self perpetuating cycle.

Blast!
It won't make you feel any better, but I've just had a weekend of trying to persuade my 2 year old that hopping off Mum's lap whilst still attached isn't a positive thing.....
If your LHS is much worse could you slowly wean him off that side? Or could you be super-mean and wrap him before feeding so he has less wriggle options?
I think that seeing a LC at this point could help you work out what to do as well - or if your MCHN is good at this (some are and some aren't) then they may also be useful.

Kaz, try the ABA helpline 1800 mum 2 mum.

This is probably not going to make you feel much better, but the only thing that really worked for us when DD was two and giving me the same troubles, was time. I think it was just a mismatch between size/position/teeth/whatever that we grew out of.

Pawpaw ointment helped my nipple heal. She was only bfing twice a day at this point and you might laugh, but those advanced healing bandaids in between and overnight also sped up the process. Kinda weird to strap them on, but definitely helpful (also stopped the wound scraping on bras/clothing).

He will get through this and so will you, it's just not very nice in the meantime!

Thanks girls - the pain is easing a bit this morning so I think it's starting to heal. I did ring the ABA the other night so for the benefit of anyone else reading this thread with a similar issue and style of feeder (fussy!) here is what they suggested:

* Not a lot I can do about keeping him still or holding him in place while he feeds. He's too big and strong now. (I knew this already - even if I hold him *slightly* differently, he knows and tenses up and pulls off :rolleyes: ).
* Give him a cold wash cloth to clamp on before a feed to try and numb his gums (assuming it is teeth related)
* Also on the teeth putting teething gel on him or my nipple prior to a feed (after checking with the chemist/dr etc)
* Wiggling my toes to help with pain (this one does kind of help me too LOL!!)
* Detatching him every time he moves around or pulls his head back while feeding (this just leads to extreme frustration from him and a refusal to feed accompanied by much blood curdling screaming - I have only been detaching him on the *severe* pulls)

The ABA counsellor actually suggested weaning as an option. I was a bit surprised at this because it wasn't something I mentioned - I said I was after strategies to stop him damaging me and coping while it heals. Weaning is an option of course but I guess I'd just hate to have our bfing journey end like this (I also suspect that weaning him now will be a very painful and traumatic process for all involved). Now that the pain is easing each feed I think I just need to suck it up and remember that it's only twice a day and it won't last. Hopefully it is teeth related and once he has all his front ones, the damage will stop. Am I dreaming? lol. We still have a few more teeth to go in that case. I have no idea now how I fed through this kind of pain every 2 hours when he was little!

Just coming back in to vent - no need to reply!

Last night's feeds hurt more on the right side so I checked after the 2nd feed and he's put a small 'hole' in my nipple on that side now too :wall:

:( So sorry, Kaz. It took us a couple of months in total to get through this kind of thing. :hug: I hope it stops soon.

:hug: I was coming in to suggest weaning and just feeding on the right side but that doesn't seem to work now....

I know this might sound stupid (and he might be too young) but have you tried telling him it hurts and he needs to feed normally? I have to tell DS that when he is pulling back a lot. Is cutting out or delaying a feed an option? to help with the letdown with the next feed?

How about feeding in a bath so that you are relaxed and it might help with letdown?

It does sound like teeth, I know DS would do the most damage when teething or when I was both O and when AF arrived... I think it would mess with my supply.


Goodluck and hope you heal quickly :comfort:

Kaz, i think i had something similar to you. When DS was around 8/9 months, he seemed to aggrivated a part of the nipple, which over weeks developed in to what i can only describe as hole! it was about 1cm x 1cm rounded, and i would cry while feeding it hurt so much. I tried various healing creams and eventually went to the ABA clinic. They had actually never seen a wound so bad they took photos of it for research purposes. At that age he was still a frequent feeder, at least 8-12 feeds, comfort sucker too. Weaning wasn't an option because i'd tried to wean him at an earlier stage and it was too stressful for both of us, plus i really wanted to make it to 2 years.

What they told me was that the repeated "trauma" to the wound was making it not heal, as in every time he fed it would re-open. They suggested placing a type of medical tape over the wound to protect it while i fed (i can't remember what it was called, but it was water proof, like a band aid but safe for him to have mouth contact with). I didn't use this all the time because he didn't like it and would pull off and re-attach which killed! They checked my attachment and all that was fine... we could only guess that his mouth alignment was slightly out and he was a powerful sucker. I only used the tape when the hole bled, but apart from that, this will sound strange but i would try to meditate while feeding to cope with the pain. Just using visualisations and gritting my teeth.

I fed like this for 4 months!!!

Then strangely enough, we went on holiday, just a very relaxing beachside retreat. And within those 2 weeks the hole suddenly healed! The only thing we can make of it is that my own exhaustion and stress was delaying healing, the rest did me wonders, and that maybe his mouth/bite finally grew and he no longer put as much pressure on the area. It was definately a relief, and i'm proud i stuck through it because i continued to BF him until 2 years & 8 months old.

Oh, and the other thing i would do was after each feed, smear lots of breastmilk on the hole...healing properties there too :)

I'm not saying you should suffer through this, just that it can be done, and that i don't believe this will be a permanent issue for you! If you just think of it as temporary maybe that will get you through?