Drugs, cream, something?? Not sure I can keep going

My poor baby girl is up to her millionth cold in her tiny short life and this time she is really not well. She is full of green goo so is really, really struggling to feed and as a result is biting as well as pulling on and off (without actually letting go!). She's frustrated and I'm guessing in pain so she is also pinching and scratching me while feeding, and if I try to grab her offending little hands then she seriously cracks it and screams the house down. My nipples are torn and bleeding. My breasts are bleeding from scratches as well as painful bruises from the pinches. Every feed time is making me feel sick. I haven't slept more than an hour at a time since last Thursday and I'm just shattered and over it.

Please tell me there is something I can take more than panadol to dull the pain, or maybe some magic cream I can put on my poor sore bits to ease things. We've had such a rough time and I'm really glad we've made it this far but I am a heartbeat away from grabbing the formula for all our sakes.

:hug: That sounds awful for both of you. I guess that the benefit of breastfeeding in this situation is that she will get better soon with the assistance of your antibodies.
Have you tried syringing out her nose before feeds so she can breathe a bit easier?

Yep. I'm using the sucker thing before every feed, and at night I'm holding her upright or propping her up to try and alleviate the congestion. She's just been in a hottish shower with DH and I'm tempted to put her to bed in 15 minutes or so with a dose of panadol. I think the poor little poppet is teething too, just to add to her troubles.

I've tried expressing so I can at least give my boobs a break but make sure she's still getting the good stuff, but I've been sick too and after her near constant feeding I just don't have enough left.

Oh hun :( You guys have had such a bad run :hug: I don't blame you for wanting to grab the formula.

Couple of things. You guys need to do what is right for you. If you need a little break, take one. You sound exhausted and in need of some help. You can keep breast feeding - just keep pumping to maintain your supply. You could try just one bottle feed and have a rest for one feed. It doesn't have to mean the end of breast feeding for you both.

As for creams etc - many mums swear by Lansinoh, have you tried that? There are also gel rings or similar, check the Mothers Direct website, I'm sure chemists would have them too. Breast milk expressed on can help - you've probably tried this already.

It is so tough when they are sick or teething or both. Your poor little poppet. If you can persist, persist, as Onxy said you're probably producing the antibodies she needs - take heart in that.

Are you co sleeping? Baby wearing? All those tricks?

Is there some way you could get some rest during the day?

Big hugs. You guys are having a bad run :comfort:

Can you put little gloves on her??

:hug:

:( Not a happy state of affairs! :hug:
Just going to rattle some things off...
-Lansinoh for your nipples
-Try expressing even a few drops and squirting it up her nose with an eyedropper or syringe several times a day.
-Vicks baby front, back, soles of feet
-A Vicks inhaler stick you hold during her feeds with your free hand, hold it near her nose so she breathes it while feeding - this one saved my arse with DD2's first big nasty cold, I was at my wits end, I always have one in the house now.
-Nipple shields
-FES for her nose
-Vapouriser in her room/your room when she sleeps.
-Hanky with eucalyptus on it hanging on the side of her bassinet or near her head while sleeping.

Really hope she gets better soon and your poor boobs recover quickly!! :hug:

nipple shields might be worth trying to give your nipples a rest.

do you have any of those suits with no arms that you could put her in so she can't scratch you? called womble suits or something like that or just try a tight wrap.

:hug:

The best remedy for sore/cracked/damaged nipples I have found is multi mums. A million times better than lasinoh cream. You can get them from national pharmacies, the are a little pad infused with aloe and other stuff that seriously rapidly heals your nipples between feeds. They are a bit pricy $20 per box but so worth it. They got me through cracked/bleeding nipples and mastitis

I'd suggest nipple shields until you heal, pumping and giving a few bottle feeds if you can, and mittens or socks over her hands while feeding. Maybe feeding in a steamy bathroom when you can too. What you're going through sounds awful right now :hug:

teatree oil in a burner will help her bodys immune system. a multi vitamin for you sounds good too.
everybody has suggested all my other tricks.
Hope you can get some good sleep. is there anybody who can watch her while you have a nap?
sunshine on your nipples helps. sunshine helps almost everything :) maybe a nap while topless sunbaking ;)

I don't have any new suggestions but just wanted to give you a "hug".

Oh you poor things. The only thing I can think of that hasn't been suggested is putting some BM, on then air drying your nipples, I found this soooo much better than creams. I would try that in conjunction with nipple shields and pumping to give them a bit of a break. And if you need to a once off formula feed (in conjunction with pumping) might just be the break you need to get back.on track.

You can also take nurofen while breastfeeding if the panadol isn't working well enough.

Oh lulu a massive hug to you sweetie.

I second the vaporiser- was excellent when DD had a bad cold.

Also put baby socks on her little hands to stop the scratching- DD is a fidgety scratcher when anxious or over tired.

Elevate her cot to help keep congestion at bay.

If one nipple is bearable to feed from then try resting the other for a few days and expressing from it instead. This did the trick for me and my problematic rightie when DD was tiny.

I've not tried this but can you ice the nipple prior to attaching to numb it? I think healing is the priority though so use whatever works for you- shields, pumping, whatever.

xo

*hugs*. i dont know if this has already been suggested but you can get these nipple pads that have gel in them. i havent tried them but a friend yses them and swares by them she said they made her nipples feel so much better and must have had some healing stuff in them cause hers were healed in a day or two.

About this time my DS and I had to go to a lactation day stay. We found that he didn't have enough nipple in his mouth; and that now his mouth was stronger our bad attachment was doing serious damage. It seems counterintuitive, but try and get as much nipple in as you can, especially the underside part.
Feeding lying down can help with the pulling, and if you give her something else to hold she may not scratch so much.

Geez how dumb am I that I didn't think of socks or mittens on her hands!!!! Thanks

KMN - she's had dodgy attachment from the start and almost never takes enough nipple in, and that's definitely exacerbated now with her cold. I think I'm keeping the LCs of Perth in business almost single handedly ;-)

Looks like I'm off for a bit of shopping today. Thanks so much for all the suggestions. She had a slightly better sleeping time last night, thanks I think to Lime's eucalyptus oil suggestion so thanks LS.

Thanks again for all the help. Surely something in this lovely long list is going to work.

Don't have any other ideas for you hun other than what has already been suggested but I couldn't not post and sending you a thousand hugs :hug:
Hope she is better soon and that feeding improves ASAP x