Desperate for help/advice - ready to give up :-(

[Debi - James' Mama]

Hi all

Its been such a long time since i posted (my DS is 5 now)! Anyway I have a brand new ds who was born on Monday (31 May) and I'm attempting to BF him!

The problem is that he wants to feed all the time!  Everytime he wakes up he wants me to feed him which at the moment is fine but as you can imagine I am getting VERY sore. I had some problems with positioning him on the breast but my MW helped with that when she came to visit on Tuesday. All seemed to be ok but my nipples are sooooooo sore and bleeding that Everytime ds latches on I just cry in pain! It's really getting to me now and I have been out and bought formula although i really don't want to do that at all!

Ds seems to be opening his mouth wide enough but he is very keen to latch on so sometimes he tries to cheat and get on sooner!

I'm just wondering if anyone out there has any advice?  I am seeing my MW today but with that next feed looming in about 1 hour I am already dreading the pain :-(

[Debi - James' Mama]

Forgot to mention too that my nipples are bleeding and are missing a few layers of skin :-(

[Lu Lu]

Hi. I am sorry I don't have any advice but couldn't read your post and not reply. I have been very lucky with my 2 and not had any problems but I have heard really good things about the NCT breasfeeding support line so I'd give them a call first.

They may suggest nipple shields and of course they will need time to heal but it sounds to me like he's not latching on right as it shouldn't hurt.

Take care x x

[~ Vik ~]

Huge (((hugs))) and congratulations on your new little man!

The first days of breastfeeding are so hard.  My cracked nipples led me to pumping and bottle feeding, they hurt so badly, so I understand your pain!  You're both learning to bf (even when you've done it before, with a new lo it's a whole new ball game!), and there's growth spurt after growth spurt so baby wants to feed all the time.

Re: the painful/bleeding nipples, try putting breastmilk on them and letting them out to the air after feeds and as much as possible.  A lot of moms swear by lanisoh too.  I used Newman's nipple cream (a prescription mixture here in Canada, more info here: http://breastfeeding.about.com/od/nippleproblems/qt/triplenipple.htm  and here: http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Candida-Protocol.asp).  Silicone nipple shields can also be helpful while your nipples heal as pp suggested.

LizJ recently had a new little girl and started a thread.  There's loads of advice here that you will likely find helpful as well:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=172011.0

Here's some FAQs for you too:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=70305.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64627.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=66001.0

hth

[LilAngelMommy]

Debi,
  (((HUGS!))) and congrats!! I had terrible nipple problems the first several weeks when I had my daughter. It got to the point one of my nipples almost came off. I know how terribly painful it can be. I ended up pumping on that side and BF on the other. My OB also gave me some pain medication to help me get over the worst part of it. I went without a shirt as much as possible and let breast milk dry on my nipples. I had very little relief from lanolin, but it is worth a try. Hang in there! I hope it gets better!

[Debi - James' Mama]

Thanks very much for the advice. The pain in one has almost gone apart from when he attaches but the other is agony! I think I will maybe try pumping from that one for a while!
Again, thanks. It's amazing how much support you
all give! It's much appreciated!
Debi xx