It's been 4 mths now that i m breastfeeding but it still hurts at every suck :( I have tried everything! When it is unbearable, i take a break and give him pumped milk... but that's not a long term solution! Although i didn't want to..... but had to give him 1 bottle of formula a day b'coz of this pain. The pain is in the vains and the nipple area. He latches on fine and i sit and feed him (i feed him laying down in bed during night) but it hurts both ways and I can't find the reason of pain. I have tried cold cloth massage too. What should i do?
I agree--could be thrush, or the baby could be tongue-tied. I also agree you should contact LLL or a lactation consultant. Good luck to you.
Updated
I agree--could be thrush, or the baby could be tongue-tied. I also agree you should contact LLL or a lactation consultant. Good luck to you.
V.,
Congratulatons, and awesome job woman, breastfeeding is such a beautiful and healthy thing for your Baby!
Contact La Leche League and find a meeting close to you. Or find a Leader who is close to you to find out what is going on with your baby's latch! Website La Leche League International will help a lot. You're in a very populated area, you should find someone very quickly, I think.
I coined a bumper sticker years ago: Life's too short for bad latch!
My baby had bad latch for a good 2 .5 months. OUCH! When your baby goes to latch on, make sure you rub the nipple on the upper lip but just out of his reach. This makes him open WIDER to admit more of your nipple. Put as much of your nipple INTO his mouth using a 'sandwich' approach. Hold your nipple so your breast behind it is slightly flattened (mine was more than slight!) and looks like a 'sandwich' in your hand, then line it up with his mouth (like you would line up a sandwich with yours - so it fits - like a screwdriver fitting into a screw head sort of).
That is the most COMMON form of bad latch - baby using the nipple like a STRAW. OUCH OUCH OUCH!
I'm not sure what you mean pain in the veins? though?
Another possible solution is the lanolin ointment. EXPENSIVE but WORTH EVERY PENNY! (and save it if it expires, you can use it to relanolinize your wools! another topic entirely!)
I don't know what cold cloth massage is though. It sounds irritating.
If you have further problems, make sure you see a dermatologist. There may be an underlying problem with your skin - but SEE THE LLL GROUP/PERSON FIRST as they will be much more vested and interested in helping you nurse your baby long term - as long as he needs, or at least a year!
Good luck, and any questions, please email. Although, I'm not sure you can anymore on this loop. All I receive are flowers any more.
M.
Most hospitals have lactation consultants, call the hospital and ask to speak to the lactation consultant. She should be able to help you.
Hi V.,
I think it's great advice to consult a lactation consultant but I wanted to add that formula is not poison and if you need to use formula to make sure your baby gets enough to eat then so be it! Best of luck to you!
You might try a lactation consultant- maybe he is latching on OK, but then when he settles in, he gets into a bad position and tugs you or something. If it is both sides that hurt, I would guess it is a positioning problem and pillows (like the Boppy) can help. Try feeding him from a seated position and see if that feels different. I breastfed both of my kids until past their first birthdays. I could NOT feed my son lying down, but my daughter I could- because of positioning. If it is only one side, maybe it is an infection or blocked duct? Warm compresses can help with the blocked duct. Look up La Leche league in your area. Sometimes they have free group support (in case cost of a consult is an issue) or ask you doctor or the pediatrician for a recommendation. It is very helpful to have someone actually witness the feeding to give you direction. Best of luck, V.!
It shouldn't hurt like that! It sounds like you could have a yeast infection. I would see a doctor!
I'm also in Northern NJ. I struggled a lot with nursing because both of my babies spent time in the NICU. The lactation consultant at St. Joseph's hospital in Paterson helped me quite a bit. There was also a pretty active La Leche group in Bergen County a few years ago when mine were babies. If all else fails and you can afford a doctor's visit out of pocket there is a breast feeding specialist who is also an MD, Dr. Mona Gabbay. She practices in Westchester but it was maybe a 30-45 minute ride for me and I think you are a few minutes closer in Maywood than where I live. I think she has a web site but I don't know the site address. You can email me for her contact info if you need it.
SOunds like you got a lot of good advice to check on... thrush, tongue tied baby, maybe change to a different position, and DEFINITELY contact a IBCLC or a Le Leche League meeting!
I had similar pains with my now 8mo old. I took her for her 2mo check up & her pediatrician actually looked at my breast & at my daughter's mouth & determined that I had developed an infection called thrush. It was a KILLER pain that I was feeling every time she'd nurse. I actually started dreading the nursing because the pain was so unbearable! It's hard to actually describe the painful feeling of thrush, but like you, it was in the nipple & vein as well. I'd suggest maybe speaking with a lactation nurse at the hospital you delivered at, or maybe even try calling your OB. There shouldn't be any pain associated with nursing, so any pain is definitely something to look into. Even if it's as minor as a latching issue, I'd still ask! Nursing should be a painless, enjoyable process!
Good luck!
Do you have any signs of an infection or are your nipples cracked or have blisters on them? I suffered from cracked nipples, when I bF'd 1st baby. lactation ppl told me it was due to him latching incorrectly but he was latching correctly. I had sensitive skin and finding a new postion to nurse' made all the difference. 4 mos is a long time to be sore. I think if it's possible, it would be worth having a lactation consultant come to your house. I was not able to do this, b/c of $ , at time but finally found one through the state that was able to speak with me over the phone and help me out. You can also go back to the hospital where you delivered, for guidance.
I had terrible breast pain for the first 6 months of breast feeding and felt very desperate and sad at times. For several months we thought it was thrush (yeast infection on my nipples) and we tried all kinds of treatment (diet, gentian violent, nystatin, dyflucan). Turned out my daughter was tongue tied and because it was a posterior tongue tie the doctors had not diagnosed it. So her latch was good, but she was not able to suck properly which caused a lot of nipple trauma. She basically had to gum at my nipples to get the milk she needed. She breast fed constantly in order to thrive- I am so thankful now that I didn't listen to the well-meaning advisors who told me to put her on a nursing schedule and not let her suck all day. She would have been so hungry! Anyway, have him checked for a tongue tie. A lot of docs don't have the knowledge or think that it is a big deal, so I would contact a lactation consultant instead. Once she had the tongue tie fixed breastfeeding became a pleasure. Good luck.
Contact LeLeche League. They will be able to help you. They have answers for every problem. There is a solution for this. Keep the faith! You are surely doing the best for your child by nursing vs. formula.
