Breastfeeding..

I hear ya!!!!!!

My nipples are sore though, and bleeding! Not cool.

My only thoughts are to get in contact with a lactation specialist.

I'm off to the osteopath tomorrow and breast feeding is one of my concerns. I don't think he can open his mouth wide enough.

When do you next see your mw? She should help you or at least refer you in the right direction.


But as far as tonight goes, some ideas:
Have you introduced a bottle? (I don't recommend that yet.) Bottles give a faster milk flow so sometimes breast is rejected.

Has your milk come in? Does she suck until your milk comes through or isn't she trying long enough to "see if any is there"? If that is the case, you can manually express the first few drops to speed up the waiting time for her.

Alternatively is she coming off at the moment you start to spray, ie she chokes and stops drinking cause she can't keep up.

Are you holding her comfortably (but in the right position of course)?

Is this happening every time or could it be that she is too full on those occasions?

Hopefully that can get you started...

Sparkle, my nipples were bleeding too. But use breast shields, they work well. Also i use lansinoh, and that is great.

Ok so i think iv gone wrong already, i express a feed for her at 6am so DF can feed her. She seems to LOVE the bottle..

My milk has definatly come in.. Sometimes she sucks and she gets some then pulls off, sometimes she just pulls a face and then lets go.. Sometimes she will suck for maybe 2 mins then pull off.. Sometimes she doesnt latch back on and i think shes full, then 10 min later she wants it again but i go theu that process again.

She chokes on it alot too..

And it happens everytime. i thought it could be the bottle thing so im going to stop..

As for the midwife, i had a appointment with her at 2pm today.. but still havent heard from her..

Do lactation consultants come to you, or do you go to them?
Im a little scared about going to far from home..

it could be allsorts, including the nipple shields or the lansinoh... def see a lactation consultant or contact the la leche league.

I love it too! Heaps more helpful than Healthline!!

I feel your pain! I went through the same thing with Sam. I had a fast let down and she would constantly pull off. It ended up just being a case of soothing her and then putting her back on when she did it. At times I would have to give her to DH so I could take a few deep breaths and then try again. It was by far the most frustrating experience of my life!

Good news is that I got my midwife to come and make sure I was doing everything right and I was. She did say it can be quite normal and usually takes up to 6 weeks to get it going smoothly. In saying that, it certainly didn't take that long!
Don't give up, I'm sure you are doing everything right, just remember she is as new to it as you are

definately call la leche league kandice!! someone will come to your house and they are wonderful. i had to call them when jack was about 4mths old, got to relaxed about how he latched then got sore boobs etc. didn't take long before all was back to normal. they are lovely ladies and extremely helpful

Okay if you want hubby to help with feeding it is fine to do it even right from when milk comes it but dont do it through a bottle for the first six weeks. Express a bit of milk and then get a small cup. Like a medicine cup and then cup feed. I will suggest he do that while bubs is still a bit hungry but already had milk from you. The lips get used the same way as breastfeeding so wont confused baby.

Cracked nipples. Ouch sounds really sore. I dont have much tips for that (as I think you might kill me) but I never really got sore in the beginning. But I think it had a lot to do with my antenatal class midwive and drummed it into us if it is sore when they are feeding unlatch them and relatch as their latch is not correct and it really shouldnt hurt while they feed at all. (okay told you are going to kill me)

If DH can be with you when you see the midwive or a lactation consultant again it will be great. Let them help you latch baby on and tell DH to take a look as well. Sometimes these men get it more than we do in the beginning. They can take in a bit more while we might be a bit tired and might be able to offer some assistance when midwive isnt there.

It does take some time to get a good bf relationship. I remember in the beginning sitting there looking at my girl with absolute awe loving her and everything and at the same time doing calculations of how many feeds will it be to 6 months. (I wanted to feed until 2 but at that point I didnt know if I will make it until 6 months. )

You are really doing great mommy.

Well i saw the MW today, and she said its because my let down? is to fast for her and shes fluffing around waiting for it..?? She seems to be a littl better today..

But for almost 2 hours last night she had REAL bad hiccups, like they sound like they hurt.. Is there something i can do to stop these, i try to burp her for as long as poss after a feed?

Good luck Kandice, I haven't obviously breastfed before, but a friend said to put cabbage leaves in your bra cups, it helps with the cracked nipples for some strange reason . I know you said they're not too bad anymore, but just a suggestion anyway! Apparently cabbage leaves are a godsend!