I am fighting so hard for this! (BF related...sorry, long!)

LouRN09

I also posted this on the BF board...

I nursed DS1 for a year. It seemed to come quite easy. Yes, we had to use a nipple shield at first due to some respiratory trauma at birth, but he was weaned off it eventually and we continued to nurse for a year with a few small hiccups along the way.

So of course, I had full intention of BF DS2 this time around but boy is it turning out to be an uphill battle. It seems as if I have posted on here with random issues the past day or so. I am exhausted. Frustrated. Defeated. Here is what has taken place:

Immediately following birth during kangaroo care, DS latched for a good 10 seconds. WHOO HOO I thought! We are off to a great start! Even in the hospital he seemed to learn how to latch pretty well and every nurse and LC who saw us there said his latch was fine.

We come home and go to our first few pedi appts with the LC and he is gaining weight just fine. 4 oz in 24 hours to be exact! I was thrilled and the LC was impressed. My nipples kind of hurt at this time, but nothing I couldnt tolerate.

I think it was later that night that the excruciating, toe-curling, cuss word throwing, screaming, tearful pain came on (I think I posted about it on here). I couldnt take it anymore and literally dreaded nursing DS and that broke my heart. I started using lanolin and those cold soothies after every session but it still hurt so.freakin.bad. Worse than labor x 10.

So, eventually I caved and sent DH to the store to get a nipple shield. I needed my nips to heal and couldnt do that efficiently with DS nursing so frequently. I used one with DS1 successfully so I assumed everything would work out fine this time around too! Not quite.

Today was my first full day using the shield and DS seemed extra fussy and never satisfied. He was always rooting and it seemed as if my right breast was never emptied, and he didn't swallow as much when he nursed on that side....he just fell asleep despite all my attempts to keep him awake. I know the shields are often a big no-no for this very reason - that DS wouldn't be able to nurse as effectively and ultimately my supply would tank. I didn't know what else to do though. So eventually, I pumped that right breast after a feeding and got out almost 4 ounces and it finally felt empty. Whew.

So here I am, stuck with a nipple shield due to severe (that word doesnt even begin to describe it) pain while nursing, however DS cant get all the milk from me that he needs. I know the shield is only a temporary fix and doesn't fix the actual "problem" (which, I guess was ultimately a bad latch although everyone said it looked fine). I feel defeated, stuck between a rock and a hard place. I think about EP, or giving up totally, but then I cry at the thought of that. I want to be able to nurse my son. Period. But I also shouldn't feel like this. I want to give him the absolute best. I am fighting so hard for this but nothing seems to be working.

Today I did order some of that Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Butter so hopefully that will help heal my nipples. I really want to be able to nurse DS without the shield, but the thought of that excruciating pain again makes me nauseous. I have no idea what I am looking for with this post....advice? Encouragement? Experience?

I plan on meeting with another LC as soon as I can, either tomorrow or Wednesday. Because obviously I am not doing something right!

laurenhankey

I, also, had grand plans of nursing LO until 1 year old and then in the hosp I had to have an emergency c-section so she wasn't able to be w/ my right away but did latch on after I was out of recovery several hrs later.  She had a poor latch at the hosp which we thought was due to my flat nipples and began using a shield and she was able to better latch on.  A week later she lost so much weight the dr told us she may need to go on formula to supplement which I was sooooo against.  I wanted to EBF!!  We discovered LO was severely tongue tied although the LC never recognized this in the hosp! (ugh!) once she was snipped she began to put on some weight but not a lot. At this point I was BF and pumping all day and night long it felt like. 3 week check up and baby was STILL not back at her birthweight and I was getting frustrated so right then I began exclusively pumping and have been doing it ever since.  It takes dedication and TIME but I needed to know LO was getting enough to eat.  She gained a ton of weight and was well over he birth weight within the next week.  It's now almost 4 months later and I am attached to the pump even as I type this!  DON'T feel like a failure because you aren't! you're doing the best you can with what you have.  The one thing I've learned so far about being a parent is never to expect anything to happen a certain way because most of the time it doesn't work out! Hang in there! You can do it!

shannond354

LouRN09:

I also posted this on the BF board...

I nursed DS1 for a year. It seemed to come quite easy. Yes, we had to use a nipple shield at first due to some respiratory trauma at birth, but he was weaned off it eventually and we continued to nurse for a year with a few small hiccups along the way.

So of course, I had full intention of BF DS2 this time around but boy is it turning out to be an uphill battle. It seems as if I have posted on here with random issues the past day or so. I am exhausted. Frustrated. Defeated. Here is what has taken place:

Immediately following birth during kangaroo care, DS latched for a good 10 seconds. WHOO HOO I thought! We are off to a great start! Even in the hospital he seemed to learn how to latch pretty well and every nurse and LC who saw us there said his latch was fine.

We come home and go to our first few pedi appts with the LC and he is gaining weight just fine. 4 oz in 24 hours to be exact! I was thrilled and the LC was impressed. My nipples kind of hurt at this time, but nothing I couldnt tolerate.

I think it was later that night that the excruciating, toe-curling, cuss word throwing, screaming, tearful pain came on (I think I posted about it on here). I couldnt take it anymore and literally dreaded nursing DS and that broke my heart. I started using lanolin and those cold soothies after every session but it still hurt so.freakin.bad. Worse than labor x 10.

So, eventually I caved and sent DH to the store to get a nipple shield. I needed my nips to heal and couldnt do that efficiently with DS nursing so frequently. I used one with DS1 successfully so I assumed everything would work out fine this time around too! Not quite.

Today was my first full day using the shield and DS seemed extra fussy and never satisfied. He was always rooting and it seemed as if my right breast was never emptied, and he didn't swallow as much when he nursed on that side....he just fell asleep despite all my attempts to keep him awake. I know the shields are often a big no-no for this very reason - that DS wouldn't be able to nurse as effectively and ultimately my supply would tank. I didn't know what else to do though. So eventually, I pumped that right breast after a feeding and got out almost 4 ounces and it finally felt empty. Whew.

So here I am, stuck with a nipple shield due to severe (that word doesnt even begin to describe it) pain while nursing, however DS cant get all the milk from me that he needs. I know the shield is only a temporary fix and doesn't fix the actual "problem" (which, I guess was ultimately a bad latch although everyone said it looked fine). I feel defeated, stuck between a rock and a hard place. I think about EP, or giving up totally, but then I cry at the thought of that. I want to be able to nurse my son. Period. But I also shouldn't feel like this. I want to give him the absolute best. I am fighting so hard for this but nothing seems to be working.

Today I did order some of that Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Butter so hopefully that will help heal my nipples. I really want to be able to nurse DS without the shield, but the thought of that excruciating pain again makes me nauseous. I have no idea what I am looking for with this post....advice? Encouragement? Experience?

I plan on meeting with another LC as soon as I can, either tomorrow or Wednesday. Because obviously I am not doing something right!

This isn't what you want to hear but you're probably in for another week of excruciating pain. It took me a good 2 weeks to get over the pain. Apply lanolin often and liberally. 

 Does it hurt for the whole session or just for the initial latch?

Good luck - I know how much it hurts.  

aylafsu88

Hang in there!  I remember the first 4 weeks were very rough for me.  It hurt when she latched on and my LO always wanted to eat but would fall asleep when on the breast.  I felt like I was contently nursing her which only made my sore nipples hurt more.  If you have a support group in your area I would recommend going.  I went and still go to a support group.  The LC who runs it is great and is always willing to help with latches and answer questions. The group was my life saver in those first 6 weeks and I meet other moms (being a FTM I wanted to talk to other moms). You can get through this and it will get better!  Dont give up!

LouRN09

shannond354:

LouRN09:

I also posted this on the BF board...

I nursed DS1 for a year. It seemed to come quite easy. Yes, we had to use a nipple shield at first due to some respiratory trauma at birth, but he was weaned off it eventually and we continued to nurse for a year with a few small hiccups along the way.

So of course, I had full intention of BF DS2 this time around but boy is it turning out to be an uphill battle. It seems as if I have posted on here with random issues the past day or so. I am exhausted. Frustrated. Defeated. Here is what has taken place:

Immediately following birth during kangaroo care, DS latched for a good 10 seconds. WHOO HOO I thought! We are off to a great start! Even in the hospital he seemed to learn how to latch pretty well and every nurse and LC who saw us there said his latch was fine.

We come home and go to our first few pedi appts with the LC and he is gaining weight just fine. 4 oz in 24 hours to be exact! I was thrilled and the LC was impressed. My nipples kind of hurt at this time, but nothing I couldnt tolerate.

I think it was later that night that the excruciating, toe-curling, cuss word throwing, screaming, tearful pain came on (I think I posted about it on here). I couldnt take it anymore and literally dreaded nursing DS and that broke my heart. I started using lanolin and those cold soothies after every session but it still hurt so.freakin.bad. Worse than labor x 10.

So, eventually I caved and sent DH to the store to get a nipple shield. I needed my nips to heal and couldnt do that efficiently with DS nursing so frequently. I used one with DS1 successfully so I assumed everything would work out fine this time around too! Not quite.

Today was my first full day using the shield and DS seemed extra fussy and never satisfied. He was always rooting and it seemed as if my right breast was never emptied, and he didn't swallow as much when he nursed on that side....he just fell asleep despite all my attempts to keep him awake. I know the shields are often a big no-no for this very reason - that DS wouldn't be able to nurse as effectively and ultimately my supply would tank. I didn't know what else to do though. So eventually, I pumped that right breast after a feeding and got out almost 4 ounces and it finally felt empty. Whew.

So here I am, stuck with a nipple shield due to severe (that word doesnt even begin to describe it) pain while nursing, however DS cant get all the milk from me that he needs. I know the shield is only a temporary fix and doesn't fix the actual "problem" (which, I guess was ultimately a bad latch although everyone said it looked fine). I feel defeated, stuck between a rock and a hard place. I think about EP, or giving up totally, but then I cry at the thought of that. I want to be able to nurse my son. Period. But I also shouldn't feel like this. I want to give him the absolute best. I am fighting so hard for this but nothing seems to be working.

Today I did order some of that Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Butter so hopefully that will help heal my nipples. I really want to be able to nurse DS without the shield, but the thought of that excruciating pain again makes me nauseous. I have no idea what I am looking for with this post....advice? Encouragement? Experience?

I plan on meeting with another LC as soon as I can, either tomorrow or Wednesday. Because obviously I am not doing something right!

This isn't what you want to hear but you're probably in for another week of excruciating pain. It took me a good 2 weeks to get over the pain. Apply lanolin often and liberally. 

 Does it hurt for the whole session or just for the initial latch?

Good luck - I know how much it hurts.  

It is mostly the initial latch. It hurt really bad when he first latched for those first few days, but then it turned into severe torture. I would cry just thinking about nursing him.

 

bubble515

i went through something similiar..long story short  my baby is tongue tied.  meaning that she cant suck and get any milk.  she was on my breast for hours and still hungry.   the lactation consultant pointed it out.