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Austin Babies
BF'ing- need encouragement
A lactation consultant is on her way to my house as I type, so hopefully she will work miracles. I guess I'm just looking for experience and a little cheerleading from Nesties who have been here! I just want to give up, but it is so important for him since he was early. 
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We've been having latching issues, so my nipples are cracked and bleeding. Now I'm so engorged that pumping isn't even relieving the pain. I can't stop crying! I'm so determined to do this, but I just dread feeding/pumping time so much. I know it has only been 4 days, and I remember people saying the first two weeks were rough and then it gets better. Anyone have success stories to share??
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Re: BF'ing- need encouragement
We had latch problems and had great success nursing with a shield. Ask your LC if she thinks that might help you and don't be afraid to try it if there's any chance it will help! We ended up using a shield the whole time (about 11 1/2 months) but there are ways and success stories re: weaning from the shield.
I urge you to forge through this. It DOES get easier.
I used these gel things that went in my bra between nursing/pumping sessions that I was able to keep in the fridge before using. They wereAWESOME in the beginning.
https://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/breast-care/412/tender-care-hydrogel-pads
I also used SoftShells for a couple weeks in the very beginning that made my boobs look ridiculous beneath my shirts, but I didn't care because they were wonderful when I was so sore!!!
Here are the shell things: https://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/breast-care/102/softshells-for-sore-nipples
Ask your LC about both of those products as well.
Hang in there. Remind yourself that every drop of bm you can give your child is beneficial. You can do it!!!!
The O'Baby Blog
You can do it! I never had cracked nipples/bleeding issues but I did have a WHOLE lot of frustration, crying, feelings of wanting to give up and serious engorgement but, if you can last 2 weeks then it gets SO much easier! With the engorgement, a hot shower always helped me and you have to pump through it. The pumping doesn't last forever but it really helps to relieve the pain. I have had friends with engorgement/cracked nipples and they used the shield for feedings and that helped a lot. And, I have another friend that swears cold cabbage leaves stuffed in her bra helped her a bunch!
Do you have a breast friend pillow? That really helped me with my latching issues!
You can do it! It's so hard at first but will work itself out!
I haven't had my LO yet, but I send you all the encouragement I can. I have a SIL who gave up even though she had been so adament about BFing. Now she has so much resentment about giving up, women who are successful, me, who has hopes/plans of bfing. I don't mean that to guilt her or you but I know that she really wishes she did things differently and she wishes she had more support at the beginning so that she didn't give up.
My midwives told me about this guy https://www.drjacknewman.com/
and then there is dr sears and his www.askdrsears.com and also www.mothering.com
I have another friend who had a hard time with it, but with a colicky baby, bfing became one of her only times when she felt at peace and she felt so much love while bfing, even if it hurt.
take care and keep up the good fight
Hey.. I just checked my old BFing stash and found that I still have some HydroGel pads. I have 3 unopened boxes (4 pads each) that you can have if you want them. I can try to bring them to you tomorrow (depending on what part of town you're in) or drop them in the mail if you're super far. Let me know.
You can email me at rebecca dot zod at gmail dot com.
The O'Baby Blog
We didn't have latch issues, but we had sleepy baby issues...and slow weight gain issues. I cried all the time in the beginning, feeling so stressed about BFing. I even made a post about it that I bookmarked and revisited all the time (here it is...you can see how many people chime in that breast feeding is HARD at first! https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/23300650.aspx).
I know that right now, 6 weeks seems so far away...it may as well be 60 weeks. But if you can hang in there, it really, really, really does get easier right around 4-6 weeks.
Another trick (besides what's already been mentioned) that worked wonders for my nips was to rub breast milk on them and let them air dry...worked way better than any store product we tried!
Hang in there!!
I was one of the lucky ones who didn't have painful BFing, but I did have latch issues and weight gain issues. I cried a LOT the first time around. I don't have a lot to add, other than hang in there... Now, I love it, but then it was hard. I wrote this the other day: https://mbrox.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-enjoy-breastfeeding_20.html
No advice to add on top of the pp, but I just wanted to send some encouragement your way.
Thank you so much, ladies!! The lactation consultant (Linda Hill in case any of you have used her) was awesome! She actually didn't have availability today but when she found out I lived on her way home, she made the trip. BLESS HER!
She gave me the gel pads and a shield. The shield worked wonders for the soreness while he was nursing. It took him a full hour to get his feeding done because he kept falling asleep, but he did it! And I didn't feel like screaming in pain once! She also worked with me using my Breast Friend, positioning, latch, etc. She was so patient!
I have cabbage leaves to help with the engorgement (I feel kinda like The Little Mermaid!), and I'll be pumping some also. I just feel so much better to have a plan of action.
BeckO- thank you SO much for the offer. She gave me enough to last two weeks, and hopefully the soreness will be gone by then. If I end up needing more, I might take you up on it.
We're only at 3 weeks, but what a remarkable difference since the first week! DD was jaundiced and would fall asleep alot. Feeding was taking over an hour each time, and because of the jaundice, she was having weight issues....very stressful. We went to the doctor four times in the first 2 weeks. I took her in today just to use their scale, and she's now 8 ounces above birth weight! It's the first time I haven't cried at the doctor's office.
The nip shield helped me tremendously the first week and we had no problems weaning her off of it. Also, the breast friend is excellent as well. Once DD started putting on weight, we quit supplementing / pumping so much and BF'ing became enjoyable. My LC told me to soak the nips in 1tsp epson salts / 1 cup of warm water each for about 3-5 minutes, dry completely, then apply the gel pads. It feels SO GOOD! I just put the water in some small cups and bend over them - awkward but worth it.
FYI: I've started watching netflix instant queue tv shows during my night feedings on my iphone to keep awake / relax. I've also learned how to do all things (include eating and flipping the pages of magazines) one-handed.
I used Linda and really like her, as well. I LOVED the cup things BeckO posted. It felt so good to not have the bra or nursing pad rubbing my already sore nips.
Good luck and hang in there! It does get easier and you are on the right path!
These were a savior for my cracking / bleeding / super painful nipples! I didn't care either that they made my boobs look ridiculous because it was such a relief not to have anything touch my nipples!
My OB prescribed some triple nipple cream and that was the best stuff I tried for the healing (the lanolin didn't cut it, I needed something stronger!), I had to rinse it off before a feeding which was a pain but it did help.
Hang in there! It gets SOOOO much better!