Breastfeeding Issues

ChristyCory1212 · September 2013

I have a little girl who is almost 3 weeks old. We have had so many problems breastfeeding from the beginning. She cant latch on due to my flat nipples so we are using nipple shields and breast shells. At one point my nipples were cracked opened and bleeding then they scabbed over. I scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant but the night before I was suppose to go I was running a fever of 104 and had to go see my doctor where I found out I had a breast infection on top of my episotomy site being infected as well. With the infection I decided to stop breastfeeding for a while and just pumped. I wasn't pumping enough so I had to supplement. My infection has cleared up and my nipples seem to be healed but I noticed that my nipples still look busted open and sometimes my breast are sore to the touch. I use lanolin a lot to keep it from being dry. My question is has anyone had an issue like this and what did you do about your nipples being busted open? I want to continue to breastfeed my little girl but it has been such a tough challenge. Any advice will help!

Dahlia813 · September 2013

HI, I dont have an answer for you : (

But Ive experienced alot of what you have but due to my baby being tongue tied. My baby is 5 weeks and Im still in pain!! Sometimes theres no pain and I think it has to do with latch (for me). I think she still is sucking as she was before the snip to fix the tongue tie.

I guess maybe you should continue to pump to let your nipples heal completely!!! ALso my lactation consultant told me that my baby had become a little confused from the bottle feeding so some of my latch problems were because of that. My baby also had been using my nipples for soothing and not food due to bottle feeding.

When you give her the bottle dont lay her down flat, have her sitting up, and have the bottle at a 90degree angle so she controls the flow of milk coming in. Also make sure you are using a nipple of a bottle similar to like Dr Browns bottles.

Also whatever infection you had. Could it have been passed to your baby and she needs to be treated also?

My insurance covers lacation consultant visits (6peryear) so call and find out if yours does also!

Good Luck

ChristyCory1212 · September 2013

Thanks for the advice! I will say the nipple shields have helped so much with the pain. Its almost painless when we feed now but my breast are just tender and i can see the cracks in my nipples. I think my insurance covers them as well so maybe I need to call and see if they have any advice for me! I use the medela bottles so I don't know if they are the same as the bottles you were describing but with the nipple shields I am not sure if she has confusion or not. I think she has been using me for soothing the last few days when I feed her at the breast she seems to want more an hour later lol I cant keep up with her.

Baby54124 · September 2013

That definitely sounds tough! At the beginning of my breastfeeding, my nipples had cracked open and were bleeding pretty bad. I used the nipple shields at that point to help with the pain. The best thing that I did to help heal my nipples though was just expressing a bit of milk and rubbing that into the nipple, then letting them air dry. The breast milk healed the cracks and everything is good now. Just a pointer

If you think she just wants to suck, instead of a pacifier, use your pinky finger to touch the top of LOs mouth. My LC told me that trick to help lessen any confusion with a bottle nipple and your nipple. Your finger is the closest thing that is most like your nipple. Good luck!

heatherb469 · September 2013

ChristyCory1212 said:

I have a little girl who is almost 3 weeks old. We have had so many problems breastfeeding from the beginning. She cant latch on due to my flat nipples so we are using nipple shields and breast shells. At one point my nipples were cracked opened and bleeding then they scabbed over. I scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant but the night before I was suppose to go I was running a fever of 104 and had to go see my doctor where I found out I had a breast infection on top of my episotomy site being infected as well. With the infection I decided to stop breastfeeding for a while and just pumped. I wasn't pumping enough so I had to supplement. My infection has cleared up and my nipples seem to be healed but I noticed that my nipples still look busted open and sometimes my breast are sore to the touch. I use lanolin a lot to keep it from being dry. My question is has anyone had an issue like this and what did you do about your nipples being busted open? I want to continue to breastfeed my little girl but it has been such a tough challenge. Any advice will help!

I had issues BF as well in the beginning. Turned out my LO had a tongue and lip tie which made her latch improperly. My nipples were thrashed! My LC suggested washing my nipples with mild soap (I used Johnson & Johnson) 3-4 times a day. Let nipples air dry. This (along with taking 2 days from BF off) healed my nipples in 2-3 days. Hope this helps and you find comfort soon!

Kmansmomma · September 2013

I had mastitis and sore nipples too (assuming that was the breast infection you had) and I saw an LC who recommended vigin organic coconut oil. You find it in the organic section of the grocery store near the cooking oils. I had been using lanolin too and she mentioned that a clinical study showed coconut oil to be more effective (along with breast milk on the nipples) in healing cracked nipples. I couldn't find "virgin" coconut oil just organic but I have to say it has really worked well for me. Good luck and keep with it. It does get better with time.

ilovetolaugh · September 2013

That is a terrible start to breast feeding, I'm sorry you went through all of that!

I'd say get to a LC as soon as possible.

kakhmama · September 2013

ChristyCory1212 said:
I have a little girl who is almost 3 weeks old. We have had so many problems breastfeeding from the beginning. She cant latch on due to my flat nipples so we are using nipple shields and breast shells. At one point my nipples were cracked opened and bleeding then they scabbed over. I scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant but the night before I was suppose to go I was running a fever of 104 and had to go see my doctor where I found out I had a breast infection on top of my episotomy site being infected as well. With the infection I decided to stop breastfeeding for a while and just pumped. I wasn't pumping enough so I had to supplement. My infection has cleared up and my nipples seem to be healed but I noticed that my nipples still look busted open and sometimes my breast are sore to the touch. I use lanolin a lot to keep it from being dry. My question is has anyone had an issue like this and what did you do about your nipples being busted open? I want to continue to breastfeed my little girl but it has been such a tough challenge. Any advice will help!

I too have had issues with my 2wk old son latching onto my right breast. That nipple is round/flat also and somehow he is turning my nipple inside out when he nurses. I've tried shields, which help me, but leave him struggling to latch or get my let down and flow going. I've just been using lanolin often and have a sore/raw spot that looks like a blister that has no top...very painful.

I just try to pinch my nipple and mold it for a second before he grabs it. That has actually helped alot and changing up angles has helped (like football hold or putting my left hand under his head when he's on my right side and hold my breast with my right hand...sounds comfy huh?).

Best of luck...don't give up, its worth it once all the kinks are worked out.

megemoney · September 2013

I am very sorry to hear all of your struggles. I have struggles of my own, although they do not seem quite as bad now.

First, I see you mentioned the breast shells for the flat nipples. I was going to suggest that so I'm glad to see you've been using them. Have they helped bring your nipples out?

If your breasts are still sore to the touch, I assume you are either engorged or still have the infection. Is your breast skin red at all? If so, it's likely that you (still) have mastitis. I'm on my second go with mastitis. It's a horrible beast.

I agree with @kmansmomma about the coconut oil. I find it works much better than lanolin! In the mean time if you cannot get coconut oil right away, I had an LC in the hospital tell me to use olive oil. It works well also; I just prefer the coconut oil because it is generally in a solid (melting point of 75-76 degrees so it will be liquid if your home is warmer than 76 degrees)

Lots of luck to you!!

prigurgel · September 2013

My LO only started breastfeeding after she was 4 weeks old... She just refuse to latch due my flat nipple( had to pump every 3 hrs for 30min + we had to use supplement those first 4 weeks because i didn't have much milk) abd then she just decided breastfeeding was the way to go... Just keep trying! Good luck

msjanet02 · September 2013

my problem was that baby's latch was too strong and i was allowing him to latch onto my nipples only. that's where the problem started, and is the case for many others. make sure baby's mouth is WIDE open and pull her onto your boob so the entire mouth is around your areola. that adjustment from the lactation consultant helped me so much.

the first 3 days i had super sore nipples and dreaded each feeding. i had a line of scabbing down each nipple. now on days 4 and 5, the scabs have healed and gone, my baby's mouth is open wide when he latches and it's SO much more comfortable. after each feeding i apply nipple cream by Earth Mama Angel Baby in order to prevent chapping.

bottom line: don't let her gnaw on your nipple!

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