My misadventures in BFing/pumping - help welcomed!

FrodaBaggins · August 2014

Also I have been working on my birth story for like five days and do plan on posting it soon

I have had a bad latch with this LO from the beginning - the only time I got it right was when the lactation consultant was physically in the room with me at the hospital, getting my pillows and bed just so, maneuvering his little head quickly and exactly. I know the latch is too shallow and he's pinching the nipple rather than getting most of the areola in his mouth, so I've got two very sore, dry, cracked and even bleeding a bit nipples. But the right one, more so. I thought I should pump rather than try to feed him through that very sore nipple, so I pumped twice on the right and got 1 oz each time. I have continued feeding him with the left, but not pumping it. And then during the night, he was sooo not into trying the bottle I put the pumped milk in, so I just fed from the sore right one anyway.

Now, my right breast is much more full, engorged, sore and hard than the left. I'm so confused and can't seem to find in my notes from my breastfeeding class what I should do next - do I keep pumping on the right? Do I pump the left as well? Do I just keep feeding him normally from both while pumping? Also to help heal the nipples - I have Earth Mama Nipple Butter and some of the Bamboobies nursing pads, with a very basic utilitarian nursing bra. I have also heard using a little neosporin is a good idea as long as you wash it off before feeding again?

Do you all think it's a good idea for me to pay $200 today to see an in-home lactation consultant to help me with positioning and latch, or wait til the breastfeeding support group at the hospital tomorrow, which is $8, and work on it on my own?

Any help so appreciated!!

marathonmommy82 · August 2014

Does your pedi's office have a LC?

FrodaBaggins · August 2014

That's a great question! We have an appointment there at 11 am this morning so I will definitely be asking. I did call the office and ask who they recommended when I was really freaking out yesterday, but they all seemed like private consultants and the $200 rate I heard was pretty standard. Thanks!

MC03 · August 2014

I was also dealing with a shallow latch and bleeding nips. What I did was after every feeding express a tiny bit of milk and rub it on the nipple then let it dry. Then I put neosporin on. My LC said it was fine to use in limited amounts (1-2 days). They felt a lot better after one day of that.

Also every time she latched I did my best to make a sandwich ofmy boob and pull her head up to the nipple to get a deeper latch. If her latch wasn't good I would immediately pop her off and start over.

I would put the pump down and try to focus on breast feeding right now. If you are in a lot of pain and engorged just pump a little to get some relief. Also - if you can afford an LC I would do that. An LC helped save my nursing relationship with DD1 and I highly recommend them. Although if you wanted to wait and go to the group tomorrow and then if your issues aren't resolved contact the LC I think that would be reasonable. It depends on how desperate you feel today. Also try the gel pads to help you through the pain today maybe? I haven't tried them but keep seeing others on this board say they are great. Hang in there and good luck.

KittyMisha · August 2014

For me, pumping never emptied the breast the way direct feeding did, so I would feed from the sore right side directly in your position. My DD had an acceptable latch, but I still had cracked and bleeding nipples for a while. It does pass, so hang in there!

MC03 · August 2014

Oh also try a different position and it might make it less painful while you're healing. The football hold helped me a lot.

caybeh · August 2014

Something I learned from the LC this time to get a good latch. Make a "sandwich" with your areola. To do that make a C with your hand, cup your breast and pinch your areola. Then point your nipple up and shove it into the baby's mouth. I had horrible sore nipples until I did that.

I just used Medela's lanolin for sore nipples.

I don't really have any advice on pumping or nursing. Personally, I prefer to nurse as baby is more effective than the pump. But I also know how much it hurts to nurse with sore nipples.

GL!

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FrodaBaggins · August 2014

MC03 said:

I was also dealing with a shallow latch and bleeding nips. What I did was after every feeding express a tiny bit of milk and rub it on the nipple then let it dry. Then I put neosporin on. My LC said it was fine to use in limited amounts (1-2 days). They felt a lot better after one day of that. Also every time she latched I did my best to make a sandwich ofmy boob and pull her head up to the nipple to get a deeper latch. If her latch wasn't good I would immediately pop her off and start over. I would put the pump down and try to focus on breast feeding right now. If you are in a lot of pain and engorged just pump a little to get some relief. Also - if you can afford an LC I would do that. An LC helped save my nursing relationship with DD1 and I highly recommend them. Although if you wanted to wait and go to the group tomorrow and then if your issues aren't resolved contact the LC I think that would be reasonable. It depends on how desperate you feel today. Also try the gel pads to help you through the pain today maybe? I haven't tried them but keep seeing others on this board say they are great. Hang in there and good luck.

@MC03 thank you so much. The part about just pumping to get some relief - just on the right side where I already pumped, the one that is now so much bigger? Will that effect how much supply I have on the left? That's where my husband and I got so confused. We were now wondering if we had to pump the left so it is now producing as much as the right? We are clueless despite the class.

I think I will do what you said, get some neosporin, work on the latch, go to the support group and if I'm still having a hard time, pony up for the LC. Thank you for this advice.

FrodaBaggins · August 2014

KittyMisha said:

For me, pumping never emptied the breast the way direct feeding did, so I would feed from the sore right side directly in your position. My DD had an acceptable latch, but I still had cracked and bleeding nipples for a while. It does pass, so hang in there!

@KittyMisha thank you

Do you think the engorgement/swelling/hardness/pain in the right will go down? the left is starting to get bad too, pain-wise and cracked, but not quite as awful and definitely not as swollen/hard. I'm fine to feed through the pain but in terms of fixing the latch, it is that much more painful to keep pulling him lose and trying to put him back on.

KittyMisha · August 2014

FrodaBaggins said:

KittyMisha said:

For me, pumping never emptied the breast the way direct feeding did, so I would feed from the sore right side directly in your position. My DD had an acceptable latch, but I still had cracked and bleeding nipples for a while. It does pass, so hang in there!

@KittyMisha thank you

Do you think the engorgement/swelling/hardness/pain in the right will go down? the left is starting to get bad too, pain-wise and cracked, but not quite as awful and definitely not as swollen/hard. I'm fine to feed through the pain but in terms of fixing the latch, it is that much more painful to keep pulling him lose and trying to put him back on.

In my experience, feeding from the engorged side always helped significantly with hardness/pain. I also only fed from one side per feeding, so my entire breastfeeding experience sort of involved alternating which side was huge and sore. It took me a long time to balance out.

MC03 · August 2014

I would just pump from the right side a little to get relief. Only pump the left if that also gets really engorged. The best thing you can do for your supply is just nurse nurse nurse. Also it's not uncommon to naturally have one side that produces a lot more. I haven't pumped at all yet for DD2 but my left boob I can already tell is the super boob. It is more engorged, leaks more, and I can hear DD2 furiously gulping every time she latches on.

cdseno · August 2014

I was just dealing with this last week and went to the breastfeeding support group at our hospital and got great help (ours is free though)! The nurse showed me that instead of sandwiching the breast down horizontal, hold it on the sides and make it a vertical sandwich so you can get more in baby's mouth. Does that make sense? Also, make sure his tounge is down when you try to get him to latch so that he can get the nipple as far back as he needs it. As soon as his tounge is down, quickly push his head into your breast so he seems like he is being suffocated by it, trust me he isn't though. It may hurt for the first 10-15 sucks but then it should be better. Also, ask your doctor about all purpose nipple ointment. It is prescription only, but it will help so much! You put it on right after feedings, then you don't need to wipe it off. Seek help if you need it though, try out the cheaper support group first and see if they can help.

Firefly228 · August 2014

I am a total lurker, but just had my second baby on 8/13 and really wanted to respond to this post. My first son destroyed my nipples because of a shallow latch. I was a bleeding mess and it was so painful. My advice: get some Medela nipple shields from Target and wear those until your nipples heal. The APNO (all purpose nipple ointment) is an absolute lifesaver. The shield also helps draw your nipples out if they are flat. When your nipples are healed and you're feeling better, then you can work on weaning the baby off the shield and developing a better latch- so much easier to do when you're not experiencing toe-curling pain and engorgement. I know I don't post, but I just wanted to share my experience!

glaw · August 2014

First sorry you're dealing with this. Second yes see a LC as soon as possible bc time is of the essence. You don't want this to affect your supply. I waited a long time to see an LC with my first and wish I had done it sooner.

I think your right breast was more enforced bc it got double stimulation from pumping then you nursed him soon after so your body amped up the milk production in response.

The LC can help you figure our how to get him to latch and fix your milk supply. Good luck and sorry if I offered any advice that previous posts did - didn't have time to read them

tracey007 · August 2014

I don't have much new advice to offer, but wanted to say I have been there, but am doing much better now. It was awful, I didn't realize how bad it could get! I also can't believe I kept nursing, pretty amazing what we will go through for these little ones! For engorgement what helped me was ice sometimes, heat right before or while pumping (only 1/2 ounce) , then nursing. I also massaged my nipples to soften them. I used gel pads, lanolin, and apno. I saw a lc at the hospital and my doctor and doula. Nursing with ds belly to belly in a cross cradle has worked well for us. He will go back to a shallow latch if I'm not careful. I have to really watch at night when I am firmer and we are both tired. I ended up regressing a bit today because of this, but still doing much better. I also wanted to mention that once I was healing I really had to remind myself that it would only hurt briefly, otherwise I had a hard time helping him latch because of my own anxiety . Hang in there!

caballablanca · August 2014

The nipple shield helped me with healing the cracked and bloody nips. I also used neosporin and pumped that one boob to help it heal faster. The shield will also help with latch too.

discohiker · August 2014

Find out if there is a la leche league group near you, get on google... I just did a search for la leache league southern california and had a ton of hits. I have never heard of anyone paying for a lactation consultant, as hospitals and support groups abound here. Hope you can find one for free or less than what you were quoted! Definitely get some help.
As others said, you have to stick with it and bite the bullet with the pain. eventully those nipples are going to get callouses and your breasts will make what your child needs.
Have you been on kellymom.com? Lots of great advice there too!
Good luck!

schnookee · August 2014

Check out la leche league and see if they have someone in your area that does home visits. I just had an lc come to my house for no charge since I contacted her through la leche league

shevaCC · August 2014

La Leche League was so helpful and supportive when I was nursing DD. I called my local leader in tears several times and always got wonderful advice, compassion, and support. There's also tons of good advice in this thread.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is fish lips. Look and see if LOs lips are flared out like a fish when they latch on. Curled in is probably too shallow so you want fish lips. Second it's hard to fix a bad latch and usually better to try again. Slide your pinkie into the side of LOs mouth to break the suction, remove your nipple, and start over. No use doing more damage to your nips with a bad latch if you can help it.

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My misadventures in BFing/pumping - help welcomed!

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