Please guess what is going on with me

HorseLover11 · January 2015

Hello! I've been EBF my dd for 3.5 months now and active on a few other boards

I've shared my concerns with a LC and doctors and they can only "guess" what's wrong which makes me uneasy as you ladies know how hard breastfeeding is so I thought I'd share my experiences to see if anyone could help shed some light as I'm so close to throwing in the towel Right now the doc has prescribed an ointment for thrush to see if that helps if that's what's going on.
1. I had a few plugged duct issues that I always found a way to resolve
2. I had a low grade fever of 101 around December 2 that lasted less than 24 hrs and another fever for 12 hrs a few days ago with a light red rash area that has since gone away
3. I started to get some white spots on my right nipple kind of clustered together (I already delt with a bleb on my left that I can still sort of see but it doesn't bother me) these dots are not raised and they seem to come and go during the day
4. I only see milk coming out of one spot
5. My baby eats 8oz from a bottle before bed - during this time I pump and am lucky to get 3-4 oz - nowhere near what she needs (pump and parts are brand new).
6. When I pump it seems I get the most milk after I've been going for 10 min (with massaging, heat, etc)
7. Nursing on my right boob is very painful and I get a burning feeling between feedings

I appreciate any insight you have and thank you for reading thru all this!

HorseLover11 · January 2015

theresat858 said:

I'm not sure about any of it except that if the 8 ounces is coming from a bottle, you're likely over feeding lo.3-4 ounces per feeding is more usual for a bf baby, and a 4 ounce bottle should be paced so it takes baby at least 15-20 minutes to finish.

Ped and LC are ok with how much she takes as she gets about 30oz a day and sleeps 11 hrs at night so everything with her feeding is ok

HorseLover11 · January 2015

@AmyG*‌ Not too concerned about her bottle size as she's doing great with it and I'll soon be feeding her before bed with my boob most likely as I'll be pumping more going back to work this week. I really hope this cream works and it's just a mild case if that's even possible

mommatotwo2 · January 2015

I think what everyone is trying to say is that your body isn't going to make 8 oz in a pump for that 8 oz bottle unless you have major oversupply. Normal output is about an ounce per hour, so in 24 hours, you'd make 24 ounces. 30 ounces is really a lot of food, but her stomach has probably grown used to being overfed, so you'd have to do some slow backwards weaning from so many ounces if you chose to.

Some of your other stuff sounds like thrush to me, and I agree with working on treating yourself and baby for that.

HorseLover11 · January 2015

theresat858 said:

mommatotwo2 said:

I think what everyone is trying to say is that your body isn't going to make 8 oz in a pump for that 8 oz bottle unless you have major oversupply. Normal output is about an ounce per hour, so in 24 hours, you'd make 24 ounces. 30 ounces is really a lot of food, but her stomach has probably grown used to being overfed, so you'd have to do some slow backwards weaning from so many ounces if you chose to.

Some of your other stuff sounds like thrush to me, and I agree with working on treating yourself and baby for that.

Exactly.
but OP doesn't care...

I do care but I wasn't asking about how much to feed her as she's healthy, happy, no reflux, not spitting up or overweight (50th percentile). Every baby is different and she takes about 30oz a day which is not out of the ordinary. I was just hoping to see if anyone else had experienced some of the symptoms I had as the doctors aren't concerned but the pain is really difficult to continue.

Everyusernameistaken · January 2015

I remember you posted on S14 that you were considering sleeping in a tight sports bra to dry up your milk at night so baby would eat more during the day. Did you end up doing this/are you still doing this? If so the tight bra could be aggravating/causing clogged ducts and causing pain and infection (in addition to messing with your supply).
Edited for clarity.

HorseLover11 · January 2015

AmyG* said:

Right the 30 oz total isn't the issue. It's the 8 oz at a time that we are hung up on. Sorry about that but most moms can't pump 8 oz at a time and normal intake for a feeding for a 3.5 Month old would be closer to 3 oz a feed maybe 4 and occasionally five oz at a time. 5 oz at a time for 6 feeds a day is 30 oz. Most 3 month olds are still eating 8 times a day. If nay is eating 8 oz before bed does that mean baby is eating a lot of small meals the rest of the day or just a few really large feeds? The concern is that encouraging large feeds leads to baby losing the ability to tell when they are full which contributes to overeating as they get older. You said in the op that you were lucky to get 3-4 oz when baby is taking 8 oz which sounded like that was part of your complaints they we were asked to help diagnose. Did you used to pump 8 oz in the evenings? If so realize that after 3 mos your supply becomes based not on hormones but more on how many oz removed from the breast and how often you remove the oz. Most moms find that going over eight hours without emptying he breast seems to lower overall production thru the whole day and they pump less than baby needs consistently. The pain you are dealing with is likely thrush which often needs a stronger drug than what is initially prescribed. Diflucan may be the next step. And some moms benefit from vinegar rinses, nystatin for baby, grapefruit seed extract or genetian violet to help clear thrush. Read up on thrush protocol at dr newmans website and kellymom Additionally you may have some clogs that are not being cleared well. Either perhaps an infection coming and going. Many moms can clear a mastitis infection on heir own if their immune system is functioning well. Or perhaps trying to pump more oz you are setting he pump suction too high which can temporarily collapse milk ducts so little milk comes out which can make nursing and pumping more difficult and painful. Perhaps a visit with an LLL leader or another LC would be helpful to get you on the right track.

You have some great points here and I really appreciate your time to respond with such helpful info and I will certainly check out those sites. I don't recall ever pumping that much at a time but we were told by our ped to up her bottle 5 oz at a time when she finishes it completely 3 nights in a row within 30 min. Im going to add some formula right now as I know my stressing about it is not helping as Im trying to figure out how to send enough bm to daycare and take a small break from feeding as it's been painful.

HorseLover11 · January 2015

Everyusernameistaken said:

I remember you posted on S14 that you were considering sleeping in a tight sports bra to dry up your milk at night so baby would eat more during the day. Did you end up doing this/are you still doing this? If so the tight bra could be aggravating/causing clogged ducts and causing pain and infection (in addition to messing with your supply). Edited for clarity.

I did stop this a while back after the engorgmenet in the am got better - it was so long ago I don't know if it was related

mshukh · January 2015

I think you got great advice here. It does not seem like you have a lot of breastfeeding-friendly support and advice in real life and perhaps seeing an LC is the best thing you can do right now.

We sound like a broken record, however, most breastfed babies truly never take in more than 4 oz per feeding regardless of age, as the milk adjusts to fit the needs of a growing child. I'm sure there are exceptions to this 3-4oz rule, but they must be rare. If you still feel the need to top off with a bottle at night, it may be best to nurse the baby at night first as babies are much better at extracting the milk than the pump. This may help clear up any remaining clogs.

If I may also suggest, I think it is possible that not nursing throughout the night, especially if this was imposed on the child, could contribute to the issues you are having with the clogs. Milk production is best stimiulated between the hours of 1-5 am. Adding a feeding in the middle of the night will likely help increase your supply as well as clear up any clogs that are left.

HorseLover11 · January 2015

Thank you all for your advice and I'm sorry if I came off defensive as I have been in a ton of pain and stressed about starting daycare. The doctors and LC only seem to be able to guess what is wrong and I felt so helpless when the experts were not very insightful. Right now I nurse her in the morning and am able to send her with 3 6oz bottles - she had about 3.5 left and then i nurse her at 7 now before bed. The pain is less and I haven't had any plugs so things are looking better - I'll keep an eye on what she drinks at daycare to see if I can send less. I think I do/did have a small infection my body is fighting so I'm using the prescribed cream that is helping.

becominggold · January 2015

You have received great advice. I just wanted to add that my EBF baby is 4.5 mo old and he does take a 5.5 oz bottle of BM. I tried to hold out on increasing his oz because of everything I read, but it became clear that he needed more. I have discussed this w the pedi...he said increase. LO is 50th percentile for weight and does not spit up in a way that indicates he is overfull. I feel this is right for us, despite many who would disagree.

Everyusernameistaken · January 2015

I hope you get some relief soon!

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