help on expressing! im in agony!!

speckle · Jul 20, 2008 3:01PM

Hi i need some advice.
I had my daughter on the 14th and have been breast feeding her on demand. At first she was feeding about every 3 hours, but after a couple of days if she was feeding and came off, she refused to go back on, so feeds have ended up every 1-1.30hours. My boobs are now extremely sore, to the point were i have cried and they have recently started to bleed quicte a bit. She seems to be latching on ok though. Anyway i have expressed the last couple of feeds and fed her it straight away, as i am so sore. I really want to carry on with bf, so simply my question is "if i express my milk and feed it to my dughter straight away, so im producing the milk as the same time as i usually do, will my milk supply stay up? or am i just being stupid and my milk will soon dry up?

Rebecca_and_Riley · Jul 19, 2008 7:27AM

Hiya. I am having the exact same thing with bruised and bleeding nipples, it's agony isnt it. Whilst in hospital the breastfeeding councillor came round the ward, and she said to me that once the milk supply comes in he would probably want to feed hourly, but then this would settle into a pattern after a couple of weeks. So with the soreness I have been making sure I keep taking the pain relief from c section, and using lansinoh nipple cream after every feed. It is still painful, but not as bad. Als, I have some nipple sheilds which I use if I am really desperate with the pain, which although isnt recommended as it takes more effort for baby, it does stop me resorting to formula so in my opinion is better.

With the expressing, your body will produce what you take from it, so your milk supply should stay the same. Hope the pain subsides soon, I find it's worse at night when i'm more irrational and tired.

xxx

siand · Jul 19, 2008 2:14PM

hiya, well done for hanging in there hun. although your body will keep up with what you are taking you will probably find you cant take as much as the baby would and also the baby will constantly be upping the amount it takes and you will probably find it hard to get more as easy as if the baby does. i dont want to put you off expressing if you feel thats all you can do, but it is harder to do that letting the baby take care of your supply. i would defo recomend nipple shields, mv's try to put you off but if your desperate its better to use them than stop feeding all together. it might be worth speaking to a bf councillor, just so she can check your positioning, some people find changing to the rugby hold helps. i promise if you can hang in there it will be worth it, the pain doesnt last forever. all the best

sian

nothappywithbeingchanged · Jul 19, 2008 3:55PM

i did the same for my son for a week n then my nips healed n had no probs since. try breast nurse bads or ask ur mw/ gp for gelnets they r cooling n really help. u could try to sit in a warm bath while u try to do a breast feed so ur more relaxed. ihope it sorts its self out hun i really do

speckle · Jul 19, 2008 6:17PM

Hi ladies, well i had a visit from the midwife today, who told me i had mistitis and thats why its hurting so much. She said it would be fine to express for a couple of days so my nipples get a rest from baby and my milk supple stays up. So i expressed the last few feeds, but then my nipples started to bleed so bad that it was leaking into my milk. My right nipple looks like its been cut right at the bottom of my nipple. I rang the local midwife so has said that i cant feed her the milk and that iw ill either have to stop or carry on expressing for the next few days and see if it stops, but throw the milk away. I feel so guilty that i cant feed my baby now and i feel horrible that i have to throw the milk away and give her formula. I just dont know what to do!!!

nothappywithbeingchanged · Jul 19, 2008 7:26PM

hi hun, the blood in ur milk might make baby throw up lots (did this with my lo but i hadnt noticed i was bleeding so thought something was wrong with baby) a couple of formula feeds wont hurt if u keep expressing so ur milk stays up. it will help if only u give baby bottle so lo doesnt associate other people with food time. can u feed off boob thats not bleeding??? just so u know ur more likely to get thrush in ur breast if its sore n bleeding so clean really carefully n dry ur nipples after each express as a precaution cos u have been thru enough without that on top xxxxxxxxxxxxx

becciboo · Jul 20, 2008 9:50AM

Hi,
I had the same problem at first, my nipples were bleedin n had blisters all over, i dint want to give up so went to mother care n brought an electric breast pump, it was about 56 quid but totaly worth it n i highly recommend it, it only takes about 5-10 mins to express about 3oz, u can keep breast milk in the fridge for 3 days.
Its brilliant coz they are still getin nutrients u want to give them but gives u a break too.xxx

fragsjones · Jul 20, 2008 3:01PM

Hi, my sister's LO bit her & it bled & didn't heal for a few weeks but she carried on feeding off that breast with no problems with LO consuming blood.
Info from www.llli.org (La Leche League International) - "Pinkish milk may indicate blood in the milk. This could occur with or without cracked nipples. If cracked nipples are the cause of blood in the milk, a mother can contact a La Leche League Leader for suggestions on healing sore nipples. Blood in milk is not harmful to babies, and breastfeeding can continue. If blood in the milk does not cease by two weeks postpartum, the mother may wish to consult with her health care provider."
So, really it's up to you & your LO whether to use that milk or not & carry on feeding from that breast or not.
Hope that's of some help, I got blisters & sore nipples - hurts like hell but it does heal!
xxx

help on expressing! im in agony!!

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