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painful

hi ladies. my daughter is 9 days old and i am breastfeeding her. my milk came in at about day 5 and the last day or so its been sooo painful. they are very sore and very full even after a feed. i dont want to express really as i think this can mke body believe baby is feeding again and produce even more milk! she is finding it difficult to latch on due to them being full. any idea when this fullness will die down? or if it does? help
Hayley x

Replies

  • Hi hun, the fullness will die down after a few weeks, when your body gets used to what she is asking for, if she is finding it difficult to latch on you could always just express a little bit off at the beginning of the feed to make it easier, I found with Alice that I always had loads of milk so I did express and store it in the freezer ready for when I went back to work, gradually I reduced the amount I expressed so the supply went down, with Isaac on the other hand I never felt like I had enough becuase he was such a pig. Congratulations on your little girl by the way, how is Joseph with her?
    xx
  • Hi Hayley,
    I had big problems with engorgement when my milk came in, in the end I hired an electric breast pump and expressed every 3 hours for 24 hours whilst holding a heated gel pad to the breast. In the meantime I fed Amber with formula. Once I had done this, I used the pump to get the nipple out and the milk flowing before she latched on. I had initial problems with her refusing the nipple after getting used to a bottle, but I used nipple shields which got her back to breast within a couple of feeds.

    Amber is now two weeks old tomorrow and whilst I still don't feel like bf is plain sailing, my engorgement has definitely gone and she seldom has problems latching on (when she does I manually express a tiny bit to get her started).

    So all in all I would say, don't be afraid of expressing - it definitely helped me to get to the point where I could hold Amber to my chest again without being in agony and I don't feel I have an excess of milk because of it.

    Good luck and I hope things get sorted out for you xx
  • hiya, i had problems with breastfeeding, my son was so hungry that he damaged my nipples, and made them bleed, he wasnt latching on properly as he was curling his lip up instead of opening his mouth properly. after 1 day of not breastfeeding, i was that engorged that my mw was worried id get mastitis.

    most important thing to remember that if its painful, chances are baby isnt latched on right.

    its really important that if you are not breastfeeding, that you express to get some of the milk off as mastitis can set in very quick (if you feel headaches or flu like symptoms speak to your mw asap)

    i now express with a pump and feed anything i express by bottle, and top up his feeds with aptamil (as recommended by my mw)

    good luck and whatever you do, make sure that you and baby are happy and content (dont feel guilty like i did!)
  • hi thanks for the advice. they feel better today i must admit. they are still really full most of the time.
    hayley - joseph is fine with Roxie he kisses her when she cries and asks for her in the morning. i am finding that he is more wanting his daddy at the moment though which is hard for me as he was a mummys boy before the baby arrivedbut im sure this will pass as he gets used to the baby. how is isaacs walking coming on?
    Hayley x
  • hi hun the first few weeks can be really painfull, but all the advice the other ladies have offered is exactly what id advise aswell. also a warm flannel over sore breast before feed will help. i got so engorged i had to sit in a hot steamy bath before feeds actually fed luca in bath a few times although watch the temperature if lo is getting in too. im about to hit seven months of bf n its amazing but it has been painfull at times so bad ive been in tears at the thought of another feed but persevere and always seek help if your worried. i know people say you shouldnt take painkillers whilst bf but my gp promised me that plain paracetamol is fine.
  • Hi Hayley.
    I joined this website today to share my experiance with you. I had terrible trouble feeding my month old daughter with the same difficulties as you. Expressing and storing the milk is one option, but I noticed you said you weren't keen on expressing. I was the same, so my mum recomended breast shells, and I havent looked back since. The ones I brought (Avent) have vented shells that I would wear whenever my nipples were particualy sore (I had VERY sore nipples for several weeks), and this gently stimulated my breasts to ease the engorgement. This allowed my daughter to latch on much easier, and really eased the pain. I did throw away the milk collected, but never felt guilty about it, as I was producing plenty once I starting expressing. There are also solid shells that I now wear on the opposite breast to the one I am expressing on to catch any leaked milk. This can then be added to the storage bottle.
    I really hope this helps, as stress really makes things worse. I almost gave up, and am so glad I perservered, as feeding is now on the most part really enjoyable.
  • Hi Hayley, Isaacs walking is good now thanks, he is back at the paediatrician next Tuesday for an assessment but I think hes doing ok. the only thing is that he cant get up himself up unless he has something to pull himself up on but I'm sure its nothing to worry about. I'm hoping he will get his orthotics referral soon though because he needs new shoes and they will give him either supportive insoles which I will need when his shoes are fitted, or they will give him the hospital boots in which case I wont need to but him any.

    Its lovely that Joseph loves his little sister and hope the bf goes well for you xx
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