The Breast Feeding Support Thread

How Strange

Ouch pwurple, that all sounds very painful. I'd actually recommend a ibclc lactation consultant as your first step. You may need medical treatment for the damage done but have a chat with an LC first. Look up the friends of breastfeeding website and you'll find contact details for Cuidiu and la Leche league counsellors in your area. Give one a call initially and talk it through and see what needs to be done next.

Das Kitty

pwurple, the infected thing I'd definitely go to the doctor about. If they're that sensitive when you're pregnant, I can't imagine it would get any better when you start feeding.

As for the inverted nipple, you can get a little thing to wear in your bra to help it right itself.

The scarring is something I'm worried about myself as I have a biggish scar on the side of one of mine and the skin is less elastic.

pwurple

Das Kitty wrote: »

As for the inverted nipple, you can get a little thing to wear in your bra to help it right itself.

I know those things, I was paranoid about it in my teens and tried them. It's like a tiny suction cup. It hurt then, so it would be torture now... and they permanently flip you after some time.

I'm happy enough now with being an inny, don't really want to swap to an outtie permanently anyway. It's part of me, if that makes sense? My daughter's are the same, and I don't want her to be self conscious either when she comes to that age. I wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on if I said I had flipped mine, but she should be ok with it.

A cuidiu person said I can use 'shells' I think last time, but I never followed up on what that was.

I'll get the infection looked at next gp visit.

Das Kitty

pwurple wrote: »

I know those things, I was paranoid about it in my teens and tried them. It's like a tiny suction cup. It hurt then, so it would be torture now... and they permanently flip you after some time.

I'm happy enough now with being an inny, don't really want to swap to an outtie permanently anyway. It's part of me, if that makes sense? My daughter's are the same, and I don't want her to be self conscious either when she comes to that age. I wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on if I said I had flipped mine, but she should be ok with it.

A cuidiu person said I can use 'shells' I think last time, but I never followed up on what that was.

I'll get the infection looked at next gp visit.

Breast shells are sort of similar, they're about 6 euro a pair and you should be able to get them in the chemist. They can be used for catching leaky milk too. I found them great when my nips were in bits as they keep them from rubbing off your clothes/ breastpads.

cyning

Like how strange said definitely a lactation consultant, and try go to a support group while your pregnant if you can. I'd definitely get gp to have a look that sounds really painful

I know some people with inverted nipples use nipple shields: they are different to the shells which catch the milk as far as I know, you latch baby on to them. I used them at the start when my nipples were cracked and bleeding. They can affect supply though. I know you can also get a little thing called latch assist in a purple box (I think it's lansinoh branded), and it's designed for helping women with inverted nipples. I have no idea if its any good or not but a lc should have an idea?

dublinlady

cyning wrote: »

Like how strange said definitely a lactation consultant, and try go to a support group while your pregnant if you can. I'd definitely get gp to have a look that sounds really painful

I know some people with inverted nipples use nipple shields: they are different to the shells which catch the milk as far as I know, you latch baby on to them. I used them at the start when my nipples were cracked and bleeding. They can affect supply though. I know you can also get a little thing called latch assist in a purple box (I think it's lansinoh branded), and it's designed for helping women with inverted nipples. I have no idea if its any good or not but a lc should have an idea?

I used the latch assist & it was great - mine small rather than inverted but am sure would do the same job! It is sore sometimes but for me the first couple weeks were sore whatever I did / cracked etc - no pains since

MurdyWurdy

I've never fed my baby without nipple shields. I have flat nipples (that were slightly inverted before I got pregnant) so they enable me to breastfeed when i wouldn't have been able to otherwise.

I don't buy that they can interfere with your milk supply - I tend towards oversupply if anything so that's definitely not the case with me. I really recommend them, Mothercare ones are best imo,, as they're the smallest for newborn mouths.

Das Kitty

MurdyWurdy wrote: »

I've never fed my baby without nipple shields. I have flat nipples (that were slightly inverted before I got pregnant) so they enable me to breastfeed when i wouldn't have been able to otherwise.

I don't buy that they can interfere with your milk supply - I tend towards oversupply if anything so that's definitely not the case with me. I really recommend them, Mothercare ones are best imo,, as they're the smallest for newborn mouths.

I certainly won't be as shy about using them this time. I really wrecked myself last time.

MurdyWurdy

Das Kitty wrote: »

I certainly won't be as shy about using them this time. I really wrecked myself last time.

Yeah, they're a godsend. Apparently some nurses/lactation consultants are quite against them and try to discourage them being used for any length of time but nobody I've come across has been like that.

My aunt was talking to me about them the other day, saying she wished they'd had them in her day. She gave up breastfeeding after a few weeks because it was just too painful.

wolfpawnat

The nipple shields saved me this time. Without them I would have had to give up. Small flat nipples shredded in the first week. I am on week three now and we are going well. No pain for me and S seems content too.

gravid

flat nipples here too that cracked and got infected first few weeks of feeding. gp gave me a cream (some sort of antibiotics) which helped after about 10 days + the use of nipple shields for 3-4 weeks. perfect since and nipples are more outy from all the feeding. linsolah cream was also vital, and good pads (johnson & johnson ones, bit more expensive but very soft and kept breasts feeling dry when leaking loads = essential).

CuteStuff

Hi guys

I breastfed my little boy for a year and was quite upset when I stopped. Sounds daft I know but I loved our special time together.

Try not to get disheartened ladies. It is hard work and painful at the start but so worth it.

I will never forget one midwife in the hospital telling me I could not breastfeed because I had inverted nipples. In my head I was saying 'you idiot, go away' but just smiled and mumbled politeness. Now this was apparently a professional and she was telling me this?! There were two problems I had with what she said ... I had been breastfeeding for a day by then and ... I did not nor ever had inverted nipples!!!!! So ladies its a very special sensitive time just be careful whose advice you take (even if you expect them to know what they are talking about!!!)

emer_b

Pwurple I just want to say well done for persevering with the breastfeeding last time and your determination to do it again this time despite the challenges and soreness.
I can't imagine how I would have coped with all that.

holding

Pwurple, another fair play for being so determined this time to give it another go.

holding

Oh and I add to that - I wouldn't even bother *talking* to a HSE GP, PHN, or midwife about anything to do with breastfeeding. I would go straight to a La Leche consultant or someone like that. Just my experience.

dublinlady

holding wrote: »

Oh and I add to that - I wouldn't even bother *talking* to a HSE GP, PHN, or midwife about anything to do with breastfeeding. I would go straight to a La Leche consultant or someone like that. Just my experience.

Totally agree with this..!!

Today marks a new territory for me, gave up feeding A at this point last time - this time happy to say its going so well I've no plans to stop at the mo! Loving it and all it entails - just seems to have clicked better this time... To do with expectations I think! I don't know what my next landmark is.. Just know I'd be so upset to quit now! I'm going back to work in start sept - so might find it more challenging then but hopefully ok / suppose that'll be the next hurdle but luckily expressing seems ok for me when I've had to do it. Being away from her with her only being 3&1/2 months will prob only make me more determined to feed... Such a nice way of being close when we are together!

pwurple

emer_b wrote: »

Pwurple I just want to say well done for persevering with the breastfeeding last time and your determination to do it again this time despite the challenges and soreness.
I can't imagine how I would have coped with all that.

I didn't stick it out at all I'm afraid! Did combo feeding for a few weeks and pumped then for another bit. I gave up totally at week 6. It was the lack of bonding that made me finish up. It was so sore I dreaded even seeing the baby because of the association. Didn't want anything to do with her. I was worried we wouldn't bond at all if I kept going the way I was. My mother breastfed all of us, and I was the eldest so I expected it to come easily from seeing it so much as a child. My own lack of preparation was the problem... could have gotten past it all with better (or any!) planning. I was in too bad shape trying to start with an infection already there from the pregnancy. should have realised but was naive on first pregnancy. It will be better this time. I will have Super Nipple of Titanium all ready for action! (Or a decent shield)

I know La Leche do great things, but the la leche person I had was frikken useless. Half a nipple hanging off on one side, and a raging infection on the other, and all she had to say was "Feed through it". Feck off.

Have been reading up my health insurance and it covers pre and post lactation consults (yay!). They just have one in my area, but that'll do. I'll get gp to sort infection and scar thing first, and then see this person. A cunning plan is forming.

liliq

Pwurple, I'd highly recommend finding an lc from alcireland. It has a list of currently registered IBCLCs in Ireland.
Inverted nipples can be tricky but not a huge issue with the right tips and tricks.
Any cracks of infections... Coconut oil can be an amazing help. You can get a big tub of organic cold pressed coconut oil in Dunnes for €5.99, that would be almost €20 in a health shop!

My almost 2 year old managed to cut me with one of his broken teeth yesterday.... OUCH multimamming all night tonight!

Shields don't affect everyone's supply, and they do have their uses, but they really can cause serious supply issues for some people.

How Strange

A is 14 weeks and we're cruising along now. Pwurple I know exactly what you mean about bonding at the start. I felt like that with A and that just made the whole situation even worse. There was a point I was afraid I'd resent her but once we got a little help and the soreness started to ease that feeling went away. I remember saying to my husband that I'd hardly looked at her, talked to her or enjoyed her at 10 days old as I was so caught up in the stress of feeding her.

I wish we were told more often that breastfeeding isn't an innate skill and we have to learn how to do it. I think it would change our expectations at the start and would take the pressure of new mums. They wouldn't feel like they'd failed because of problems starting off.

Das Kitty

Same as pwurple, I gave up at 14 weeks last time and it was because I actually hated the sight of my baby and resented needing to feed him.

It will be different this time as I won't be afraid to try bf "no-no's" (like nipple shields) and if it comes to it I won't feel guilty about needing to stop. My kids need a happy mum.

dublinlady

Das Kitty wrote: »

Same as pwurple, I gave up at 14 weeks last time and it was because I actually hated the sight of my baby and resented needing to feed him.

It will be different this time as I won't be afraid to try bf "no-no's" (like nipple shields) and if it comes to it I won't feel guilty about needing to stop. My kids need a happy mum.

I think I gave up last time cos I thought I'd be free if I did - kinda forgot I'd still have to give her bottles .... Stupid but I felt trapped - this time I know I am but I knew it was coming

Das Kitty

dublinlady wrote: »

I think I gave up last time cos I thought I'd be free if I did - kinda forgot I'd still have to give her bottles .... Stupid but I felt trapped - this time I know I am but I knew it was coming

The bottle washing is a pain! And I dunno how I'd handle mixing one up for a night feed. Night feeds were a thing of the past when we started on bottles last time.

Neyite

My sis told me to prepare nipples during pregnancy for the hard work ahead by briskly rubbing them with a facecloth every time you shower.

At first, I had to be as gentle as they were so sensitive, but gradually over a few months, they became less sensitive and I was able to give them a bit of a decent rub. They were far hardier by the time I needed to feed, and I only used the lanisoh for about 4 days and was grand after that.

holding

Not to disagree with your experience Neyite, but everything I've read (okay, two books lol - What to Expect When You're Breastfeeding and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding) says that this can cause more harm than good, and they don't recommend it at all.

Neyite

holding wrote: »

Not to disagree with your experience Neyite, but everything I've read (okay, two books lol - What to Expect When You're Breastfeeding and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding) says that this can cause more harm than good, and they don't recommend it at all.

I can only say it worked for my sister the three babies she breastfed and also with my own personal experience. How can it cause harm unless you are too rough and hurt yourself? Did your books explain why they say that?

icescreamqueen

Just wanted to share my experience of the My Brest Friend pillow. I ordered it on the advice of a midwife from a breastfeeding class I did. It has been a Godsend so far. You strap it around your belly and the baby can sit on the front. It takes the pressure off your shoulder and back. It's funny because all my sisters have started wearing it when they're holding the baby as it's so comfortable and the baby loves lying on it too . Definitely gets my recommendation anyway.

I've been breastfeeding since my baby was born a week ago and I have been enjoying it so far without any problems (touch wood). She seems to love it but feeding on demand is hard. I'm very tired but I'm just taking it each day as it comes .

How Strange

Congrats and well done icecreamqueen. In the early days it's one feed at a time. My daughter is now 14 weeks, as I said earlier, and we're reaping the rewards for all our hard work in the early days.

Yesterday I met a friend for lunch and then decided to go somewhere else after. We didn't have to worry about having enough bottles etc.

It's that freedom that I love most.

wolfpawnat

How Strange wrote: »

Yesterday I met a friend for lunch and then decided to go somewhere else after. We didn't have to worry about having enough bottles etc.

It's that freedom that I love most.

That's what I find hilarious. People say they can't see why I bf as I am so tied down. But the truth is I think they are the ones tied down. I only have to worry about nappies, no sterilising bottles and bringing formula. Just as long as I have boobs the food is on tap for herself.

Oral Slang

holding wrote: »

Not to disagree with your experience Neyite, but everything I've read (okay, two books lol - What to Expect When You're Breastfeeding and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding) says that this can cause more harm than good, and they don't recommend it at all.

Yeah, this exact thing came up on a breastfeeding page the other day, that would have LC's, breastfeeding buddies, midwives etc on it & again apparently they all said this is an old wives tale & not shouldn't be done. Great if it worked for you Neyite, but it's not recommended.

Neyite

Oral Slang wrote: »

Yeah, this exact thing came up on a breastfeeding page the other day, that would have LC's, breastfeeding buddies, midwives etc on it & again apparently they all said this is an old wives tale & not shouldn't be done. Great if it worked for you Neyite, but it's not recommended.

Oh, I know that's what the books say, but I'm wondering why its not recommended. Like, what problems does it cause for breastfeeding? Can anyone explain?