After feeling more optimistic after the good pumping output a couple times yesterday, things went downhill. I tried squeezing in an extra pumping session between feeds late in the afternoon, and after that, it seemed like she didn't get enough at the breast and my pumping output was way down.
She was super fussy and hungry-seeming (sticking tongue out, rooting when held, crying) for the rest of the evening, and I could tell she wasn't getting much milk when suckling. I ended up taking her up to bed to try to see if that would settle her, since sometimes a snuggle and a dark room will do the trick, but no luck there. All she wanted to do was suckle, and my nipples were killing me, she wasn't getting much milk if any, and all I could do was cry.
Lovely way to spend a half an hour, just sitting there on the bed with a baby tugging at a raw nipple, crying away because I feel so incompetent as a mother, like I'm starving my child, and will never be able to provide enough milk for her. Ugh. I hope it starts to get better again soon! And I hope my nipples and areolas finally heal up again.
If it were't for the BF issues, life would be great. But 'Im not willing to give up yet...
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oh no, my sister had horrible problems with breastfeeding too, she had mastitis countless times and her doctor even asked if she could take a picture of her nipple to show at a conference because it was so messed up. she also felt that she was incompetent as a mother, but eventually she got over it and realized that if she wanted her kids to have breast milk she was going to have to pump only, things got a lot better then. i hope you find a solution for your breastfeeding trouble, i know how hard it can be.
Oh no, I'm so sorry Kate! I thought things were looking up last post. I know you just got to be so exhausted, sore and frustrated. You are strong and determined and I believe you will find a way to get through this. You've changed my perspective on BFing, I now see that even with determination and dedication, it doesn't always work out. I now have new found sympathy. Oh crap, just sneezed and peed, gotta go! Hugs
I'm sure you have already tried this, but the nipple shield (not a hard rigid one, but a malleable silicone one) gave my nipples some much needed relief when I was raw and bleeding from two of my three kids. They were just hurting too badly - and scabs getting sucked off, etc -- a week or so of the shield gave them a little TLC, and it didn't seem to cause too much nipple confusion on their end.....just an idea...Some LCs will suggest it; others will say absolutely not, but luckily I had two different LCs tell me go ahead - whatever would keep me BFing. -Carrie
Kate, Oh my, I feel so bad! This must just be the most frustrating feeling. I kind of felt the same way last night...my nipples hurt so bad and baby Emma was screaming. I knew what she wanted but I just couldn't do it. And I knew if I tried it would only make the problem worse.
I've been using Gerber's nipple moisturizing balm (it comes in a stick - http://www.diapers.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=25618)...and it seems to work pretty well. I'm sure you've gotten tons of recommendations but just wanted to pass one more along.
I'm thinking about you and hoping that the nipples heal up quickly! Your persistence is very admirable.
It is very, very hard...I am exclusively pumping and I wish I would have stuck with the bfing...that being said, my output is great - and it would not be this good nor would they get as much milk from the bfing...
I TRY to pump 7 times a day - I use a hospital grade pump - and I shoot for at least 15 minutes, sometimes I only make 10, others 20. In the beginning, I pumped maybe 10 or so times a day to get my supply up.
If you do not have the book by Marianne Niefart (sp?) exclusive guide to bfing - get it - it is amazing and discusses bfing and pumping.
((HUGS))
Kate I am sorry you are having issues with BFing. Dan absolutely refused to do it. I'll give you some of my info and maybe it can help:
- fenugreek and blessed thistle did nothing for me. hope you have better luck. do you smell like maple syrup? if you do, it should be working
- we don't have dom in the USA (not legally at least) so I had to take the alternative (Reglan) and it helped A LITTLE. At most I would get 1 oz total but usually b/w 1/2 and 3/4 of an ounce (or less)
- PCOS can interfere with BF - I would talk to your lactation consultant about that
- antihistamines can interfere with your supply. I wish I had known that when I was trying to BF since I am on allergy meds twice a day
- pump, pump, pump to try to get your supply up. i didn't pump anywhere near enough b/c I was just too damn tired (and had a bit of the baby blues as well)
- don't laugh, but I apparently have short nipples so it was hard for them to stimulate dan's suck; the shields helped a bit but I could never get them to stay put
- we used finger feeding to feed him since he wasn't BFing effectively (however, I had a newbie lactation consultant at the hospital and I think she didn't give us enough time to continue trying BFing), and the occupational therapist later said he had an aversion to a soft nipple
- i finally gave up pumping at 12 weeks since it was stressing me out and I was lucky to get an ounce or two the entire day
Give it all you can to try BFing but if it doesn't work out YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE! Not everyone is blessed to be able to BF easily or at all. Making sure mom and baby are happy and healthy is all that you can do.
I hope everything clicks soon. I think the first month of breastfeeding is probably the hardest.
-Chris
Oh hon- I'm so sorry :( Know this too Kate, that if you reach a point that its too hard, that its draining you too much- don't think you're less of a mother because you are formula eeding. I don't want you to stop or anything if you don't want to- but I'm just saying that don't be hard on yourself. *hugs*
She's right around 2 weeks now... just in time for a growth spurt. She's likely hungry and that's why she's inconsolable unless she's at the breast. Hunger is good! Hopefully all your determination will show up very, very soon and you'll be huge and engorged by tomorrow night. I always notice when my boys have a growth spurt: they have a day or 2 of insatiable hunger and then one or two sleepy days and I get all engorged again. You're still doing amazing even though I'm sure you're probably feeling pretty beaten down. Breastfeeding is absolutely more difficult than childbirth. And I'll push the envelope and say, in some cases, it's more painful because those poor, poor nipples never get a chance to heal. You're doing everything right. I really hope it gets easier.
BF can be so darn hard! I gave up and am exclusively pumping, but I too wish that I had stuck with BF despite the challenges of having preemie triplets. I do hope it gets easier for you or that you find peace with whatever you end up deciding to do.
If you wanted to increase production, I'd recommend to keep pumping even when you don't get much milk as it stimulates production. Be sure to pump in the middle of the night when prolactin levels are highest. Pump past the last drop. I found if I kept pumping a minute or two after the last milk came out, it helped production. Also: massage your breasts while pumping. Video of how to do it: http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html
You can do a "power pump" every now and then too. Basically pump for 10 minutes, stop for 10 minutes, pump for 10 minutes and keep doing this for an hour.
Your milk production is established in the first 3 months and I found that even though I cut back on pumping sessions after that (from 8/day to 5-6/day), my milk production stayed the same.
Good luck!
Your little girl is adorable. Love the pics!
I see the URL cut off. The last part of it is:
MaxProduction.html
I'm so sorry about the struggles! Breastfeeding is hard for you and K to get the hang of. When I had my son, it took a while to get things going, and I was a bi-weekly visitor at the lactation center. I had an awesome consultant that said that some babies can take as long as 6 weeks to really get "good" at it. So, I continued to pump and feed and nurse...and it eventually did work. Hang in there!
If your nipples are in that bad of shape, maybe ask your LC about trying nipple shields. I thought I was going to die from the pain of my cracked, bleeding nipples. I totally would have given up on breastfeeding without those shields. Now at 3.5 months we are still using the shields, but we are still breastfeeding, even through painful thrush and many blocked ducts. Those shields have been a life saver.
Also, we ended up supplementing with a little bit of formula here and there and I pumped to keep my supply (what supply?) up. I know it's not ideal, but when your nipples hurt that bad, it's hard to keep going.
Also have you tried All Purpose Nipple Ointment to heal the nipples? I'm betting you have, but if you haven't, get a prescription for some. I've been using it off and on (mostly on) since she was born, and it has helped a lot.
Good luck Kate. Hang in there. You are doing an amazing job!
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