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Infant feeding

Nipple blisters, poor latch - hand hold please

17 replies

Doingakatereddy · 02/04/2013 03:06

hello - beautiful DD is 3 days old and ive got blood nipple blisters on each boob.

Latch has been really painful from day 1, I mistakenly thought it was due to constant feeding until milk came in - but sure I was wrong.

Milk in, boobs huge, DD v hungry - will call for help tomorrow, just need some hand holding to get thru pain t

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Doingakatereddy · 02/04/2013 03:08

Oops - pain tonight. Bit sleep deprived to look at multiple websites. Any really simple baby fog advice welcome.

Really want to bf - she's so little & I'm so happy!

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Doingakatereddy · 02/04/2013 03:08

Oops - pain tonight. Bit sleep deprived to look at multiple websites. Any really simple baby fog advice welcome.

Really want to bf - she's so little & I'm so happy!

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LittleEsme · 02/04/2013 03:12

Holding your hand.

Ouch and ouch! You poor thing OP. Shock

Firstly I'd suggest paracetamol to the maximum. 1 gram at a time.

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LittleEsme · 02/04/2013 03:16

Pressed too soon!

Let's look at your latch next.

Are you holding your baby so that she's nose to nipple? And when she's latched on, make sure that she's opening her mouth as wide as poss with your nipple aiming for the roof of her mouth?

Are you holding her TO you instead of you leaning into her?

It's been a while. I'm racking my brains for advice!

Congratulations on your new baby. Hope the birth was ok?

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Doingakatereddy · 02/04/2013 03:18

Thanks littleesme, paracetamol due at 4am - DD fast asleep on my chest blissfully unaware.

How I managed to think it wasn't the latch is beyond me, this is my second DC - should know better Blush

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LittleEsme · 02/04/2013 03:21

Make sure you hold her nice and snug to your body, with your hand supporting her head firmly and the rest of her body being supported by the length of your arm. i.e her bottom should be in the crook of your elbow. Use pillows to support you and her to make this easier.

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LittleEsme · 02/04/2013 03:24

I had a painful latch with all 3 babies at the start. We have to learn with each new baby.

Oh before I forget, remember to maximise pain relief by alternating with ibuprofen as well. Unless you have stomach problems like ulcers, it's perfectly safe.

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LittleEsme · 02/04/2013 03:27

Gosh I'm sounding abrupt! I'm on phone so making lots of errors here no doubt.

If unbearable, remember it's fine to express and bottle feed your milk just to give your nipples a chance to heal. Do you have any nipple cream to slather on after each feed?

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MoreBoober · 02/04/2013 03:28

Poor you, I was there too with my DS. Get midwife/HV to check for a tongue tie ASAP. Google Tongue Tie for an image and check yourself. It's easiest to spot when they are crying. My DS had a Tongue tie divided at 14 days. That along with an upper lip tie meant he had a terrible latch.
I had sores and lots of pain whilst feeding. The only way I could continue was to use nipple shields. Luckily I had a good supply and managed (through sheer bloody minded mess ) to keep feeding him till 11 months. Hang in there, and see if you can get to a local breast feeding support group. Try different positions so you don't keep getting the same pressure points.
lansinoh is your friend I went through tubes of the stuff, it's great for fast healing and you don't have to take it off for feeding.
This will get better don't give up Grin

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Doingakatereddy · 02/04/2013 03:30

Probably no to all 3 points. So - nose to nipple, nipple to roof of mouth and mouth wide open. Bring her to me.

Sounds ridiculous but going to write that on post it!

Birth was hmm... Ok-ish. Still in fair amount of stitch / piles / SPD pain but nipples way more painful!

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Doingakatereddy · 02/04/2013 03:34

Replying to messages slowly, sorry!

Lanisoh - good reminder, going to grab & apply.

Just hard as she feeds so much at night. Urggh- early days are a fog. And DS just woke! This will pass I know Grin

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LittleEsme · 02/04/2013 03:41

It will pass! I promise!
Hang on in there.

And yes yes yes to getting your MW to check for Tongue tie. Definitely!

Remember to add the ibuprofen to your list.

Swap feeding positions to bring immediate relief like other poster said. I'll check a few before posting. Hang on a sec...

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Welovegrapes · 02/04/2013 07:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ladyhawke127 · 04/04/2013 11:09

Congratulations on the birth of your lovely new baby! I had a difficult start to bf too, but we are still going strong at 9 months, so hang in there! Great advice given here. Positioning and latch are sooo important. D
Take your babe off and relatch if not on right, because you can't take much of that, even if you think 'ocht, I'll just leave him on, he is feeding at least' don't do this!!! (first hand experience) my mantra before a feed was always 'tummy to mummy, nipple to nose' and I used to think that little hawk would have finger and thumb prints at the back of his head from positioning him and 'scooping' him chin first onto my breast. That was the only way for me to get a really good, deep latch. If you are having trouble with latching, a bf councillor, peer supporter or la leche league are great. Definitely get checked out for tongue or lip tie, as this can be a major hindrance to breast feeding. The thing that helped us was nipple to nose and await the nice wide mouth, squishing my breast Into a sort of sandwich with one hand and scooping little hawk on to the breast chin first with the other. It is really difficult at first, but it becomes sooooo much easier, honest! Now I just let the dog see the rabbit, so to speak, and we are off!! Good luck!

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Ladyhawke127 · 04/04/2013 11:15

You will be amazed by the different feel, the minute your latch gets better. Itis initially sore, but it should subside as the feed goes on. If the pain is still there, unlatch and try again. Even with the sore nipples, it is much better the minute your latch improves. The breast milk on the nipples, allow to dry, then lansinoh cream is great for healing sore nipples. I got mine sorted this way.

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Ladyhawke127 · 04/04/2013 11:15

You will be amazed by the different feel, the minute your latch gets better. Itis initially sore, but it should subside as the feed goes on. If the pain is still there, unlatch and try again. Even with the sore nipples, it is much better the minute your latch improves. The breast milk on the nipples, allow to dry, then lansinoh cream is great for healing sore nipples. I got mine sorted this way.

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bumpitybumpbump · 07/04/2013 20:30

I had really bad painful scabby nipples after one week on bfing and I found two things really helped... Firstly a friend gave me a DVD by Clare Byam Cook called something like breast feeding with no tears which helped me get my latch right. I had had lots of advice from the midwives in hospital but they all told me something different and pretty much said you have to just grin and bear it which I think is blo*dy unhelpful. The second thing that really helped was a pair of nipple guards. Again the midwives said theybdidn't approve but I used them for 48 hrs straight to give my nips a chance to heal and it made a huge difference. There was also no problem for my little one switching between nipple and nipple guard. Good luck, it's miserably painful once they're sore so hope it eases off for you soon. If it's any consolation they do heal really quickly once given the chance! X

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