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@Cherrybee: Great update! You can totally do this! I know what you mean about toe-curling pain!
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Wonderful to hear!
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@Cherrybee: Yay!!!! Sooooooo happy for you!!!! I didn't have any of the challenging that you're facing and breastfeeding was still pretty painful for me. It just took a few growth spurts until Xander's mouth was big enough to pull the nipple far enough for it to stop hurting for me. Good luck to you!!! So happy you've already had some success!!!
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YAY!!!!
I'm so happy to hear the positive update! I found it so hard to believe my baby was getting more than I was pumping because I could see what I pumped but couldn't see what he was consuming from my breast! Babies are super powerful suckers!
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awww great to hear!!!!
so happy for you!
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@Cherrybee: Yay! SO happy for you!
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@Cherrybee: you really helped me through it with your reassurances and support, I never could've made it without you and the lovely bees here. It meant the world to me and I am so happy to see that everyone is rallying behind you too! I hope you two have continued success! It has been a wonderful experience for me and my LO and I wish the same for you and Elliott!
P.S. Elliott is the cutest name! Love it!
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@Cherrybee: YAY!! So happy to read this
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great news to hear today, keep it up!
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Awesome job Mama! Keep going!
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Excellent update! Good job sticking with it!
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@Cherrybee: where in the UK are you? There are tons of reputable tongue tie specialists that will snip it.. Waiting for this on the NHS pointless.. That's what I did with my son, he's a champion feeder now. You'd never have known there was initial problems.
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@sea_bass: We are in Coventry. We have made contact with a private LC but she is currently on holiday. She can do it 8th August for us. My midwife was trying to talk us out of it today, saying its not affecting her latch (its my flat nipples and her tiny mouth which time and perseverance will fix apparently). The midwife said it's cruel to snip it..... We can't decide what to do now! We just want to do right by our daughter.
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@Cherrybee: snip it. It affects way more than just bfing (speech, eating, teeth, kissing, licking an ice cream cone etc). My husband has had tt his whole life-it blows. It should have been sorted when he was a baby.
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@Cherrybee: yay for milk! Nursing definitely feels better once you have milk as the friction on your nipple is reduced!
With regards to clipping a tt being cruel, if that's the one thing that will make the biggest difference to being able to bf then I say it's cruel to both of you to not do it. A had her tongue and lip ties clipped at 7-8 weeks and the difference it made was huge! The procedure was far more traumatic for me and A was over it in less than five minutes. The Dr who did ours said that the babies are often more frustrated at being held still than the actual clipping!
Keep up the great work lady, you got this!
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@Cherrybee: the NHS midwives all say that as they massively oversnipped in the past.. I've see some seriously bad things happen from just leaving people to carry on trying.. I was bleeding but getting through it. Now with it snipped bfing is pain free and I love it. I don't want to ever stop nursing. Don't suffer needlessly.
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Not cruel! Snip it. Lo has no nerves under there so she will only be uncomfortable not in pain. Generally, what upsets them is being held down, not the procedure. What seems cruel to me is both of you struggling, makes me sad your midwife said that to you. I waited until I couldn't take it any longer at 6 weeks because of lack of information from medical professionals and I wish we had of done something sooner.
p.s YAY for milk!!
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@Cherrybee: that is bs!!! It is NOT cruel--there are barely any nerves in that area at your Los age and se will barely feel a thing. My Lo cried about 10 seconds, I nursed and he was totally over it. A tongue tie is such an easy fix and can have such a negative impact on nursing if you don't do it. I don't know of any reason not to do it, especially considering you're having pain and trouble latching. I would definitely try to find someone to do it sooner. The longer you wait the more trauma she will inflict on you and the longer it will take for her to re learn how to nurse properly.
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@Cherrybee: I'm so glad for the good updates. Good job, Mama!
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Yay for milk
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I am so happy today was a better day!
I promise you it will get easier. You are in the hardest part right now and it is hard, mama, it is so hard. But you're doing it and we're all here to support you!
I had such a tough go of BFing in the beginning and I almost quit so many times, but every time, I told myself I'd do it for one more day and, here I am, 14 weeks later and DD is still EBF with no plans to change that. It's gotten easy for me and it will for you too!
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@Cherrybee: cruel?? Wow. DS didn't even cry when they did it and he breast fed immediately afterwards and it immediately made a huge difference. Maybe that isn't the case for some, but it sure was for us and it was an easy decision.
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@Cherrybee: My DS was more annoyed at the fact that he had to be still than at the actual procedure. I cried longer than he did! He nursed and was totally over it. We wouldn't have made it to 8 weeks so far BF'ing otherwise.
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OMG you guys. It goes from bad to worse! After achieving a latch with the nipple shield a few times yesterday, I woke up with huge, rock solid, painful breasts which DD couldn't latch onto for toffee. I tried hand expressing, I tried manual pumping and I got a few dribbles of milk.... but I did feel a little better. DH's friend was due over at 10am (the parade of fricking visitors is really making this more difficult than it needs to be but DH is just to excited and wants to show her off) so I gave DD formula. Well, a couple of hours later I started feeling really sore. My left boob had a big red mark on the left side and both breasts were burning. I tried to pump again but nothing came out. A couple of hours later, we were out (buying an electric pump no less) and I started feeling so, so cold. I had to sit down and I was shaking uncontrollably. We got home and DH sent me to bed but I couldnt sleep, I was freezing cold, shaking, and my boobs were so hot and the left breast had turned bright red......
....the upshot is, I used the manual pump and sweet, sweet release! I got 30ml out of both breasts combined. I'm still sore but the chills have eased up. I'm going to pump every 2 hours from now on, regardless of who is visiting. This might be the end of our BF journey and the start of our pumping journey... Or maybe once her tongue tie is clipped I can get her back to breast?? Or when her mouth is bigger? I suspect that, engorged, my huge boobs and flat nipples are too much for her. Maybe i will try to latch her before each pumped feed, after pumping for a bit to deflate them?
This is sooooo hard!! Its like everything is stacking against us.
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@Cherrybee: Aw, I'm so sorry! Sounds like a bit of mastitis. I've been there.
When we were in the worst part of the breastfeeding journey, I told DH NO MORE VISITORS. I cancelled plans and didn't see anyone for several days and just focused on feeding.
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@Cherrybee: awww I am so sorry you're going through all this!!!! Come vent to us any time you want!
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@Cherrybee: it sounds like mastitis - i would call your OB and talk it through with them.
The few days after your milk comes in is CRAZY! It is like trying to suck an m&m off a beach ball! express a little before feeding so that your breast is soft i that should help your LO latch!
You're doing amazing mama!
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@Cherrybee: that definitely sounds like mastitis. Do you have a doctor or nurse you can call for antibiotics?
Also if you're very engorged (which means your milk is coming in, yay!) it's difficult for LO to latch on...try reverse pressure
http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/rev_pressure_soft_cotterman/Or try pumping before nursing her--pumping might help soften you up a bit.
Hang in there!! I would definitely try to get her to the breast a few times a day if you can bear it at least til her tongue tie is clipped, that way she can still get some practice nursing.
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The day my milk fully came in I had crazy pins and needles in my breasts accompanied by terrible chills. It only happened d that day and has never happened again, so I wonder if your experience could be the same? OTOH, it could be mastitis...do you have a fever? Probably worth a call to your midwife.
Make sure you're pumping every time she gets a bottle to help prevent engorgement/clogged ducts/mastitis and to keep up your supply. In time your supply will regulate and you won't get rock hard boobs anymore!
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My $0.02 is that it's not cruel, though I cried at the thought of it... It was done in less than 2 minutes, from the time the nurse took him and to when she brought him back. He nursed and was great a few minutes later.
It made SUCH a huuuuuge difference in our nursing. He went from being able to transfer 50cc in an hour to transferring 4.7oz in less than an hour.
eta- totally missed the possible mastitis update, major major hugs to you. I hope things get easier for you. I am always always here if you need anything. I hope your LO switches back and forth easily, I would definitely encourage you to keep putting her to breast as much as you can, even if bottles are her primary nutrition source. For awhile, we just nursed after he'd had a bottle. He was eating 4oz at a feeding so I'd give him 3oz and then try to nurse him enough to where he got the last ounce from nursing. He was much more patient and willing to give it a go than trying to nurse outright on an empty stomach.
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@Cherrybee: aw girl, you are just getting thrown through the ringer! Expressing milk any way in regular intervals is super important, I found the manual pump reeeeeally sucked and the electric one made a huge difference. Hopefully you get this all sorted out. It totally will get better. Hug hug hug
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Thanks all. Pumping every 2 hrs is helping relieve the pain a little, although the left breast is still bright red, hot and sore. I will give it another day then call the midwife if I see no more improvement.
We had a nursing session this evening after Id pumped a little - with the nipple shield - and it went well. She has also had about 40ml of pumped breastmilk mixed with her formula today! Hurrah! Its provably the most she has had ever. We will get there....!
@hergreenapples: I hope you're right. I didn't have a fever but I felt freezing cold and couldn't stop shaking. It was really scary.
Now I just need to work out when to stop pumping on each side - how do I know my breast is empty??
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@Cherrybee: it was recommended to me to pump each side for 15 minutes
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@septemberlove: finishing LO at the breast also good as it helps them to associate being satiated and full with breastfeeding!
@Cherrybee: any breastmilk is going to be beneficial and yes, you can and will get there!
Make sure you're keeping yourself hydrated, well fed and well rested and keep updating us
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@Kemma: Well rested? Bahahahaha! Its 4.30am and I'm up pumping after feeding DD!
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@Cherrybee: well as rested as possible! I told my DH that he needed to look after me so I could look after LO! I guess I was trying to say that you need to take of your wellbeing too
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@Cherrybee: Good on you for sticking with it! I hope it gets easier for you.
Just a small tidbit of info from my professional career as a speech therapist...absolutely get the tongue tie clipped if you're able to. It can sometimes affect a child's speech. I had one little guy who had so much trouble saying some of his sounds but his mom was really hesitant to get it clipped. I can see why since he was older and it probably does hurt a bit on an older child. But an itty bitty baby is highly unlikely to be bothered by the clipping for an extended length of time.
Hope you feel better soon!
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@Cherrybee: your breasts are never REALLY empty, they'll always be producing milk, but 15-20 min each side (or both together) is a good amount of time to pump in the beginning!
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@Cherrybee: Thinking of you. I sincerely hope things get easier. I've been having similar issues and it's heartbreaking. I have faith that you'll get through this! Hugs!
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