Breastfeeding Problems - Elk Grove Village,IL

It sounds like you have a problem with latch. This can cause the baby not to be able to extract very much milk. Don't judge your supply by how much you are able to pump- it is often MUCH less than what the baby can extract.
I suggest seeing a lactation consultant. They cost about $100/hr (usually for about 2 hours) but it is money WELL spent. In addition to the health benefits and bonding of nursing, formula costs approx $1000/ year!!!

If you need any help, I might be able to help you by phone, but it sounds like you really need someone to sit with you and watch you latch. You can also have the LC weigh the baby before and after he feeds to see how much he is actually taking.

Best of wishes, and hang in there!!!!
M.

According to the Le Leche League, Sore nipples are most frequently caused by improper positioning of the baby at the breast. See our Positioning Your Baby at the Breast for complete details. These basic steps will help to prevent sore nipples:

Position yourself comfortably with back support, pillows supporting your arms and in your lap and your feet supported by a footrest or a telephone book.
Position baby close to you, with his hips flexed, so that he does not have to turn his head to reach your breast. His mouth and nose should be facing your nipple. If possible, ask your helper to hand you the baby once you are comfortable. (See "Going Beyond the Basics" for details.)
Support your breast so it is not pressing on your baby's chin. Your baby's chin should drive into your breast. (See "Breast Support Techniques" for descriptions.)
Attach or latch baby onto your breast. Encourage him to open his mouth wide by tickling his lips with your nipple and saying, "Open". Pull him close by supporting his back (rather than the back of his head) so that his chin drives into your breast. His nose will be touching your breast. Your hand forms a "second neck" for your baby. (See "Is My Baby Latched on Well" for further information.)
Enjoy! If it does not feel comfortable, detach and gently reposition the baby

See www.llli.org to read the above and more.

Also, I recommend you contact your physician regarding a referral to a lactation consultant. Someone that could come out and check your latching-on technique.

All the other mothers agree it is the latching. Just to share, my newborn son was not latching correctly on the one side. I started to get engorged on that side and had to pump. I was pumping blood, because my nipple was so chapped, torn, and scabbed. (Gross!) I took the expressed breastmilk and rubbed it directly on my nipple. A few hours later I was able to pump off that side, and then I made sure to attend a Lactation class to get some advice from the lactation consultant. I took my son with me, and she showed me different positions that helped a lot. This class was offered free through my hospital once a week, and it was a good way to get some advice and reassurance from other nursing mothers. I would ask the hospital where you deliver if they offer such a class. I get very worried when I barely pump as well, and my doctor said the best pump is your baby. Your baby gets so much more than when you pump. When I do feel my supply is low, I take a herbal supplement (with Fenugeek), and I eat a bowl of oatmeal every morning, and drink TONS of water. (Use a straw, it helps it go down faster if you hate water like I do!!) It does get better... my son is now 5 months and still nursing strong.

Hi A. -
There are two kind of off the wall things I've tried for soreness, and they have had some success; a cool cabbage leaf worn in the brazier or slightly frozen chamomile tea bags. As for the milk supply, I too have had the same problems. One thing that has helped my milk supply is Fenugreek capsules. They can be found at Whole Foods. There are no side effects outside of having urine and sweat smell like maple syrup. I researched it fully by checking the Mayo Clinic website as well as the La Leche League and Baby Center websites respectively. The recommended dose is 3-4 tabs 3x a day. As well, drinking alot of water doesn't hurt.

Hope it helps!

xxx

Many women worry that they do not have enough milk and that is usually not the case. Even a baby with a belly full of breastmilk will usually drink a little formula becuase it kind of drips easily from the nipple into their milk. 3 Oz is a lot for a baby that age and more than I ever was able to pump.

If you are still sore you may have thrush (yeast infection). If the pain comes when you latch the baby and stays for the entire feed it may be thrush. Many women say it feels like shards of glass. If you had antibiotics in labor you are especially susceptible. This is pretty easily cured- you should see your doctor or midwife. Or better yet a lactation consultant who can help with lacth and look for supply issues. The hospital you delivered at may have an LC on staff who you should be able to contact. Good luck with continuing breastfeeding and congrats on getting this far.

If he isn't already, make sure that when he is nursing, his lower lip is folded out/down everytime. (Like when you make an extreme frown with your mouth) That should help if his latch is not good. You get sore really fast if they don't do that. Kudos for your determination. God Bless you!

When I had my daughter, I was so determined to make breast feeding work, but I also had extreme pain during the first two months. I went to a LaLeche league meeting and they referred me to someone who said she had done a lot of research on yeast infection being passed back and forth between the baby (thrush) and mom. She recommended that we both get on medicine for the yeast problem through our own doctors. The pain went away quite quickly. My husband thinks I "just got used to it", but I can't help but think the meds helped. Good luck.

It can be a vicious cycle. Feeling stressed because you are new at all this can affect your nursing. Make sure baby is properly latched on. A&D ointment helped my sore nipples heal but there were times it hurt & I was crying while I nursed. & do deep breathing when you start to feel stressed. Take a gentle deep breath hold a moment & slowly exhale as you imagine every muscle letting go. Do this at least 3 times.

Have someone who is an "expert" (like a lactation consultant or a trusted friend who has successfully breastfed her children) check your baby's latch - this would make it both painful and inefficient for him to get the milk out. I would get this checked asap, because if you can fix it, all of your other problems (supply and soreness) will resolve themselves. Once you have this straightened out, I would avoid supplementing, and instead nurse nurse nurse to let your supply catch up. I agree - this should NOT be painful at this point, which is why I suspect latch. The other thing is you want to make sure your baby isn't "chomping" - make sure he's not biting you with his gums. If he is, you can tell him not to and pull him away.

As for worrying about supply, please don't. What you pump actually has nothing to do with how much milk you produce. It only tells you how much you can pump. Your baby is much more efficient at getting milk out of your breasts than a breastpump EVER will be.

GO to a La LEche LEague meeting! They can help with your latch and soreness! 50 years on experience can't be wrong!!!!!!!! IT was my saving grace. Go to llli.org for local meetings.

A.:

Call a Lactation Consultant.... This is what we do. You should not be sore.

What you can pump does not tell you how much the baby gets/ it only tells you about your pumping.

P., RLC, IBCLC, CST
Board Certified Lactation Consultant
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions
www.breastfeedingandparentingsolutions.com

I would suggest that you try to get in touch with a lactation consultant and actually see them so that they can watch you nurse. It sounds to me like you may not be getting the baby latched on well, or possibly there is thrush or something else going on. A LC would be able to tell you either way. Keep trying, breastfeeding is so worth it.

Many of your posts say the same thing about the latch and how pumping is NOT a good indicator of the amount you are producing....all that is right on. Please consider contacting a lactation specialist. If you call Palos Hospital and ask to speak with the lactation nurses they will either speak with you or have you leave a message and they are very good at getting back to people. It's important to do this as early on as possible so that your baby gains weight appropriately and also doesn't get to attached to a bottle that you have a problem then with breastfeeding.

A couple things that help with soreness are Lansinoh cream and also steeping tea bags in warm water and then letting them cool (not dry, just cool off) and placing them on the actual nipple for about 10 minutes and let them air dry. Something in the herbs helps wonderfully with the soreness.
Good Luck.

Other than a shallow latch (baby sucking on end of your nipples instead of drawing the entire nipple inside his mouth...I remember that all of those creams, pads, shields and some bras made my nipples very sore. The only thing I could wear was a cotton sleep bra from Motherhood Maternity, one size larger than my actual size. They are about $12.00, made of soft cotton and they come in sizes s, m, l and XL. That was the only thing I could wear the first three or four months after my son was born. Even t-shirts made me sore.

COngratulations!

If you are still experiencing a lot of soreness, your little boy may not be latching properly. I had someone from LaLeche League come out and guide me (or they have meetings too) and it was most valuable to me.

Pumping is not a good indicator of how much milk you are producing. As far as # of oz's - various for each woman/child. :)

As long as your little boy is having wet diapers and occasional #2 and gaining steadily, he is getting everything he needs. The problem with supplementing is that it diminishes your supply (demand vs supply) so if you can, I would try and not supplement. But I know, it's so hard to know and feel like your little one has enough with nursing.

Congrats and keep up the great work!

OK, a couple things...

If you are sore, it is most likely that your baby is not latching very well. The things you mentioned will help short term but every time you nurse her poor latch is irritating it so it never gets better. It would be best to see a lactation consultant as things like that are kind of hard to address via the internet. One thing you can try is to make sure she is getting as much of the nipple as possible...that she has a wide latch. You can kind of force that by smushing your nipple as flat as possible to make your breast wide....she will be forced to open her mouth bigger to latch on. When you see her mouth open wide you have to very quickly push your breast into her mouth. If she has a narrow latch, she probably is not getting AS MUCH milk, or getting it as efficiently as she would if she had a better latch.

Your output from pumping is not really a good indicator of how much you are making because a pump is not as efficient at extracting milk as a baby is. Those amounts, however, do not sound like they are really all that low....I know when my son was that young and taking bottles (because he wouldn't latch on) his bottles were pretty small....2-3 oz tops. Breastfed babies eat less more frequently because it is easier to digest so don't compare how much your baby takes in a bottle to how much a formula fed baby takes....they will ALWAYS take more that way.

Please don't give formula..I understand short term if you feel like he is hungry, but using a bottle will only make his latch worse and using formula will shoot your nursing in the foot (if you give formula instead of nursing, your body is not getting the correct messages re: true demand/supply and may decrease your supply. It would be best to see a LC as soon as possible, or even a La Leche League leader who could help you with latch.

Here is a handout with diagrams http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/whenlatchingpdf.pdf
And there are even videos on this page:
http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml

If that doesn't help I would say a consultation with a GOOD LC or very experienced nursing Mom is definitely in order.

Good luck! I remember how hard this is! It really is worth it in the long run!

What you're feeling is very normal. If you're still having soreness after a month you're likely dealing with an improper latch. It's important to make sure the baby's mouth is covering most of the areola (dark area) and his/her bottom lip is pursed outward.

A lot of moms also think their supply is low when it really isn't, if you're pumping out more than an ounce per breast you're doing great. I was never able to get more than 1/2 oz per breast but the baby is much more efficient at getting the milk to flow.

Chances are you don't need to supplement with formula if you're feeding on demand which should still be every 2 hours at this point.

If you want to stimulate more milk prodcution here's a few things that can help:

1. Nurse, nurse, nurse...do it as much as possible. The more you nurse the more milk your body produces.
2. Pump after each feeding.
3. Some moms I know have had luck with oatmeal and fenugreek (but I can't give you exact dosages as I didn't use it).

I wish you the best of luck and think it's wonderful that you're providing what's best for you baby!

I was quite sore for the better part of two months. Like many said, it could be a latching issue or it could just be that you have never used your nipples like this before! Imagine suddenly lifting weights for the first time five times a day seven days a week, your muscles would be sore. It really irritated me that so many people told me I must be doing it wrong when the bottom line is nursing hurts.

My son is now six months old almost 20 pounds and I'm still nursing. There were times we also supplemented formula in the beginning because he was so hungry, now he's all breast milk.

Good luck, get lots of rest and drink tons of water!! It will get better!!!