Breastfeeding While Sick - McKinney,TX

You are probably just plain worn out. Have you tried taking tylenol and a hot shower followed by a nap. even a little one will help. I would still brestfeed. And the pain could just be gas. There is a nasty bug going around too. So get lots of rest to keep you healthy. Having a newborn is a lot of work which I don't have to tell you, but remember it sounds like you have a great family ask for a little help, as moms we know we can do it all but that doesn't mean we should.
Hope you feel better.

i can't speak to your lower-right pain specifically, though surely you can make the call on whether or not it requires a professional opinion.

however, i can speak to a therapeutic dosing of sodium ascorbate (buffered, bioavailable, powdered form of vitamin c available at most health food stores, central market, whole foods, and the like) for any sign of anything that is challenging your immune system. a good 1/2 t. every several hours or so should help your body give its best fight despite how your life is taxing it right now. and, it's hard i know, but get as *much sleep* as possible and as *few sugars/carbs* as possible (including fruit juices).

and to answer your question re: breastfeeding: YES!!! your baby needs your breastmilk more than ever when you're fighting off those germs -- just think of the antibodies he's getting! + at 1 month your supply is still being established, so keep on keeping on, good mama & feel better soon!

Yes, keep breastfeeding. If you're worried that it's something the baby can catch, minimize contact as much as possible (no kisses, etc). But definitely keep nursing, or your milk will dry up. Besides, your body is building immunities to whatever you have, and by breastfeeding you pass those immunities to the baby providing him some protection from it. If you are worried that it could be an infection from the surgery, I'd play it safe and go see the doctor.
I have breastfed two lovely children. One was a preemie (born at 31 weeks) and nursed exclusively for 10 months, and then continued to nurse morning and night until about 14 months. I even had a mastitis (breat infection) when he was 6 months old, and they told me to keep nursing through it (and gave me antibiotics). My second was exclusively breastfed for 12 months, and then nights until about 15 months. Hope you feel better soon. Hang in there!
J.

Another vote for continuing to breastfeed. Even if you are on antibiotics, it is fine for the baby. I breastfed three children, the first two for about a year, the second until just shy of his second birthday. I can guarantee you with my allergies and asthma that I had fevers and also was on antibiotics. Go to your OB/GYN, the pain is likely a suture working it's way out but it could be scar tissue related as well. Abdominal pain could also be relaed to problems like diverticulitis.

If you have three teenagers, you should occasionally be able to ask them to watch the little ones so you can get a nap. I was wonder woman for about 10 years and while I did not become ill because of it, I suspect that the pneumonia that nearly killed me might not have gotten so bad if my body had been in better condition. Do you take the toddler to a mother's day out? If you can afford it, you should do that as well, it is good for the toddler as well as you and gives baby some mommy time too.

Yes, continue to breastfeed. Your breastmilk is a natural antibiotic for your baby. It will help keep your baby from catching your cold.

Also, I would make an appointment with your OB ASAP. You really don't want to mess with surgery. It could be nothing; however, it would best for a professional to rule it out. Good luck!!

You should continue to breast feed. Cold medicines will dry up your supply- as they dry up your nose. Drink plenty of fluids to help and you can also use oatmeal and mother's milk tea to help with this. I would call your doctor about the possible infection. Better to find out sooner than later.

Could you have pnemonia? I had it a couple of months ago, and it sucked! Go to the doc.
As far as the baby goes, yes, keep breastfeeding. It's especially important for your baby to get those antibodies in your milk to fight off whatever you have.

I am sorry that you are not feeling well. I had a c-section in August but never got a fever due to it. About a month ago I got sick and called my child's pediatrician and they said do not feed your child if you have a fever. They said that whatever is in your body can get passed to the baby via the breast milk. If you have pumped maybe you can use that. I hope that you feel better and get some well desrved rest.....5 kids is very brave:)

Hi G.. I don't know much about the fever being linked to the c-section but I would definitely call the doctor if you think you have an infection around your incision. But... I do know aobut BF'ing. PLEASE continue to BF if you have a fever. This way your baby gets the antibodies even though he or she is exposed to the cold (or whatever it is). I have 5 kids 7 and under and even when we are all sick, like now, the baby weathers it very well. Good luck and call the doctor today befoer they close for the holiday!

Keep breastfeeding! And as much as possible---you do not want to dry up. It's good for you and good for your baby---baby gets the antibodies.

About being sick I would definitely make an appt and go see your obgyn if any concern.

I'm so sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Like the other girls said Yes continue to breastfeed for your baby to get the antibodies. As far as the fever, it could be due to the c-section but you definitely have an infection of some kind. Most of the time if you have an infection, the incision itself will be red, but no matter what I would at least go get checked out. Infection of any kind is something you shouldn’t discard. Good luck and I hope you get to feeling better.

Hello. I would call your doc today, esp. with it being the holiday! You could have a post-op infection even with it being a month later or possibly a kidney stone. As for breastfeeding with a fever, I'm not really sure. When I worked in post partum we had our moms with a temp pump and dump just to avoid passing along a possible infection to the newborn. It's something to check with your OB about. I hope you get to feeling better soon!

You sound like you have exactly what has gone through my entire family....I just took my 8 mnth old to the doctor today because now he has caught it too!
It's a nasty very contagious cold and I'm sorry to hear you have it after having recent surgery....however I dno't think it's related to your Csection, I think it's a bad cold.
I am also still BF my 8 mnth old and as soon as I came down with the symptoms, I started penicillin.
I'm a wimp and can't handle a day of being sick! : )
I continue to nurse my lil boy and even though he caught the cold, he's still getting the healthiest milk from me and antibodies that will help him get better quicker which you can't get from formula.
Keep nursing your baby....especially during this time of year when he's prone to RSV. You want that baby to have the strongest immune system possible.
Best wishes and take care!!

I'm so sorry you're feeling so ucky sick, that's no fun at all. =(
But, YES, definitely keep breastfeeding, no reason to stop and a million reasons to keep on keepin' on!
I wouldn't worry about the low-grade fever quite yet, your body is probably fighting off something and doing a good job of doing just that. Your body will definitely need time to heal from a c-section. Just do the best job you can of taking care of your health. Drink lots of water, eat well. Sometimes a low-grade fever can linger for a while and most times, medical intervention would only hurt your body worse. Give it another week or two at the least.
Hope you feel better soon, GREAT job on breastfeeding!!

You can absolutely keep breastfeeding while sick. And definitely contact your doctor about your symptoms and your concerns about an infection, but if that is what is happening, you'll want to take care of it now before it gets too severe.

Hang in there!

You have gotten great advice but great advice bears repeating. Absolutly keep breastfeeding. Your baby will get the antibodies your body is making from your breastmilk. So will keep healthier. If he does get sick it is ok, he will already be equiped with the antibodies to fight it off. If you are having pain you should at least call your doctor. They might be able to tell you something to prevent it. Such as if you are carying too much weight. However they might need to see you for pain so soon after a c-section. God Bless

Ask your doctor about possible infection. While you are sick, you should continue breastfeeding your baby, as this is where your baby is getting antibodies. Without your antibodies your child will have little immuntiy to your 'cold'. Take care!

Sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice here. I also agree you should continue breastfeeding. That will ensure your little one gets the antibodies that your body is making against your cold and other pathogens you come in contact with. www.kellymom.com is an awesome site for breastfeeding moms.

I don't know about your question about the fever being possibly related to your c-section. If it is the 1st time you've had a fever since the surgery, then I doubt it, but check with your dr. to be sure.

Good luck and i hope you feel better soon!

Breastfeeding while you are sick with a fever is fine. But you will need your rest!!! You might have a bladder infection if you don't think it is a cold or flu. You'll need to see your ob for antibiotics. Hope you feel better soon!

Did you have an emergency C-section? If you did you could have a saroma. Its when the fat dies around the incision and liquifies and needs to be drained. I only say this because it happened to me. It usually happens along the incision site. I never stopped breastfeeding, even with mastitis. But see your doctor as soon as you can.

I say to continue breastfeeding or pumping to keep your supply renewing itself.

When I was nursing many, many moons ago, I remember several times I thought I was coming down with a cold or the flu only to discover that the fever and other symptoms were caused by my breasts being engorged. Nursing actually made me feel more comfortable and the symptoms went away after the milk was released. That was early on mostly when the kids were about your baby's age, and I would supplement the nursing with pumping the extra to freeze for my anticipated return to work or just to have on hand when needed.

As far as the right side pain goes, I went into a near panic when I was pregnant with my first child over a pain in my right side. I'd had an unexpected pregnancy before her which was a tubal pregnancy resulting in emergency surgery. I was scared to death that I was now experiencing a tubal pregnancy in the right tube which would cause termination of the pregnancy and reduce my ability to conceive since I only had the right tube anyway.

I immediately called the doctor's office. The nurse calmed me telling me that it was probably a round ligament contraction, which was normal.

There are ligaments that connect with your uterus to keep it in position within your body. As your uterus grows, they lengthen to support the pregnancy. After childbirth, they return to a more pre-natal position. So the feeling is a bit like a pulled muscle.

Another factor which I experienced with my second pregnancy constipation. It must have been how she was lying on my insides, because I didn't have a bowel movement for a week after she was born even though they gave me all kinds of stool softeners and laxatives to move things along. Once I started having bowel movements again, I was much more comfortable, but the gas pains can get pretty brutal sometimes.

If you are gassy, simethicone, which is cheap and over-the-counter as a generic, is a good and safe way to relieve the pressure. It's what the doctor would recommend for the baby if it was gassy, too, so it should be safe to take while nursing. Check with the pharmacist first to be sure.

If it's your internal musculature rebounding from the pregnancy, it will pass shortly. Nursing actually helps to tone up the muscles and ligaments, which may be a huge benefit to getting your figure back. You may actually feel the strains when you are nursing.

If you were having a problem with the incision site such as an infection, there would probably be evidence like you'd have with any infected wound. Be sure to keep your post-natal visits with the doctor to see that you are healing from surgery properly. At one month, you should be well on the way to healing unless there are complicating factors such as obesity or diabetes.