Nursing Problem

A great link that addresses plugged ducts and mastitis:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/mastitis.html

And mastitis doesn't *always* require antibiotics, though it's important to say on top of things, as things can go South very quickly. Hope you feel better soon!

Hi E.!

Congratulations on your baby girl! They are such a precious gift! Mine is already 20-months-old... it goes by so fast. Cherish these sweet times, even with the sore breasts! :-)

Anyway, it sounds like you could be getting a bit of mastitis or at least clogged milk-ducts. i would say be careful and listen to your body. I know it's hard when you're working. I went back to work when my little one (Emma) was 8 weeks old, and I had to pump and get the feeding thing down too. I got mastitis 2 different times. It almost feels like you have the flu. It sounds like you're able to get rid of it before it gets too bad by relieving your breasts, but it you let it go too long, you can get pretty sick and will need antibiotics to get rid of it. I know that when my ducts were clogged I would hurt so bad, the last thing I wanted to do was pump or nurse, but it really is the only thing that will help. The hard thing is, the more your pump/nurse, the more milk you will make. I guess I can just encourage you that in a few weeks, your body will get used to your baby's schedule. The "supply & demand" will eventually match up. She's still so young... I feel like Emma & I didn't really get the hang of everything until she was at least 2 months old, or so. Just hang in there... soon you won't even remember this!

God bless you and your sweet family!
S. :-)

E.,

Sounds like you may have mastitis (not sure if I'm spelling it correctly). It's an infection that can develop. I had it bad and ended up in the ER with fluids and needing antibiotic. Don't want to scare you. Your sounds more mild than mine was, but you may want to call your Dr. and get some advice before your appt. on Tuesday. Hope it gets better.

Definitely sounds like clogged ducts. I had the same thing happen to me twice when I was breastfeeding. I applied heat to the area (via hot shower/bath or heating pad) and tried to empty the breast through feeding the baby or pumping and that usually helped clear it up. Good luck!

I recall having the same problems when I was nursing. It is very uncomfortable, but I would doubt that it was technically mastitis. If unattended, it could lead to mastitis, but it sounds like you took care of yourself and did the right thing.

In the first several weeks when your supply is abundant, this situation occurs more frequently than later on. I'm wondering how you managed to get home without leaking milk all over yourself. I remember several times when this happened to me.

I don't know whether they teach it these days or not, but when I had my kids in the early 1980's, the books still showed and explained how to express milk without a pump. Especially if you have a good let down response, you could use this method in the privacy of a bathroom stall to relieve the pressure until you can get home and either nurse the baby or use your pump to express the excess.

But ... ask your doctor about everything.

E.,
It sounds like you are over engorged and the other symptoms sound like early mastitis... just a guess. Clogged ducts will feel like small hard areas in the breast. Mastitis will present usually with fever, chills, achy, red streaks, etc. Mastitis is a breast infection caused by not emptying the breasts. Nursing frequently and often will help to relieve mastitis before it gets severe, it sounds like you are right on track if you are trying to play catch up as soon as you can get to your baby. However, going that long between feeds isn't a good idea, especially this early on. If there is absolutly no way to breastfeed/pump, you may want to consider pumping on the way to and from your desitnation (you can get adapters for the car) which would maybe reduce the away time and help to take the edge off. If it is a job, speak to them, most employeers are really good about allowing 10-15 min. for a break. Best wishes and keep up the breastfeeding!

As pp's mentioned, it sounds like clogged ducts and mastitis. I experienced this a lot with my first and you will definitely learn what the beginning stages feel like so you can relieve the problem before it turns too painful. The lactation consultant that I highly recommend is Vicki Gettel with Allen Presby. (She will see any patient regardless of where you delivered) Anyway, she recommended feeding from the sore side first and not wearing bras with underwires, and as others mentioned massage the clogged duct while you are nursing. (I honestly can't remember wanting to wear an underwire while I was nursing, but just in case :) ) Something else that helped was adding water to a diaper and heating it in the microwave as a form of moist heat--just be super careful b/c it is extremely hot when you take it out.
Good luck to you and congrats on your baby girl. I actually went back to teaching when my dd was 12 weeks old and was succesful at pumping until she weaned around 12 months. Feel free to send me a message if you need any support on this area.

You have to find a way to at least pump. Five hours is too long . . . you probably have a breast infection. This happended to me with my second child, and I got quite sick! I learned my lesson . . . if you can't feed at least every 2 2 1/2 hours, then you need to pump. I know how challenging tht can be for a working mom, it is often difficult to find a private place. But you are going to make yourself sick. Thankfully, the infection doesn't hurt the baby.

if you have a fever, you probably have an infection or blocked milk duct. call your doctor ASAP. pump and feed as much as possible and put hot compresses on your breasts. don't give up nursing-- it will pass quickly. good luck.

It sound like the beginning of mastitis with the shills and fever. You're doing the right thing to shut it down really quickly with the frequent pumping and tylenol.

Try not to ask your boobs to not release when you're away for longer periods of time than when you're with baby. At such a young age, it's critical for your supply to keep up the pumping/nursing every 3 hours. The supply and pattern isn't really set-up until 6 weeks. The balance of supply is so critical and precious.

If you have to be away for longer than 3 hours, then take a pump with you. This should be rare and be prepared to work on increasing your supply when you return. It's a simple supply and demand. If you're body doesn't release in a set period of time, then it thinks its weaning and drops supply.

Nursing is a wondeful gift to your new baby! I just weaned my tot 3 days away and already miss it..

Best of luck.

Definitely mastitis hun. I got it around 5 weeks and you can get really miserable with a fever and sore breasts. The baby should be feeding around every 2 and a half hours so your breasts need to be releived that often as well. I know it is hard to weigh priorities, but think about it this way - if you are sick you are doing nobody any good! I got so sick that I remember thinking that I would rather be in labor. And I had an awful labor that resulted in a C section. Best of luck to you. Take care of yourself.

E.,

Soaking in a warm bath might help.

Good luck.

Hi E.,

I am exclusively BF my 9 week old and still get the really full painful breasts if I go w/out feeding.
However, I'm always home with my newborn so I never really experience the painful fullness until nighttime since he goes longer w/out feeding throughout the night.
I'm pretty sure the only way to stop this painful fullness is to pump as often as possible or feed as possible as you can which I know can be hard if you're not always home to pump or feed.

My best advice is to keep up the good work and this is unfortunately the bad part of BF and we just have to tough it out to give our little ones what's truly best for them.
It does get better the older they get and the less they feed but it does just take some time.
Now that my baby is at 9 weeks I can already start to see a difference and they're not getting as full as quickly so much less pain already.
Hang in there and hope you feel better soon! : )

I am a mother of two, breastfed my first for 1 1/2 years, and am currently breast feeding my 4 month old. I have had three breast infections, also known as mastitis. I am certain that is what you have. To clear it up, you need to be on antibiotics. In the mean time there are some things that you need to do before it turns into an abcess ( you don't want this to happen). What worked for me is gentle massage on the area where the milk is clogged (you will feel a bump), moist heat( I would run hot water on a washcloth and then put it on my breast), taking a hot bath and massaging while it was fully submerged seemed to really help for me. PUMP! Even if you can't get anything out! And breast feed. These two things are so important to release the milk, otherwise it will turn into an abcess. Don't let this discourage you from breastfeeding though. It takes 6-8 weeks for your breasts to establish a good and consistant milk supply. You were probably still over producing a little bit and missing that one or two feedings caused this to happen. But it won't always be like that.

Yep, sounds like mastitis. simple antibiotic from ob-gyn clears it right up (and yes, it's safe to take while nursing). I had the early signs of mastitis once, and I had clogged milk ducts twice. The primary difference being your symptoms of chills/fever/aches makes it sound like mastitis more than clogged ducts (although, a clogged duct is often what leads to mastitis, so they do go hand in hand).