Breast Feeding & Sore Nipples- Advice?

sce37

I STILLhave milk.....any ideas on that one??!!!!!!!

Have you tried e bay ;D

CurryKing_2

You should know it's all down to the woman Neil!! Men only do the easy bit at the beginning, lol.

Yeah - and it didnt take long either!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

16011996

re the still having milk. i stopped 12 months ago, and still have milk, with the 8 yr old took two and a half years to go completely. drove me mad. (sorry that not much use, but just wanted ou to know it not unusual.)

Pink.

Congratulations to you and your wife Neil on the birth of the beautiful Asha!

I have no real advice to give, just my own experience of breastfeeding.............


I had difficulty feeding all three of mine at the start......sore nipples etc. Like others have mentioned before I used to dread them wakening.

With my first child I thought it was inexperience, but I had lots of encouragement from a friend (who had breastfed her baby), also from a local la leche league group who were invaulable http://www.laleche.org.uk/ , and most of all from my husband who said he would back me up whether I chose breast or bottle.

After about four weeks it suddenly worked.....one day I didn't feel pain, and after that it was a joy, it was convenient and it felt so good to watch her grow and develop and know it was because of me....I fed my daughter for eighteen months.

Baby number two arrived.......by this time I thought that I was an old pro regarding breastfeeding......so I was devastated to find it just as painful as before.....but I persevered.......I had to, I'd done it for my daughter, so I had to do it for my son....... and it worked out in the end......I fed him for 22 months.

Baby number three......same again. :-/

It seems to me that some people find feeding babies more difficult than others, but please please please, if you can persevere, the rewards to both mum and baby are fabulous.

Equally if you feel it's getting too much for you and you don't want to persevere, don't beat yourself up........a happy mum = a happy baby.

With regard to what to do with excess milk..........its worth contacting your local special care baby unit as they can refer you to a local milk bank who are more than glad of any donations to give to premature babies.

Pink

peach_2

Hi
I'm new to this chat room stuff so just saw the posting. I hope things have got easier. I had similar probs with my firstborn - and nipple shields saved us. The midwives, NCT etc etc hate them but they allowed my son to latch on straight away and feed. I used them for a few weeks until we were all a bit more settled. For No2 child I used them straightway and it was a dream. If you get sore nipples or get bitten(!!) they might help.

Good luck!

nodwah

On the subject of milk not drying up there are certain herbal teas which are supposed to do that - but I can't remember what they are... that's not much help is it?

Anyway I feel very strongly that if you can't keep up the breastfeeding, don't let anyone make you feel bad about it, you've tried your best and I feel that it keeps the hormones on the boil as well. I fed my two kids for 6 months and 10 months and each time when I stopped certain people gave me a lot of grief about it, which didn't help as i was beating myself up about it too.

Also top reason for breatsfeeding - no periods- v good moneysaving!

sheenagh_2

Gadget Freak what a gorgeous baby!!!!! deep joy to you and your partner. Gosh this thread is great who would of thought sore nipples could be so uplifting.

I agree with almost everything said here. I still breast feed my daughter of 2 and half - I can hear the gasps now. It is such a lovely thing once the nipples have healed and all the evidence is behind you. Follow your heart!

CurryKing_2

wow..... this thread still going??

Well two months on and Asha is a lovely happy little baby although she has developed eczema (new thread please!) and stayed a week in hospital as she developed a fever too.

She had her first formula feed last night too as mum feels incredible tired at night and we thought 1 bottle of formula over 24 hours wouldnt hurt and mum can get come rest.

She wasnt too keen on it tbh but she got the hang of it after a few attempts. The idea is we'll slow down the breast milk around 6 months as thats when Dips goes back to work.

Anyway - thats it for my update

Once again - many many thanks for all your kind words!!!

Neil

Sarahsaver

it's fennel tea which is supposed to increase milk supply, or a couple of drops of fennel essential oil in the bath
Also make sure she eats enough, women need about 500 EXTRA CALORIES A DAY to produce the milk, which, unless you are overweight, you need to make sure you eat. And an active woman needs at least 2500 cals a day so get to eating! Barfi is good because it has a lot of protein from the milk, amd fat which is needed at this time. Also drink things like malted milk drink if the extra food is unbearable!

jo_b_2

For those of you with the opposite problem (i.e: still producing unwanted breastmilk) raspberry leaf tea is supposed to stop milk production.

Yes, this is the stuff that you are recommended to take/drink during the last couple of weeks of pregnancy (and not before.) It's supposed to help with a speedier labour and reduce the likelihood of baby being overdue (and having to be induced.)

I actually developed a taste for it, although most people think it tastes foul. ::) Anyway, don't try this if you are expecting again or are still actively breast-feeding.

Lovely topic - but just in case anyone's interested my milk took about 9 months to dry up completely. ::) Also, had an 'interesting' experience when my boy fell over at about 18 months and knocked his lip. He started screaming and I noticed I'd got a lovely wet patch around my top! My body obviously wanted to comfort him! (I stopped breast-feeding at about 10 months.)