For Woman Who Have Breastfed
8 Replies
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I formula fed my daughter, I tried to br___tfeed her for a week after she was born but I got too discouraged and fusterated and quit....which I remember I got somewhat depressed about. I felt like a "failure". For my son, I br___tfed him for four months until I had to get on certain medication that would of been harmful to him, so I had to quit nursing. I know this sounds crazy, and a little unrealistic...but when my son was thriving off my milk...it NEVER hurt...he latched perfectly and my nipples never ever got sore... I remember being fearful at first because I remember the horror of trying to nurse my daughter.Now, this time around I'm healthy again and highly doubt i'll need medication for that illness, so my goal is to br___tfeed this little guy. The only fear I have is, that with this pregnancy - oddly my nipples are sensitive and sore...i'm guessing it's just the chemical changes in my body since i'm almost 33 weeks and my body is getting ready to have this baby...but I am afraid and fearful that nursing this time will be horror because my nipples are already sore. In your opinion....do you think that theres a chance I could nurse this baby without any problems? Or the fact that my nipples are already sore - i'm starting off on a bad foot?....should I just forget about br___tfeeding?... thanks!
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Don't automatically a__sume that this time around will not work out due to a past experience. It is perfectly normal for your b___sts & nipples to become sore again late in pregnancy- they are preparing for the milk & baby. Breast feeding should never be painful as long as the baby has a proper latch & good suction habbits. I b___st fed my first child for a year & plan on doing the same with this one. If at first you have trouble talk to the lactation consultant while in the hospital, they are very helpful. With my first, in order to discourage myself from giving up if it was hard, I did not have any bottles, & thankfully everything went smoothly. My son went stright from b___st to sippy cup. Good luck & stay positive!!! :)
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That's AWESOME they weren't sore with your son. Honestly- I think that may be a rarity (sp?). I nursed my son for 9 mo and the beginning was hell...so I totally feel for you. Although they weren't as bad as some woman I hear about...My nipples were very sore, chapped and raw but really it is about a week-two weeks. It is one of those things you just have to fight through and even once they are fully latched and you have let down then the pain should go away so it shouldn't last the entire nursing time. Good luck!
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I b___stfed my dd for over a year as well. I believe it to be the norm to feel a little sore in the beginning. They say you shouldn't be sore but your body has gone from not nursing to nursing frequently and your nipples aren't used to that. So I think uncomfortable soreness is normal but the excrutiating pain some feel isn't. I was uncomfortable and a little dry as my nipples adjusted, but luckily they never cracked, or bled. Maybe you can try to beat the dryness now which can cause the cracking by putting lansinoh or something similar on them now, just to help ward off the dryness. But as for them being sore thats normal right now, your in the last stages and things are just starting to kick in and get ready. Good Luck!!
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I used the lansinoh for a few weeks before my DD was born (like once a day) and then I put it on after each feeding. I didn't have any problems with dryness or cracking.
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I think each bay is different & you may as well give it shot because you never know. With my son I had a few problems with his latch for about the first week, then things went great & I b___stfed him for 12 months. I only quit because I had to go back to work but we could have went allot longer. Now my daughter is 2 weeks old & I was expecting things to go great again & it has been awful. She wont latch at all as it seems her mouth is so tiny & she never opens it enough, my nipples got cracked & sore & bled, & now I even developed an infection in one of them. I use the Lansinoh cream, tried a nipple sheild, seen a lacation consultant, & am still having problems. But I still refuse to give up & I'm going to give it 2 more weeks & worst case scenario I'll just keep pumping & go 50/50 b___stmilk formula. So that may be an option for you, have you tried a pump before? But I wouldn't write off b___stfeeding yet, at least give it a try again. Good luck!
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Oh by the way - off topic here, but I saw you had another ? in this forum about names & you mentioned your son's name is Carter James ... that is exactly the same first & middle name for our son. lol, just thought that was cool.
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My nipples hurt like crazy during my entire pregnancy. I thought there is no way I will be able to b___stfeed a baby. But I really, really wanted to. It is really due to hormones I think that the soreness happens because it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The first 3 days were rough but after that it started getting better. As long as they latch on correctly it's pretty do-able pain. Also get some lanolin-- the medela brand is really nice and spreadable-- and put it on your nipples after each nursing and it REALLY helps with the pain. Definitely talk to the lactation consultants at the hospital and have one with you when you nurse your baby the first time and get off to a good start. You can do it if you set your mind to it. And like ejmeskan said, the pain goes away after a few seconds of nursing also, so as long as you can bare it for a few seconds you can do it. It is so worth it, as I'm sure you've found out from nursing before. Stay positive!!
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Whitney - great minds think alike, LOL! Well, Thank you all for the support and engorgement :) hehe (I hope you guys got the joke) lol.
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