The Breast Feeding Support Thread

Oh god I think I've got mastitis. Really sore swollen boob with a lump and feeling sore all over and shivering. I'm applying heat to the affect boob at the minute. Really hate going to the doctor but I've heard it needs an antibiotic. Is this correct?

Baby has just finished feeding from that side now. Doesn't feel full but do I need to pump as well?

Nead21 wrote: »

Oh god I think I've got mastitis. Really sore swollen boob with a lump and feeling sore all over and shivering. I'm applying heat to the affect boob at the minute. Really hate going to the doctor but I've heard it needs an antibiotic. Is this correct?

Baby has just finished feeding from that side now. Doesn't feel full but do I need to pump as well?

Hi,
Try to get to doctor ASAP. It is important to get it on the early stage. Apply heat , massage breast from base towards nipple and feed/pump after.
I sent you some useful info about mastitis by PM.
Good luck.Hope you feel better soon.

Reflux/over feeding??
Hi ladies, I'm all confused and could do with a bit if advice/reassurance. My 4 week old was diagnosed with reflux last week and put on Zantac. I was told that I was very lucky to have a gp so on the ball as it often goes undiagnosed. She did well for a couple of days and then went back to her former glory - puking, not sleeping, crying. So I rang the doctor and am being sent to a paediatric clinic today. My concern is that it may not be reflux but over supply. I'd hate to go down the medical route and ply my daughter with drugs if I don't need to. I've been reading others' experiences and they seem a lot more severe than mine, although there were days where I got no sleep and I've a constant pain in my jaw from grinding my teeth in my sleep over the stress of it so maybe it is that bad. When she gets 5 quiet minutes I wonder am I exaggerating the problem.
A lady from La Leche League told me it could well be over supply. I never even heard of that til this week. What a dose. I thought once mammy could provide milk and baby could receive milk it should be plain sailing. Now I'm told that breast feeding, which I was delighted to be able to do, could be the very thing making my baby miserable!! I'm a first time mum and I find it very disheartening. I feed on demand. Baby usually feeds really quickly, usually only on one side, which helps. Her weight gain is average but she has dirty and wet nappies constantly. She dirties her nappy while we're changing her or within a few minutes of changing her. Is that normal? The nappy is a mustardy colour. She's had nappy rash for weeks. We've tried Vaseline, sudocrem, bepanthen and caldesene, pampers sensitive wipes, water wipes and cotton wool with water, to no avail. It's very red and raw.
My husband hates to see us both struggling and wonders if we should resort to bottles. I'd be disappointed but I have to ask myself who am I breastfeeding for and what's best for baby. Spending the first 3/4 months crying cannot be best surely. But maybe it really is reflux! Oh my head! Any advice/ comments please?

Netting there are other mums on here that I'm sure have dealt with oversupply. I think that it's the fast let down that can cause problems. Maybe try hand expressing into a muslin cloth before you feed that way the baby won't get the full force of the let down.

Regarding the reflux. If the baby does have it then bottles aren't going to cure it. I agree with what was said about the nappy rash. Could be a sign of an intolerance. Try switching to soya milk for a while and cut out cheese. To help with the rash try weleda nappy cream. You get it in the chemist and I always find it the best.

I completely understand you're frustration. It's very hard to deal with a screaming unhappy baby. My own 6 week old finds it hard to get wind up and I feel like he's been crying nonstop. It's very upsetting.

Another poster recommended www.kellymom. com and it has good information which might help. Oh and dirtying the nappy straight after a change is completely normal. Happens all the time here :-)

I had oversupply too and fast let down and know how you're feeling. I would look at my baby struggling and think how I was causing this and that breastfeeding was supposed to be the best for her but it was causing her all this pain. She was taking in so much air when feeding that it was causing trapped wind, her poor little belly was hard as a rock and she would scream when laid flat. When I looked for advice I was told that she wouldn't take in air if her latch was good but I knew that wasn't it, I couldn't get gaviscon into her, she'd just spit it out. What I found to work was trying to keep her as upright as possible when feeding, hand expressing a bit before feeding to avoid the rush of let down, really good winding after a feed and laying her on her side with a rolled up cellular blanket at her back to prevent her rolling onto her back and sticking an Argos catalogue under the legs of the cot at one end to raise the head so she wasn't entirely flat. I know it doesn't help you now, but it really does get better week by week as they get bigger and better able to handle their suck and swallow. Mind yourself, oversupply will make you more prone to mastitis and blocked ducts.

Thanks for all the support and advice. It's great, just what I needed. We'll try out yer suggestions. The doc was more concerned about her nappy rash than her reflux! She's to be kept nappy free for 30 mins 4 times per day. Do any of ye have any suggestions how to do this without destroying myself or the furniture. It's all fine until she needs to be fed or winded, and when she poops and wees in the middle of it I definitely think I'm short a few limbs, three or four more needed for sure!!

Back again. Would you ask a LC to check the latch to make sure it is as good as possible? If you don't want to do that, the leader at a LLL or Cuidiu meeting might evaluate feeding for you to see if they have any suggestions.

Could be latch problem, tongue tie, over active let down.

Hand expressing the first bit of milk worked for me until baby's latch improved enough to reduce the over supply.

And also breast compressions help to make sure baby empties the boob which means they get the fat needed to digest the lactose in the fore milk and prevents discomfort. Google jack newman breast compressions for how to do them.

I've been using metanium for nappy rash, it's brilliant, it's only available in the UK, but if you're in doubling I can give you some? Have boxes of it.

We'd a terrible time with reflux. Gaviscon was useless and trying to get 15ml into an already full baby was a nightmare. We used gripe water at the worst weeks and it made a difference. Switching to bottles will probably just make it worse, as more air is sucked in, and formula is so much harder to digest. It doesn't last forever, C grew out of it by 14 weeks.

I wear a sleep bra which is really soft and doesn't feel like you're wearing a bra. I think I got them in mamas and papas.

+1 to the lanisoh pads, they hold a huge amount of liquid! They are also on special in boots right now. I wear nursing bras from m&s all day and night. They are more like sports bras but very comfy.

Dobbit wrote: »

Any recommended apps for tracking breastfeeding? I'm so forgetful these days I can barely remember what happened 2 hours ago! Would be good to be able to keep track easily.

I use mammababy which I find really good

Elliottsmum79 wrote: »

Genuinely, cabbage leaves worked a treat on a few occasions, apparrently its the sulphur content,despite being a weird one........

I thought cabbage leaves are a no no if you want to continue breastfeeding as they can dry up your milk

Bella Most Rubble wrote: »

Ugh woke up this morning with a bad dose of mastitis. I've had mild doses of it before but feeding always does the trick so when I felt it coming on last night I didn't think much of it. But typical sods law, the baby slept right through last night for the first time ever and so did I because I was knackered so woke up this morning twice as bad with a mild temperature. Gonna keep feeding and try blasting with hot water in the shower. Is there anything else I can do? Will cabbage leaves dry up my milk? Is it better to take paracetamol or ibuprofen for it?

Ibuprofen (eg neurofen) because it reduces the swelling. Keep an eye on it. If it gets worse and not better then u should probably go to a doctor cos u might need an antibiotic. Feed and hand express as much as u can. Apply heat and massage before u feed to get the milk flowing. But after u feed, keep the area cold so that the boobs aren't stimulated to make more milk.