Trouble Breast Feeding

I have breastfeed all three of my little ones and each was different. My first was easy except for the begining when I was waiting for my milk to come in. She was the only one that I pumped with because I went back to school with her. My addvice on the purple with the pumping would be to turn down the strength of the suction on the machine. As for the pain while lacthed I have a 8 week old and have encoutered some pain this time. All of a suden at about 4 weeks it became really painful. My nipples began to get cracked, sore, and bleed. I tried different positions and used breast cream. After about 10 days of that the right one began to heal. Now there is no pain on the right but the left still has pain on inital latch and is still split at the base. So I would try both of those things and see how it goes.

Is it purple and stiff with a little white in the middle? If so, you could be experiencing a form of Raynaud's that restricts the arteries and blood flow to the breast.
If so, warm compresses will alleviate the pain and make sure it's warm where you are when nursing. Talk to you doctor if you think this is what it is because HBP can also aleviate the symptoms if they are severe enough.

Some possible explanations are a blocked duct, thrush and possibly even a bruise if he is trying to get more milk than you can make for him. Go to your doctor and have him/her check it out. In the meab time try to moisturize as much as possible and try letting your skin air dry a little more than usual.
Good Luck!

Try the nipple cream/gel, helps a lot. Go to your nearest lactation specialist they are free and can look at how he's latching on and fix it. Good luck, you're doing the RIGHT thing!

I would do a few things. I would go to your obgyn becuase they would know the medical side of what might be going on with your breast. But I wouldn't stop there becuase they typically don't know that much about breastfeeding and might mistakenly advise to you stop breastfeeding. I guess if you have already consulted a le leche league consultant I would mabey just ask another. You have to remember that breastfeeding consultants aach are going to know alittle something different. Try the creams and such to try to eleviate some of the pain teamporarirly but after 5 days this doesn't sound like it is going to go away on its own. Best of luck and please let me know how it all turns out.

I had the same thing happen just this past week.You can try two things either treat yourself with Lotrimin put it on your nipples after breastfeeding and wipe off before feedings or call your OBGYN, this is what I ended up doing and she pescribed me a Nipple Ointment by Newman. You can look it up just in google or yahoo, type in Nipple cream Newman. Basically it has a antibiotic, steroid, and antifungal med. and is completely safe and you don't have to wash it off.
Good Luck

My daughter is 6 months and The exact same thing happened to me and just recently. as well. She never has accepted a bottle so simply stopping nursing was not an issue for me. What I did was nurse her from the other breast which was still painful but alot less than the other and this one was the one that didnt have a tear in it, I went to the dr and well he didn't help me much other than telling me to put cream ( LAsinoh) on my nipples, well I did that and it seemed to just make them heal slower, It sounds funny but I actually started putting a little bit of Oregel on my nipple wear the cut was to numb it so it didn't hurt as much when she nursed ( this of course when it wasn't bleeding) I stopped using the cream and after about a week it has healed and everything is back to normal. I went through this pain for nearly a month so I feel your pain. I believe it happened becasue she was nursing to often, she became a real boob baby once I started talking about going back to work, anyway I hope you get better soon!

have you tried Gerber's "Breast Therapy" it really helped me..i always used to give one boob a break and let my son nurse on the one that wasn't as sore then switch off.

Have you resolved this D.?

When I got a yeast infection (Yeast infection is what the mom gets - thrush is what the baby gets in their mouths from the yeast infection), my nipples got purple. And they HURT just like when I first started to nurse. Sounds like that is what you have.

Hi
I would try putting some Lanoshin on them and cover them with nursing pads, overnight. It is a really strong mousturizer that is safe for babies. You can also put it on between feedings. Purple color could be a bruise if he / the pump didnt latch on properly. You probably should see a DR if the problem continues though
Good Luck

Does your baby have teeth? I gritted my teeth through a couple of painful nursings before I figured out that my daughter wasn't latched on properly and that she was using her teeth to hold on. Using Lansinoh on your nipples right after nursing with pads is a great idea, and helped me. But if you suspect thrush, see your doctor. Good luck.

D.,

Check out www.kellymom.com and search for "thrush." Pain and cracked nipples is usually a sign of thrush (a yeast infection) and if you treat it, you will feel much, much better.

T.

I was just wondering if your child has teeth or is currently teething. I have two wonderful boys.. ages 28 mo. and almost 8 mo. and with both of them had very few problems with breastfeeding until their teeth started to come in.. then I don't know if it was the drool or what but had the same problem.. my nipples started to crack and get purple.. I used a nipple sheild on and off until the crack finished healing it really helped.. Once there tooth came out then everything went back to normal!

Hi D.,

Go see the doctor. They can help heal you.

V.

This happened with me and I knew I was pregnant! Any chance that could be the problem? If so, I continued to nurse until I was almost 6 months pregnant, my daughter lost interest and it hurt pretty much the whole time... Sorry that probably isn't what you wanted to hear! good luck!

I had that pain when I had a plugged duct, although I didn't get purple. (I just had a white dot or two on the nipple- which were the plugged ducts). I would see your doctor, but also call La Leche League. Lots of OBs just don't know enough about breast issues. Hang in there and I hope you feel better soon.
S.

Hi D.,
If your breast is sore and has a cut or a crack in the skin or a raw spot after your child has nursed express some milk from your breast and massage it gently into the sore area. The breast milk will heal your skin. My 1st child had teeth at 3 months and would bite and draw blood, so I used my breast milk on the wound and it healed it. I breastfed her till she was 9 months.Give your baby the non-sore one first when your child is more hungry, until the other side heals. Good luck.D.

Try a nipple shield. They are silicone & work wonders to reduce or eliminate pain & cracking. You can get them at babies 'r us & I've also seen them at target. The brand is Medella.

I had the same problem as you do and I feel your pain. I ended up going to see my doctor to make sure that I did not have an infection because my daughter was latched on correctly and it was all normal. Putting Lanisoh cream and nursing pads on helped me alot as what the other Mamas suggested to you. Also, after you're done nursing, put a warm wash cloth on your nipples and leave it on for a few minutes, that helped me. I would suggest you go see your doctor if the pain does not go away.

I'm not sure where you live, but in both Hollywood and Santa Monica there is a place called The Pump Station. It was founded by 2 lactation consultants and they are really helpful and knowledgeable. You can check out their website at www.pumpstation.com. You can call them or make an appt. with a consultant. I hope you are feeling better soon.

I had pretty much the same thing happen. It was thrush. The first prescription that the Dr. prescribed didn't work. The ointment did. Good luck - I feel your pain.
L.

I had a similar problem when I had my first son. He bit my nipple so hard, it created blisters & I had to refrain from allowing him to breastfeeding directly on my breast. I went to my OB/GYN & he prescribed an Antibiotic for me. You might want to have it checked out. Unfortunately you may have to stop breastfeeding. Hope this helps.

Hi D.!!! I just wanted to let you know that when my son was a few months old, he developed thrush and as a result, I developed mastitis. VERY painful. I stopped breast feeding after that because it was entirely too painful for me - I had a lot of bleeding with it also, so my suggestion is, ask your OB/GYN to take a look. It can be cleared up with antibiotics if I remember correctly.

Hi D..

I'm so sorry that you are having difficulty. It definitely sounds like thrush to me too.

Here's a link that may help you further determine whether or not it is thrush. There are photos and illustrations to help you with your determination:
http://lactinv.com/breastfeeding_qna.php?article=tscreen

Here's a link on what you can do:
http://lactinv.com/breastfeeding_qna.php?article=yeast_ov...

Good luck, Mama. I hope that you feel better soon.

J.