Two Questions: Topics Include Quitting Breastfeeding and Really Bad Diaper Rash

Answer #1: I would continue to breast feed your son for as long as possible, giving him both breasts if he needs them (making sure one is COMPLETELY empty before moving to the other side), as often as you can. Nurse when you wake up and before bed for sure. Any other time would be wonderful. The more of YOUR milk he gets, the better for him in the longrun. (And for you also! There are many health benefits to moms that nurse, including decreased chance of breast and ovarian cancer!!)

Answer #2: If it is a diaper rash, Neosporin might help. I would also try olive oil (EVOO) - you probably already have some in the kitchen! It is GREAT for skin.
I also like Arbonne's Herbal Diaper Rash Cream. All of Arbonne's products are pure, safe, and beneficial and the ABC line (Arbonne Baby Care) is safe for extremely sensitive skin. http://bit.ly/ABCDiaperRash
Also, it could be a yeast infection. I would go to the ped if it has been more than a couple days and it is worse.

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I nursed my daughter for almost two years. For a long time when she was older, she was only nursing right before bed. It worked out well for us, and my production tapered to meet demand. Maybe you could continue nursing but only infrequently. Why quit altogether?

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1) you will never dry up, you will just gradually stop producing enough to cause discomfort or leaking. Any breastfeeding is better than none - just keep that in mind please.

2) Butt Paste is good... but the culprit is probably the formula. Switch to an organic formula is possible.

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Q1 - if your milk supply is low it probably won't take long until you aren't producing. I had low supply with both my children that caused me to have to add bottles so they weren't hungry. Once I stopped it was only a couple weeks of using pads an there was barely ever more than a couple drops being absorbed. I found that tightening my bra helped keep soreness to a minimum.
Q2 - more baths - just let him soak in a tub of water as often as possible without bubbles - using little or no soap. It will sooth and it allows the skin to soak in the water. Often diaper rash can be from dehydration of the skin even though they are drinking enough. I would clear up a rash in a weekend by doing a couple baths a day for my son - he had sensitive skin. Then pat dry don't rub with as soft of a towel as you can find. Try to let him sit without a diaper from time to time will help too. The wipes could be causing it. If he has sensitive skin many wipes have fragrances and stuff in them. I had to buy a special brand for my son that was hard to find and more expensive - I could never use the ones in the cylinder type containers because they contained too many chemicals to keep them moist - read the labels and find one with the fewest and most natural ingredients. If you can try just using a wet wash cloth as much as possible and save the wipes for on the go. I also suggest an oatmeal lotion but don't use it on diaper rash. Put it on the rest of him as a protection of his skin after bath - especially with the cold weather. Once the rash clears up you can use it everywhere to guard against it coming back. Good Luck!

#2. He might have a yeast infection. If you can take him to the dr. BABIES yest infections are differnt than ours(women) you have to use anti fungal cream. it is a foot cream. but it will work. use it 3 times a day. on the other times I have seen great improvemts with nivea the blue one. $1.00 for the small. 3thing to do. wash him Antibacterial soap once or twice a day. this in it self can clear up alot of rashes. they do scream, and it does hurt. but after one day of it its gone for most kids.

A.
http://www.freewebs.com/montessorihomedaycare/

Can't help you with question one but question 2 I have experience...Boudreaux's Butt paste...funny name but it works better than anything out there. You will see noticeable results after the first application at least I did for my poor 15 mo and he has serious rash issues; worked better than the perscription we had for him.

#2. $100 on the table: He's got a yeast infection. When a diaper rash is bumpy like that... you need to use an antifungal. You can get one from your ped for the first time so that you know how to ID them in the future, and then after that they'll send you to get an OTC lotrimine cream from your pharmacy for any recurrances, or they'll tell you to get one at the appointment.

UNFORTUNATELY what your mum is doing is making it much, much worse. Corn starch is pure sugar, and yeast feeds off of sugar, as all bakers and brewers and med types know.

Baby powder USED to help with preventing yeast infections when it was made of talcum powder, but talcum powder is very bad for the lungs, so they switched to corn starch... which just absorbs. You don't want to go around snorting it or anything... but it's not going to cause damage, because it's water soluable... unlike clay or rock dust. Mention the corn starch to your ped and you can get a doctor's note for your mum not to use it anymore.

Hey - I see you've gotten lots of great responses so I'll make mine short. For diaper rash - Aquafor by Euceryn (Vasoline consistency - cleared up my son's diaper rash within 1 day). Also, air dry his botom as much as possible especially after baths. You also may want to rinse out your wipes so their is no "soap" or any type of chemical on them - this can sometimes aggrevate the already touchy areas. I saw that someone mentioned an antifungal cream - we used Lotrimin AF(the foot fungus cream) and that helped a lot when it got REALLY bad.
Good luck - hope it heals up quickly!

Regarding question #2
When my daughter was in the hospital with RSV earlier this year, she got a horrible diaper rash with some raised bumps and it was so bad that parts of the rash would bleed. The Dr ordered some prescription cream for her but even that wouldn't work so he told us to use Boudreux's butt paste ... amazingly enough, it worked!! And that is what we use still today and I love it!! When the rash was that bad it did take some time to see improvement but we did notice improvement each day, esp with the sores and bloody part of the rash.

I also agree with what the others moms are saying, if it's a bad diaper rash that only seems to be getting worse, contact the Dr to rule out any kind of fungus. Do the baths like suggested and keep him as dry as possible.

Good luck to you!! :)

I have an answer for question 2. Regarding the diaper rash; the only thing i would try if you can is letting the babies bottom air dry, diaper free several times a day without any creams or ointments. If that isn't helping, the baby probably needs to see his pediatrician for a prescription. Sometimes babies can develop a yeast type infection on their diaper area that requires a Dr. prescribed cream. Nothing over the counter will cure that. Hope this was helpful!

I had to stop nursing this time around for medical reasons. My supply was already compromised, and it took about a week or two.
Also, see the ped about the rash. Once it's cleared up, make sure to apply diaper cream between every changing. I absolutely love Flander's Buttocks Ointment- it's hard to find in stores, but you can order it from CVS online. My son had food allergies, and this was the only thing that worked to keep the rashes at bay. I buy a tube for all my friends that are expectant mothers- and they always become fans too.
http://www.flandersbuttocksointment.com/

Try an antifungal, athletes foot ointment or similar type cream. Often stubborn diaper rash is a fungal infection. You don't say how old he is but my now 2.5 yr old grandson could not eat anything with yorgurt in it or he got horrible diaper rash when he was really little.

As far as your milk drying up it does take a few days. I always had an abundance of milk and had to wean one feeding at a time. Since you seem to be drying up on your own it souldn't take so long to dry up. If you become uncomfortable you can pump enough to ease the full feeling and either freeze the milk or toss it out. A mother's body is wonderfully equiped to produce milk and usually will make more as her baby demands more and as the baby tapers off will begin to make less. You should be dried up in a week but may need nursing pads to catch any leaks.

In order for your milk to dry up I think it depends on how your milk supply is right now. If you have a lot then it will take time to deplete it. Watch out so that you don't get engorged. Also it depends on how many feedings you are dropping per day. For me it took two week for my like supply to dry up b/c I was dropping one feeding per day and waited for a few days for my breasts to adjust and then I would drop another feeding afterwards and so on until my milk supply dried up.

For the diaper rash there is something called Dr. Smith's diaper rash and it works wonders for the worst diaper rashes. It is the best out there! I don't see them in drug stores anymore but you can check to see if they sell it in your local drug store but for sure they sell it on Amazon. com. Hope this helps!

Yeast infection. My daughter had it twice. Take little man to the doc and you'll probably get a script for Nystatin. And tell your mom to stop putting cornstarch on his little booty.

#1...My milk was probably lower then yours, but it seemed like leaving it alone for 2 days and it was all gone. I was the type that never leaked, and my baby wasn't even slightly satisfied with feeding off of both breasts. So maybe mine didn't take that long because of how little milk I had/was producing. If you really want to quit it is totally your choice, and if your worried about leakage or anything just wear some breast pads in your bra until you feel totally comfortable.
#2 You might need to take him to the Dr for infection. Don't switch around treatments a lot when he gets a diaper rash. Sometimes its all the products that make it worse. I like A&D or Aquaphor, I hated Desintin...it didn't help us at all! I also used Boudreux's butt paste one time at a friend's house and I liked it too.
Sorry your work is being such a pain. Good Luck!

It took about 3 days for my milk to dry up. However, I had been tapering off nursing for a while and was down to just one feeding a day for about 3 weeks before stopping altogether. It was definitely an uncomfortable time and there was some leaking.

The diaper rash sounds like a response to something in his diet...

It does sound like it might be a yeast infection but you can try this mixture of ointments. It worked great for me and the doctor gave me the recipe.
1/2 tube of A&D
1/2 Tube of Desitin
1tbs of Neosporin
1tbs of Maalox

Take him to the doctor asap sounds like fungus

In answers to your questions:

1--I did not breastfeed, so I can't tell you how long it will take, but maybe try some cabbage leaves in your bra and definitely avoid stimulating milk production with hot water in the shower. Do not feel guilty over giving up breastfeeding and ignore any of the moms on here that won't answer your question, but just suggest you continue with it.

2--Sound like he has a yeast rash. Make sure to change him right away when he pees/poops. Use a moist soft rag for awhile and in the future make sure to buy the unscented alcohol free wipes (Target makes a great wipe if you have one near you). After gently wiping, apply some antifungal cream (you can get a tube in the athlete's foot aisle) and then coat with a good diaper cream like triple paste or vaseline (its cheaper). This last step is just to put a barrier so it doesn't burn every time he goes. Do the antifungal twice a day and bathe him in lukewarm water with gentle cleanser. Formula does not cause diaper rash! I have had a daycare for years and the breastfed kids had just as much diaper rash as the formula fed ones, sometimes more because if mom eats something acidy it burns up their bottoms. No need for expensive formulas--I just used regular old similac and my daughter was/is fine. She had maybe one or two diaper rashes her entire time in diapers. You might want to consider getting an age-appropriate probiotic to add to his formula as that really does help digestion--ask your ped. Please ignore the lactivist moms whose only concern in life is to feel superior to moms who don't breastfeed.

If it is yeast, you should take him to the doctor. They will tell you to use vagisil or some type of yeast product for women. But it's better to let your doctor decide what it is and tell you what to use. They usually have good suggestions. My son had a red rash all over for about the first 4 months of his life. It wasn't bumpy though. We tried everything and finally started using a product called Resinol. It's a cream found in the pharmacy section of your local grocery store. I honestly think my son was reacting to his own uriine and he was strictly breastfed. With that cream and time, he was able to get over it. But go to your doctor for a professional opinion.

For the diaper rash use a hair drier (set on warm or cool) to dry his bottom after every diaper change. When ever you can let him be without a diaper for awhile. Also, baths -- with just plain water, no soap or bubbles -- helps. Finally, I found the cream Triple Paste really worked better than Desitin or A&D -- it's more expensive, but it really seemed to work best for my daughter.

I use Triple Paste and it clears up the worst diaper rashes. Stop using a bunch of random things and just stick to one thing and see if it helps. If it doesn't start clearing up in a day or 2 I would take him to the doctors as it might be caused by more than just your basic irritation rash.

Cloth diapers and/or cloth wipes. Both my kids had sensitive butts. I found that the wipes were the cause. I'd start there because it is less of an investment. But if that doesn't work I'd recommend looking into cloth diapers. There is a ton of websites out there about cloth diapering, so I won't go into that. But here is how I do my cloth wipes. I bought several packages of CHEAP baby wash cloths. I have a wipe warmer that I fill with tap water and then mix in a squirt of baby soap. Then I just fold the wipes in half and let them soak. When I need to wipe (ONLY when they pooped) I read in a wring out a cloth and then toss it in a bucket. About once a week I wash the "poop bucket." Amazingly there is no odor. I do use borax in the laundry to keep them stain free. I'm sure there is some detergent out there used for cloth diapers that would work well too. But I've never done that.

Also, I used Cornstarch on my kids butts. I just shook it into my palm and then patted it on. Corn starch is not as fine a powder as baby powder so it doesn't fly around like baby powder. I don't know how my kids ever would have inhaled it that way. It did work really well.

One more thought. It might be a yeast diaper rash. Google pictures of this, it will help you identify it. My daughter had a red rash with tiny bumps that just wouldn't go away. I tried everything mentioned above. Regular diaper cream didn't do anything. But the solution was easy. Go buy some athletes foot cream and put that on the rash. I wasn't sure what to get so I asked the pharmacist. I told them it was for diaper rash and it seemed to be a pretty common request. So they took me right to the Athletes foot cream.

Sounds crazy but the diaper rash could be a yeast infection. Boys get them especially is he is breastfed. Some signs of it being a yeast is the red rash with risen bumps (towards the outside of the rash I believe) and normal diaper rash cream isn't helping. If this is the case you may want to take him into the dr to get a Rx or you can by some over the counter anti fungal cream and use that. After ever diaper change make sure he airs out good and if you can leave his diaper off for a little bit during the day do that. With my daughter (she is actually just now clearing up from one) I would change her diaper on the floor with a towel under her and then for about twenty mins just play with her and let her stand with no diaper (she's about to be one) With hers I thought it was a diaper rash and used destin on it and it made it worse. The dr told me that the zinc oxide in it will irratate it. You can also try A&D without zinc oxide and coat it on real good after every diaper change. Hope this helps!

When my son was a baby he had some medical issues that caused terrible butt rash...so bad he would bleed. Helpful tips I got from Children's Hospital are: 1. Stop using the baby wipes. They have chemicals that will make the rash worse. We used wet paper towels. 2. Pour baking soda into a warm bath. When things were at there worse we were instructed to give him 3 - 4 baking soda baths a day. About 1/4 a cup for several inches of water. 3. Change poopy diapers as soon as possible and always use diaper cream.
I agree with some of the other poist that you should call your childs doctor. It might be a yeast infection.
Good luck!

For the diaper rash - it might be a yeast infection....try something for athlete's foot or jock itch - like Lotrimin. If that doesn't clear it up in a day or two, it's probably time to see the doctor.