Thrush and breast rejection

[penstamon]

My poor little man has thrush in his mouth and it really seems to hurt him. We just started nystatin today but he has not breastfed since 10AM. It killed me that I have been having to give him a bottle of bf when my boobs are full, but he is rejecting the breast and screaming and crying when put to it. I mean SCREAMING and arching his back and kicking. He will go from contented enough to screaming once the nipple is in his mouth. Today was only about the fourth time we have bottlefed, but I can't starve him obviously.

Any advice for getting him back on the breast? Any thrush advice?

TIA!

[PatioGardener]

Awww, Mama, how awful!

Jack Newman has a great thrush protocol: http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=...tion&Itemid=17
and more info here: http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=...tion&Itemid=17

As for baby, nystatin often isn't enough (the yeast can be resistant) but hopefully something in the thrush protocol will work for you (gentian violet?). I'd treat it as a nursing strike and not provide any other source for baby to suck - can you cup or spoon feed him your expressed milk? What about something for him for the pain?

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...resources.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...to-breast.html

Spending lots of time skin to skin should help to woo him back to the breast. I hope it's over soon!

[penstamon]

Thanks PatioGardener!

I looked at the kellymom website and although some suggestions work (skin/skin, warm bath), they only seem to work here and there. He may totally reject the breast one time, latch right on the next, need coaxing with a little expressed milk the next, etc. Last night was miserable- he wouldn't take anything- we even broke down and tried a bottle but he didn't want it. The thrush looks much better in his mouth but he is obviously still uncomfortable. We have been using acidophilus paste in addition to the nystatin and it is working, albeit slowly.

I ended up trying the ol' nipple shield again last night and he latched but it hurts my nipple (I now have thrush too) and just is not as efficient. It is still hard to coax him to the shield because he arches away from my breast. The past three feeding were all shield and he hasn't latched onto the nipple since yesterday afternoon.

Should I just be OK with the shield for now, wait for this to pass and then wean him from it again? Or should I keep giving the nipple to an arching screaming unhappy boy?

[abc123xyz]

You really need to be treating the thrush in yourself because it is likely he got it from you even though you just exhibited signs. Cut out all refined sugars until it goes away, eat garlic 2-3 times per day raw if possible...I mince mine and mix it with olive oil and eat a piece of Ezekiel bread with it. Vit. C and grapefruit seed extract. You can take it in juice for yourself and water it down and swab babys' mouth with it and your nipples with it also. We battled thrush and these are the techniques that worked for us. After starting this routine, it only stuck around for about 3 days. Thrush feeds on sugar anything and nyastin is sweetened so baby will tolerate it more easily. Sometimes, it really defeats the purpose! Hope this helps some! I know once someone told me this is what I should do, I felt like I could handle the situation better.

[PatioGardener]

How are things now?

[penstamon]

Slowly getting better but still not readily taking the breast

I'm off to buy some GSE and some UNrefined coconut oil (this whole time I was using refined-oops). I have been cutting out sugar and eating garlic, but maybe not enough. I've tried the lotrimin on my nipples but it burns so I had been using nystatin and coconut oil.

Thanks for the tips!

[PatioGardener]

Hang in there. Do what you need to do to feed the baby, and keep offering the breast in the lowest stress way possible. You can ditch the nipple shield later if that's what it takes! Remember to wash it (and bras etc) in vinegar to kill off the yeast.

Good luck!