Bleeding nipple while nursing 17 month old

[messy mama]

Lately, it's been very uncomfortable nursing DD on one side in. The other night she pulled off and blood dripped from my nipple onto her shirt and she had blood in her mouth.

This is normal for me when I'm nursing brand new babies. This is the first time it's happened while nursing a toddler. I'm attributing it to her new found love of a sippy and her forgetting to latch properly. So we're working on that. And I've been trying to nurse on the other side more to let the nipple heal.

She also has a cold and during a coughing fit, she threw up blood. Lots of it. Freaked me the hell out!! Can she really be getting that much blood from my nipple? That can't be normal. There were even clots in it.

And her diapers, OMG, poo as dark as night for 2 days now.

So I can only assume she is ingesting copious amounts of blood. That can't be healthy. Why would so much blood be coming out of my nipple?

Oh and when I do nurse form that side (about 2-3 times a day) and she pulls off, there is a trail of blood dripping down the side of her chin. My sis called her my vampire baby. It's really starting to make me ill. Not literally, I don't think I'm anemic quite yet.

How long should I wait to let it heal before I take her in to see an LC? Do you think I should make an appt for myself to see my DR, because of the seemingly large amount of blood coming from me?

Thanks so much in advance for your help.

[stormborn]

nak

I just went this morning for something similar; not the nipple but sorta in the crease between the nip & areola. My dd's about the same age so maybe it is a latch thing...I was thinking she bit and it just won't heal. She's puked a few times though and no blood that I could see. That sounds scarey!

Anyway...the doc & midwife/LLL leader said to try nursing or pumping with a nipple shield to give it time to heal. I'm gonna go with the pump because mine is a biter and I'm sure a plastic thing on the boob will make her chomp down. If that doesn't work they said dry up just that breast with cabbage leaves just until it heals, then start it back up.

Hth, I'll let you know if it works.

[messy mama]

Thank you! I think I'll try a nipple shield, I've never used one before. I'm sure DD will have something to say about it.

My mom suggested I just nurse on the good side and pump the other side. I have never been able to get anything from a pump though, so it makes me not even want to bother.

Thank you again for your advice. I hope you heal well.

[Quaggy99]

If you have problems getting milk while pumping. Try pumping while nursing. When my friend first told me to do that, I thought she was crazy. But it worked!!!! Big time! Pumps don't always trigger your let-down, but nursing will.

[stormborn]

Well, pumping didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would! I had to make my own nipple shield but it worked. I hope this works; I want my 'favorite' boob back!

Oh I second that, Quaggy, I always got twice the milk that way when I pumped for work. The hard part is keeping the baby from yanking on the cords.
What kind of pump do you have? I never got anything with a manual but the electric one worked great. Mine is 9 years old and still going strong!

[messy mama]

I hope it works for you too! My problem nipple is on my favorite boob too.

Actually, I think I'm about healed up know. There is still a teeny scab, but blood is no longer dripping down the side of DD's chin. :shudder: And the color has come back to my face.

I went ahead and stopped nursing on that side for about 24 hours, to give it time to heal. I just used my manual pump every once in a while, to relieve the pressure.

Hopefully this will be the last bloody nipple adventure in our nursing relationship.

Thanks to both of you for the help!!