FINALLY something good to report!

[Mama2ChicknLil]

So, I have OS and OALD, and DS is lip tied. Needless to say, we have been having a tough time of things...my nipples are still cracked 6 weeks PP
I'm going to see an IBCLC Wednesday, but I'm just wondering if you wonderful mdc mamas could throw in your 2 cents.

I got some APNO on Thursday and immediately my nipples started feeling better, healing over...there is actual skin growing back now. However, my nipples are still red and swollen, and my breasts are still very tender and often feel like they are burning, especially when the ibuprofen wears off. I'm pretty desperate to fix this, I still can't even hold my baby comfortably and its breaking my heart
Also, when residual bm dries on my nipple, the skin kind of bubbles...it gets white and sort of wrinkly, like your fingers when you have been in the bath too long.

If this is thrush is like to get started on Dr Newmans candida protocol, and need to order some stuff...I don't really want to wait until wednesday!!

Any advice or input is welcome!!!
Edited by Mama2ChicknLil - 10/17/11 at 2:30pm

[Adaline'sMama]

Well, what did the LC say? Do you have thrush?

[Mama2ChicknLil]

Hey! Nope, thankfully! However after seeing an LC 3 times, who kept assuring me I was in fact healing, the IBCLC was horrified at the cracks (she called them gashes) and now I'm on 72 hour nipple rest, on BOTH sides . So I'm stuck pumping and my baby is being bottle fed exclusive bm. Oh! And joy of joys! He's now got a pacifier...major comfort nurser

So overall, the saddest and most exhausting few days, he cries a lot for the boob, and holding him is tough because he immediately starts rooting and trying to move towards my nipples...on the positive side, there is actual skin on my nipples for the first tme in 6+ weeks and I've been off ibuprofen (which I had been taking at max around the clock since giving birth) since Wednesday morning also, baby's gained 3 1/2 lbs since birth!

I do worry that he's going to forget me and my boobs, which I know is somewhat irrational, but its all he's known...and I didn't plan on introducing the bottle and then using it all the time! We go back tuesday to work on my OS and OALD, and his shallow latch, still lots to do.

The most frustrating thing is, knowing if I had just pushed to see an IBCLC to begin with, we could have been done with this already and I could have saved myself weeks of pain. Thanks for checking in though...super sweet!! xoxo

[Adaline'sMama]

Hah! I seriously doubt he is going to forget you and your boobs. Im 19 month old hasnt nursed in almost 4 months and I cant take my shirt off around her without her making a beeline for the nipple with her mouth.

Im glad you dont have thrush. Dont feel too bad about giving a paci, some kids really need them DD had one until she was about 6 months old. She was a very orally fixated child.

[Mama2ChicknLil]

Lets hope my ds is as smart as your dd ! That's hilarious

I know intellectually he will be fine, he will remember what to do...but I'm so heartbroken that I'm not the one feeding and comforting him now and the fact that, he's still so young makes me worry about nipple preference, yadda yadda!

That's reassuring about the paci, I just lump that in with feeling like he's been given the boot like ” here, soothe yourself”...even though there is always someone holding him. If I could nurse him and he was using a paci it might be different, but we're only half way to being able to consider that. Seriously, longest three days of my life

[mugglesmom]

I had a lot of issues with breasfeeding as well, cracked nipples, thrush, mastitis, bad latch, milk blisters, etc.  I went on nipple rest as well when he was a few weeks old but I only rested one side at a time.  I pumped on the right and bursed on the left and when the right healed I switched sides.  I ended up nursing all the time so he would get enough and it hurt like hell but I was so worried about nipple confusion and I didn't want to add any other issues to my many problems.

I just want to say that I've been having problems up until about 2 weeks ago when I finally got APNO and it helped and I feel like I'm finally turning a corner.  DS is almost 14 weeks, so even though it might take a few months it does get better. 

Good luck!

[Mama2ChicknLil]

I sort of believe things will get easier...
Is nice to hear from someone who has had to do this, though. I do recognize that if I had actually gotten this help sooner I would be dealing with a higher chance of nipple confusion, so I guess part of me at least is a-ok with having unintentionally gone on like this for 6 weeks in the state I was in.

That APNO is nothing short of magical!! I got it from my OB at my 5 week check up 2 weeks ago and even before the nipple rest started the two smaller gashes ok either nipple healed over...I'm not going to stop using the stuff anytime soon

Mugglesmom, I have a practical question for you, I went ahead and extended the nipple rest another 24 hours after evaluating at the 48 hour mark, and one side will definately be healed enough to use come tonight, but the other one will likely need another day, maybe more. I've been pumping both sides at the same time whenever my breasts got that ” we have milk” tingly/burny sensation...which has ended up being just about every 2-2 1/2 hours. Before pumping I was only bf on one side per feeding due to the OS issue and now I'm not quite sure how to get back to one breast port feed without getting plugged ducts. Did you pump while you nursed three other side? Between nursing seasons? Did you alternate bf and bottle? Any advice? Follow up with IBCLC isn't until Tuesday...eek!

[mugglesmom]

I pumped in between feedings, I couldn't figure out how to hold the pump and him and the same time.  But if you can do both at the same time I would do that.  I felt like I was constantly pumping or nursing so it would have been nice to do both at once.  I did give him a couple of bottles(actually it was DH that did the feeding, he wouldn't take them from me) while I was pumping if I didn't get the timing right, he was hungry again at the same time as I was pumping.  If you have a nursing bra you might be able to nurse and pump at the same time.  If you don't have one you can make one from a sports bra with a slit cut at each nipple.  Are you still having oversupply issues?  I'm not sure what to suggest for over supply as that was probably the only issue I didn;t have :)  But if you haven't contacted LLL I would do that asap.  I put it off because I thought I was getting enough help from my lactation consultant but I finally went to a meeting the day I got my APNO and that's when things finally got better.  I got different suggestions that helped with the latch and I think just being able to cry to other women who had almost all gone through what I was exeriencing was so cathartic.  I was ready to give up but I knew I didn't really want to and I'd regret it if I did. 

Have you always had that tingly/burny feeling?  Because when I had thrush I had that feeling a lot especially during let down.  Are you taking probiotics?  I would start taking them and make a paste of probiotic and breast milk to put on the nipple so you can treat the nips and the baby.  Also I've heard wonderful things about gentian violet.  I didn't try it but I wonder if I had my thrush would have cleared up more quickly.

[Mama2ChicknLil]

Awesome tips Libby...I'm definately going to try to do both at the same time...I guess it'll just take practice, like everything else when you have your first baby

You know one of the things that tipped me off that I might have thrush was the burning, but there are no other symptoms, and the consultant I saw this week doesn't think that'd what it is, but said we would revisit it if the pain doesn't begin to decrease over the nipples are healed. I am taking a probiotic, but that'd an excellent idea about making a paste...I will definately try that.

I actually went to an LLL meeting last week and it had been cancelled, I'm going to try a different one next week. I am in serious need of support here! I know what you mean about giving up...I can't quit, and yet I felt like I couldn't.continue as things were going...I've spent most of the first month of my sons life in pain and crying

[Mama2ChicknLil]

DS and I had our very first pain free bf session today...very first EVER!!

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Mama2ChicknLil 

That APNO is nothing short of magical!! I got it from my OB at my 5 week check up 2 weeks ago and even before the nipple rest started the two smaller gashes ok either nipple healed over...I'm not going to stop using the stuff anytime soon

It is pretty awesome stuff, isn't it?!

I would be careful about using it for more than 1-2 weeks, as the steroid in it can actually thin the skin and make things worse when it is used long term. But as a short term quick fix that stuff is gold!

[Mama2ChicknLil]

Hey patiogardener, yeah I've heard the same thing about APNO, but Dr. Newmans website refutes that...so at this point I'm going to keep using it until...
Now that the wounds are practically healed (and I've only been using the APNO for a little over a week now, I am acutely aware of just how bad ds's latch is, and how ridiculous an oversupply I have. I've started block feeding today since I can get him on both breasts now. The main discomfort really was coming from his shallow latch trying to manage my OALD , so hopefully getting my supply down a bit will help...because it doesn't seem that there is much I can do about the latch until then.

More work ahead, but not having open sores to worry about is just wonderful!!

[erigeron]

Skin thinning is an established side effect of repeated use of topical steroids, even if Dr Newman doesn't say so. I second the recommendation to not use for more than 2 weeks. Take a week or two off after 2 weeks and then go back on it if you still need it.

[Mama2ChicknLil]

That's reasonable...I can't imagine I will need it for more than a few more days, the wounds heal quick with this stuff (seriously, after three days of the stuff the two smaller cuts had already healed over!!). I also have unlimited follow ipods with the IBCLC to tackle everything else, so its not the only thing being used.

So much for bfing being the easy part huh?