Help! Nipple agony and possible thrush

[New_Natural_Mom]

My 4 week old is EBF and we are having issues. We had latch mistakes in the beginning that led to cracked/bleeding/PAINFUL nipples. We worked on it and it got better. It is now bad again. Nursing is agony and I can't figure out why. We needed to introduce a bottle *please no judgement - it is necessary* so I have been pumping for about 5 days. We have only given 1 bottle 1 time. The nipple that is most painful i now itchy. Can you only get thrush on one side? If it IS thrush, and I am pumping, is it safe for him to eat that??

At this point I think I would rather pump mostly. I can see how inconvenient this would be, but golly my boobs need a break from the pain. No matter what we aren't feeding formula, but I need some advice please!!!!

[New_Natural_Mom]

[MonkeysRUs]

, I'm sorry you're having trouble. If you could tell us a little more about your situation, it would help us to (hopefully) help you. Can you tell us a little bit about your baby's nursing pattern, what type of pump you are using and how often, a little more about the problems and type of pain you are having etc. Have you seen an IBCLC?

Thrush is possible, but it is very over-diagnosed. There are a lot of other things it could be, but a little more info would be helpful. If it is thrush, you can still feed whatever milk you pump, as long as it is fed within a day or two (ie, not frozen and fed a month from now).

I understand the feeling of wanting to just pump and bottle feed, but it really is easier in the long run to fix the latch issues. Is there a LLL group near you?

[New_Natural_Mom]

Well it feels a little better today. We are feeding on demand, so i am not really sure how often he eats. I would guess it is aywhere between every 1-3 hours. We either nurse side lying in bed or with him laying on the boppy or my breast friend. I had severe nipple pain/cracked/bleeding nipples early on, but we met with an LC and things got better. In the last couple of days he has been pulling himself off the boob, getting fussy, then when I put him back on he might get fussy again (might not). This was new for him.

We have a medela pump in style advanced. I don't pump often and only after he is done eating. Today is the second time he had a bottle.

The ped suggested that both he and I start probiotics. I bought some (Udos) but I have only taken 1 and DS hasn't had any yet.

The nipple feel better today (less sore and itchy.) I have no idea what it was or if it will recur. The ped doesn't think thrush b/c I don't see any white patches or diaper rash on DS.

[MonkeysRUs]

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling a little better. My guess is that it's not thrush, but rather it's irritation either from baby fussing at the breast or from the pump. The fussing at the breast can happen for a number of reasons. The link below has some more info:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...e-nursing.html