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I have posted here before about my daughter and her bubble palate. For those not familiar with it, it is a malformation of the roof of the mouth that means my DD cannot suck the nipple back to the "soft palate" while BFing--instead the nipple continually "bangs up" against the hard palate. This has made nursing very painful for me since day one, every time, and was not accurately diagnosed till she was about 4 months. (She's now 5 months.)
We have been checked out my two LCs and her latch is as good as we can get it. It "looks" perfect. Some days it isn't as bad, but other days I cry through feedings. She is now seemingly getting hungrier as she gets bigger (she's about 15 lbs) and sometimes pulls off and cries in frustration, clearly wanting more. She also pulls off/on, pokes, squirms, and kicks, behavior I have been told means she is trying to elicit another letdown. (She doesn't do this in the AM when I am very full.) I have tried nursing more often, even once/hour, but it doesn't help and probably hurts (very hard on my poor nipples). I don't think my letdown is very good when it hurts so much. So I have a somewhat unsatisfied baby (occasionally I resort to giving pumped milk at these times).
I have been considering going to exclusive pumping, but it worries me. I a now pumping twice a day with a Purely Yours. I pump for 20-30 minutes at a time and use the tips I've read (massage, shaking, etc) to get better letdown. I am also taking 3 capsules of fenugreek 3x/day. However, most of the time I can get only about 3-4 oz/session. Once in a while I get 6 and am ecstatic. DD drinks 4-5 oz at a feeding, so that means one pump does not equal one feed.
I am pretty sure that if I did go to exclusive pumping, I would not produce enough for her needs. I have not been able to build a freezer stash and am wary of trying since I seem to be barely meeting her needs as it is. The idea of supplementing with formula absolutely kills me, but so does the idea of continuing to nurse at minimum another 7 months through this pain. It is truly horrible and has really had an effect on my emotional state. I have tried harder than I have at anything in my life at this. BFing meant the world to me.
We did start solids about a week ago (earlier than planned, but this situation was a motivator). Just bananas and rice cereal so far. She takes them eagerly and seems very developmentally ready, but it has not reduced her nursing at all. In any case, it is my understanding that solids are not "supposed" to reduce the amount of breastmilk taken till 1 year.
I guess I wonder what all of you would do in my position and if there is anything anyone can think of to help. I guess one or two bottles of formula a day would not be the complete end of the world, but I also worry that I might gradually lose my supply completely. I have heard of that happening with EP. Maybe someone can give me hope or hints on how to improve my pumping output. Maybe there is another way to fight the pain that I have not tried. Advil helps somewhat but only if I max out on it every day and I sure don't want to do that. I have even wondered if I could inject myself with local anesthetic before nursing (I swear that would be preferable to how nursing feels). Maybe using an SNS with pumped milk would help? But the the SNS sounds like it would be hard on my poor nipples.
The physical state of my nipples is that they are not cracked and do not have sores, but the tips are always very purple and bruised-looking and they are horribly tender to touch. Lansinoh doesn't seem to do anything. I have wondered if homeopathy or something herbal might possible help, but in a way I am not clear "where" the damage is.
I know the posters here understand how important BFing can be to a mama and I hope someone has help for me. This is breaking my heart but I can't go on this way.
We have been checked out my two LCs and her latch is as good as we can get it. It "looks" perfect. Some days it isn't as bad, but other days I cry through feedings. She is now seemingly getting hungrier as she gets bigger (she's about 15 lbs) and sometimes pulls off and cries in frustration, clearly wanting more. She also pulls off/on, pokes, squirms, and kicks, behavior I have been told means she is trying to elicit another letdown. (She doesn't do this in the AM when I am very full.) I have tried nursing more often, even once/hour, but it doesn't help and probably hurts (very hard on my poor nipples). I don't think my letdown is very good when it hurts so much. So I have a somewhat unsatisfied baby (occasionally I resort to giving pumped milk at these times).
I have been considering going to exclusive pumping, but it worries me. I a now pumping twice a day with a Purely Yours. I pump for 20-30 minutes at a time and use the tips I've read (massage, shaking, etc) to get better letdown. I am also taking 3 capsules of fenugreek 3x/day. However, most of the time I can get only about 3-4 oz/session. Once in a while I get 6 and am ecstatic. DD drinks 4-5 oz at a feeding, so that means one pump does not equal one feed.
I am pretty sure that if I did go to exclusive pumping, I would not produce enough for her needs. I have not been able to build a freezer stash and am wary of trying since I seem to be barely meeting her needs as it is. The idea of supplementing with formula absolutely kills me, but so does the idea of continuing to nurse at minimum another 7 months through this pain. It is truly horrible and has really had an effect on my emotional state. I have tried harder than I have at anything in my life at this. BFing meant the world to me.
We did start solids about a week ago (earlier than planned, but this situation was a motivator). Just bananas and rice cereal so far. She takes them eagerly and seems very developmentally ready, but it has not reduced her nursing at all. In any case, it is my understanding that solids are not "supposed" to reduce the amount of breastmilk taken till 1 year.
I guess I wonder what all of you would do in my position and if there is anything anyone can think of to help. I guess one or two bottles of formula a day would not be the complete end of the world, but I also worry that I might gradually lose my supply completely. I have heard of that happening with EP. Maybe someone can give me hope or hints on how to improve my pumping output. Maybe there is another way to fight the pain that I have not tried. Advil helps somewhat but only if I max out on it every day and I sure don't want to do that. I have even wondered if I could inject myself with local anesthetic before nursing (I swear that would be preferable to how nursing feels). Maybe using an SNS with pumped milk would help? But the the SNS sounds like it would be hard on my poor nipples.
The physical state of my nipples is that they are not cracked and do not have sores, but the tips are always very purple and bruised-looking and they are horribly tender to touch. Lansinoh doesn't seem to do anything. I have wondered if homeopathy or something herbal might possible help, but in a way I am not clear "where" the damage is.
I know the posters here understand how important BFing can be to a mama and I hope someone has help for me. This is breaking my heart but I can't go on this way.
