Urgent--BF and fever question from rzberrymom's DH

547 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by beaches1098, Apr 3, 2006

rzberrymom

Discussion Starter · Mar 30, 2006

Hi,

This is rzberrymom's DH. Our 13 month old daughter has beeen sick for the last 5 days or so. She wants to nurse every 30-60 minutes all day and night. This was ok, but now my wife has come down with it. My wife can't get better because she's up all night, and her fever goes up and up whenever she nurses our daughter. Her temp. got as high as 102.4

Our daughter won't let me put her back to sleep at night, so if I step in it's going to be a cry-it-out situation.

I know my daughter needs the immunities from the milk, but is it possible that the extremely frequent nursings are taking their toll on my wife? Is there anything I can do? Either about helping at night or preventing the nursing from taking such a toll? We're in touch with our doctors, but they don't know anything about breastfeeding.

Thanks!

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kalirush

· #2 · Mar 30, 2006

Well, to start with, your daughter needs to nurse, and you don't want your wife to stop too much- it could lead to mastitis, which is just ugly.

That said- skipping a few sessions isn't going to hurt her, and could probably help. Does your daughter take a bottle or a cup? Could your wife express some milk and leave you to care for your daughter long enough to sleep? Perhaps you could try to step in in the daytime- take your daughter out to the park (away from other kids) and let your wife sleep then.

I've never heard of a fever going up during bfing. I'm sorry; this has gotta be hard for y'all. Good luck.

Julia

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beanma

· #3 · Mar 30, 2006

every 30-60 minutes sure is a lot. i think you could offer other things (some water in a cup, a little food), but if she won't go for it just put them both to bed and let your wife nurse her lying down. if you could take care of the baby the times that she's not nursing then that would let mom rest. you might bring mom something to drink and eat and just take care of her. if she abruptly cuts back on nursing now she runs the risk of plugged ducts or mastitis which are just as bad as the flu! it is awful to be sick and have to take care of sick kids, but it sounds like your daughter is probably getting toward the end of her illness if she's had it for 5 days so maybe she'll start to be more receptive to whatever you can do for her.

hth

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swebster

· #4 · Mar 30, 2006

is she able to nurse laying down? can she fall asleep while nursing? maybe her supply is dwindling and this is causing the frequent nursing? make sure your wife is drinking lot's of fluids and red raspberry leaf tea.

I agree that taking DD out of the house for frequent long walks is a good idea. If she has to cry-in-arms, better her do it away from a resting mama. Do you have a good carrier...wrap? sling? backpack?

good luck papa, it will pass!

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whoamama

· #5 · Mar 30, 2006

I wouldn't try to cut down on nursing at all. Just make sure your dw is not doing anything but resting, nursing, and drinking and eating whatever she feels like, but not preparing it.

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michaelasmommy

· #6 · Mar 31, 2006

I assume your dd is eating other foods besides breastmilk. Cutting down on the nursing temporarily shouldn't hurt her at 13 months. I only mean going an hour or two rather than every 30 min. That's pretty frequent for a child of any age! If she isn't feeling well, she may just be wanting the comfort. Are there other things you or your wife can do to comfort her?

I noticed a drop in supply when I was sick a few weeks ago. Make sure your wife is getting lots of fluids. If she is vomiting, try chicken broth or something with some nutrients that won't upset her stomach. Her supply may be dropping because she is not eating well or keeping anything down. I experienced this myself. I hope everyone feels better soon!

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rzberrymom

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 3, 2006

This is rzberrymom now, not DH. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your replies!! After reading your responses, DH tried to take DD in the Ergo as much as possible while I slept during the day. And he helped me get tons of fluids so that I could get my supply back up. I've never had supply problems, so I didn't even think about that when her nursing became so frequent. We're all doing so much better now, so I just wanted to say thanks.

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lactavia

· #8 · Apr 3, 2006

I'm going through the same thing right now, except I think I have a clogged duct and the fever...my dh did the same thing today. Thank god for those men.

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beaches1098

· #9 · Apr 3, 2006

Great to hear things are better and you have a supportive husband!

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