Help My Breasts Are Hurting

The same thing happened to me about the same time! I ended up going to the Milk Bank at TX Children's Hospital to get some lactation help. Turns out with me, my son's latch had all of a sudden changed and he was really pulling on my nipple, causing the pain. The more he fed, the more it hurt. And I was so upset, because I didn't want to stop nursing, but I was practically crying every time I had to feed him! They helped me with the latch and we had to go through a little "re-training" period, but after about 1 week, we were back on the right track with no more pain for Mom!
I recommend really paying attention to how he's latching on and if he doesn't latch on correctly, gently remove the breast and start over. He'll get the clue that if he does it "wrong", he won't get to eat.
It's funny - you've been doing this for so long now, it's just become second nature. But if we're not still paying attention to what's going on, bad habits can form and things like this happen!
Good luck and keep up the great work. You are doing the best thing for your child!

Hi F., You don't mention if You are feeding your son milk from the sippy cup. You can pump Yours or try some thing on the Market. Also Explain to your Son that it hurts Mommy.You also don't mention if You are letting Him drink the sippy cup in the same warm loving arms He is used to.Good Luck. J.

I agree that it is probably how he is latching on and seeking advice from a lactation consultant can really help! Make sure that he is taking in the area around the nipple as well as the nipple. You can also use 100% lanolin cream on your nipples to help the drying and soreness and keep them from cracking. 100% lanolin does not need to be wiped off before a feeding so no need to worry about your son ingesting it and it works great.

Hang in there I'm sure he'll figure it out. You may want to pump and give him a sippy cup eveyr now and then to give your poor self a break!

Good luck!

It sounds like your milk may be drying up. Do you still feel the "let down" when he's ready to nurse? I had the same problem with the painful breastfeeding with my first when she was nine months, and she was exclusively on breastmilk. So believe me, I understand the pain. Luckily your son is also drinking from the sippy cup - which is great! Try to get him to take that more often during the day and get to the point where you are nursing at night before bedtime. He may be a little fussy at first, but you're going to have to ween him anyway. It just sounds like your body is forcing you to do it sooner rather than later. I'm assuming that your problem is with your milk supply, but if you have a fever, be sure to contact your doctor because you may have an infection.

This issue has always signaled 2 things for me:

1. a change in latch. epecially around this time he jaw and palate are changing a bit to get ready for lots of teeth.
So defiantly get that checked out with a LC. Re-training a latch is fairly easy - just takes a little tiem and patience :)

2. .... and this has happened to me twice.. could you be pregnant? Nursing alwasy started huring for me when I was pregnant - it was actually my signal to buy a test! lol.

It certainly doesn't sound at all like you are losing supply. I'm sure you;d be able to tell as well. If you were losing supply then your son would be very unsatisfied after nursing, frustrated at the breasts, demadning more often without being happy etc. If he;s been nursing fairly reguarly (and it sounds like you nurse him on-demand - healthiest - so I'm sure he has) then you are producing as much as he requires. It's all supply v demand when it comes to milk production.

So I would defiantly check those 2 things ( the latch, adn the preggo test) and if that doesn;t help you may want to treat yourself for Thrush. thrush cna also make nursing nipples sensitive.

As for your breasts be careful not to let them bleed. put on warm compresses. Fennel, lemon grass, thyme,wintergreen are herbs that can be used for pain. Also be sure he doesnt just grap ahold, slow him down a little and make sure he gets the whole areola not just the nipple. Do you let him nurse whenever or do you have a schedual you follow?? Give him a cup to play with...water or juice in it. Might start him to feeling like a big boy and he will not need a bottle at all and then he wont feel like he is just starving when its time to 'eat'. Hope this helps a little. Good luck!
A.