Need Advice on What's Wrong and How to Fix...

Sounds like a yeast infection. STOP the Monistat now. Even if you are only putting it on at night, your baby is getting that in his mouth...not okay. You need to call your doctor and get Nystatin cream for your nipples and Nystatin suspension for your baby's mouth. Chances are he has thrush (yeast infection) in his mouth also. You will need to apply it four times a day for at least a week. Nystatin is safe for the baby to ingest, Monistat is not. Don't delay in getting treatment as yeast can be very stubborn. Also, air dry your nipples after each feeding. Don't wipe off the breast milk after your son feeds either....it will help with the yeast. Avoid sugars as yeast thrives on this. Also, the little bumps on your arreola will secrete a waxy substance. This is normal and no cause for concern. Good luck!

Tips and advice are great, but if it is reocurring or symptoms are changing you should call your doctor. You do not want to pass anything that could be contagious to your child. Always good just to make sure. I'm sure it is something simple and nipple cracking is common, itching is not. Call your Dr. Hope it clears up soon so you can have some relief.

have u tried the lanolin cream? When i breastfed the cream worked very well for me, (maybe your nipples are dry? ) also the little pads to protect your clothing while nursing (i can remember the name of them for some reason) they're great to prevent chafing from your clothing rubbing on your already ouchy nipples. Also, the monistat cream probably isnt the best thing for your baby. Did u check with your doctor first? I agree with the other gal about the bumps around your nipples. Doesnt hurt to ask a lactation consultan about it, but i have them too and its totally normal and milk not pus.
Good luck! it gets better and its a wonderful time to bond with your baby (after it stops killing you)

I agree that you should see a lactation consultant. Not sure where you're located, but Sandy Miller at Los Gatos Community Hospital is absolutely terrific...I highly recommend her. I have severe pain when my daughter was born...it took until she was 2 months old to get the hang of breastfeeding...and she's my second born!

My guess is you have Thrush...or dermititis. Both are easily treatable. If you have Thrush, you need to treat yourself and your son. You can get an ointment called All Purpose Nipple Cream that helps. I live by the stuff. Your doctor needs to write a prescription - it's a compounded cream - so you need to go to a compounding pharmacy to have the prescription filled. A lot of doctors aren't familiar with this cream (it's Canadian) - but the "recipe" is available on Jack Newman's website.

As an aside, the little bumps around your nipples might just be glands...and they secret milk too...so you might just be seeing milk being released when you pump...not puss.

Good Luck!

I'm really sorry for your discomfort and I haven't experienced anything you described but I did have really painful and hickey like nipples when my babies were learning to eat. My first bit of advice is to PLEASE go see a lactation consultant. You'd be suprised at what they have seen and know how to fix. Also if you are putting monistat on your nipples you probably should be using a nipple shield so your baby doesn't injest any of the medicine. This will also help with with the sore cracked nipples. Babies only like these for a short period of time and will wein themselves off of it if you don't. Good luck and I hope you heal up really soon!

monistat is a very good thing to put it on and try to put it on every time after baby eats.. it helpd me with everything..
and the bumps i think its from a pump. you know when you pump it socks on tha hole niple and on a sineds to and thats y you get tha bums. i had that to try not to pump so much se if its gonna go ovey...
and i think its awesome that you brestfeed your baby.

It could be a yeast infection ... certainly something that should be corrected to keep the condition from transferring to your little one while still feeding breastmilk. I make a wonderful product for healing skin problems, and it's very effective for topical yeast infections: Rash Relief. It is available in an oil base and in a lotion base. Another product I make that is a great antibacterial/antifungal is my Sanitizing Gel. Take a look at my website: www.mccluckfarms.com or write me a personal message for more details. My products are holistic and use essential oils for the active ingredients.

Warmest regards for a joyous holiday season!

Hi A.,

It sounds like you have received a lot of advice so far, but I want to encourage you to continue breastfeeding if you can. It can be extremely frustrating at times but the nutritional content and security your child receives is well worth it. My son was born at 35 weeks and was in the NICU for 2 1/2 weeks. it was a real struggle for him to muster the energy to nurse, but once he did, that boy did not stop! He is now 22 mos. and still bf! Yikes!
Anyway, I'd like to recommend Soothies and/or breast therapy pads to aid the healing process as well as your own breast milk. Those two items will heal your nipples in no time. Please STOP the Monistat and use your judgment about unnecessary creams and lotions. Lots of them (read: ALL)contain fragrance and various toxins. This is more info than you want right now, but I encourage you not to feel pressure to buy more stuff to heal you.
Hope this helps and take care!

I also struggled with cracked nipples during breastfeeding, so I completely empathize with your situation!

One other resource that is free and very helpful is:
La Leche League International. There is lots of info. on the website, plus there are local breastfeeding support groups and local consultants you can call/e-mail.
Website: llli.org

Good luck to you and congrats on your new baby!
Tori

Go see a lactation consultant asap. They are wonderful and can get your baby eating properly so you can heal.

Feel better soon!

Sounds like it could be a yeast infection. Your doctor could confirm and recommend a cure. You can take probiotics but your doctor may also prescribe an antibiotic. This is a medical question and you should really get professional medical advice and/or seek the advice of a lactation consultant because the symptoms sound advanced.

Cracked nipples are not yeast, but both are painful. First let me say that it is OK to switch to bottle. I had this issue with my third child(he is 16 now). They call the yeast THRUSH when it is on baby mouth and nipples; I swear I got it cuz I used the nursing pads, I didnt use them with my first 2 babies! Kept it too moist in bra? So if it is yeast, the baby has in his mouth too. His mouth especially will need treatment.(moist area)
It hurt so bad to nurse. I had to treat nipples and newborn mouth for thrush, involved medicine (NOT MONOSTAT!) applied with qtip to his mouth and breasts must be thoroughly cleaned b4 nursing . Oh I cried so hard when I gave up nursing him! But he took right to the bottle, and as long as you HOLD that baby when he has bottle, it's the same! And more enjoyable that PAIN, and then you can heal up, and maybe nurse the next baby (or not). My milk would hardly let down it hurt so bad.
The pus you are describing is INFECTION. Your health is more important than the breast milk. I dont know why we women feel so heartbroken when we can't nurse, but it is ok. You would look back and say it was fine, I promise.
Lanolin for cracked nipples or BAG BALM (cow udder ointment, they both WORK but also must be thoroughly CLEANSED b4 nursing baby.) But you have more than that now, the cracking may have begun the problem.
Last sugestion: Call yr county health dept, they will know how to find La Leche League, they are often county based, and can help you and it is free. But no more Monostat, ok? That is for your OTHER feminine areas :D
Good luck. Nursing is hard, women need to show each other. If the baby has trouble latching, it can cause cracking. Back in my day, they told us to ROUGH UP OUR NIPPLES b4 the baby came, by this i mean twist them, toughen them. And when they latch on, all the brown part POSSIBLE goes in his mouth, more than you'd think possible. And don't worry if you can't nurse, no one will judge you (except maybe you). WIC can help too, if you are not a wic mom, check it out when you call the county health dept.Good luck!

The monistat will work for you but if your child has yeast in their mouth then you will just keep getting it back on your breasts. The dr's will give that purple stuff Nystatin, which never cleared up my sons, but there is new stuff that works really well! Dyfulacan I believe. It is what women can take to clear their yeast infections and it can be givin to baby's in a liquid form. You will be able to tell that your child has a yeast infection in their mouth by smelling their mouth. If it smells like breat dough, yeast then it is likely that they have the yeast in their mouth. You can also tell by white patches on the cheeks that look like milk but that don't wipe off.

Please see a Doctor asap. This is an advice and support forum, not a place to obtain sound medical advice. There are appropriate medications to use on your nipples (and to get for your baby's mouth so that you don't keep passing it to each other- e.g. Nystatin). I am not sure I would be putting monistat on my nipples without a Dr prescription. . .sounds like it could be toxic to have them suck it off your nipples especially to a one month old- maybe not, but not sure why you would take chances. . . As a new mom, let me tell you, get used to calling/going to the Dr. ALL the TIME. :) lol. Good luck, and try to keep on breastfeeding- although it will be tough it may keep your baby from getting as many colds/sicknesses which will help you both in the long run. ! :)

Hi, I was in the same situation like you. I had my baby at 23 weeks along and my daughter had spent 3 1/2 months in NICU. So I have to pump every time. I wasn't able to breast feed my baby b/c she is a 1 pounder baby. Anyways, I have developed yeast infection several times during this phase of pumping. It sounds like you have yeast infection and you need to see the dr right away. Oh please don't put monistat on your nipples. Not recommended since it can pass onto your baby. The doctor will have to prescribe you some medicine for you to take a pill. But keep pumping and it is ok to continue to breast feed. It is safe. Try pumping more often while your nipples are very sensitive and sore. Let it heal. Sometimes it can cause it to be sore for the way your baby is latched on. You can also try using a lanolin ointment or cream (I don't remember exact name). Please see your dr about this situation but continue to pump to keep up the supply of milk. It is ok to give the baby the formula or expressed breast milk by bottle. You'll be just fine. Good luck!

I once had a "bump" on my nipple that got so big it looked like a second nipple. It also secreted puss. the doctor said that there are lots of little ducts in your nipple that carry fluid and that one of my ducts had collapsed and the puss was the fluid build-up. He opened up the duct and all was fine. I will say that he opened the duct using a large needle - no numbing and because you can't suture a nipple, it was an open wound that had to heal so it wasn't very pleasant, but it wasn't painful either. Call your doctor.

I agree it sounds like thrush and is treatable. Follow the other mothers' recommendations for creams and get to your doctor and a lactation consultant for help. I would suggest continuing to pump for milk supply and bottlefeed the breastmilk (not formula).

I DON'T agree with those that say formula feeding is the same as breastfeeding. It is NOT. There's countless benefits to breastmilk that formula just can't provide. That said, sometimes we are FORCED to switch to formula because our bodies won't cooperate. I would suggest you do your best to continue to breastfeed and if after you have exhausted all your resources and find it's still not working, then move on to formula with the serenity that you did everything to give your baby the best. And don't look back. All we can do is our best.

On that note, I'd also suggest that even if you do start formula that you still continue to provide as much breastmilk as possible - even if it's only a few ounces a day. It will still help give your little one the best start. That's just my opinion - we all have to ultimately listen to what our heart and instincts tell us.

Good luck!

Hang in there! Do your best and then let go and accept whatever the outcome may be.

Don't use soap- only water to wash, and make sure the whole nipple is covered when feeding, each and every time you breast feed, they may get sorer before it goes away but they will heal don't give up and good luck.

I just wanted to suggest that the county you live in might have someone who can help you too. some lactation consultants charge a pretty penny for their services. when i had problems i couldnt afford a consultant, but i got excellent help through the county. call the WIC (women, infants, and children)department or the nurses at your county and ask them. I was given purified lanolin and a nipple guard free of charge and boy did that make a difference. also advice and tips on breast feeding and latching on problems. good luck!