Shooting Pain in Breast

Shooting pains in your breasts could be an indicator of a yeast infection. This is caused by damp pads or covering your breasts while still wet. Many women get this if they don't airdry well. Sometimes baby also shows the symptoms with white plaque in his mouth and a dark red area around the anal opening. A pediatrician can diagnose this in baby and many times an OB or a Lactation Consultant can offer help to mom. There are medications and treatments that will help clear it up and it needs to coordinated so that mom and baby are both treated.

It sounds like you need a consultation with a lactation consultant to help you assess the problem and teach you how to deal with it. Often a baby will pull off if there is a yeast infection because it can alter the taste.

Having said this there are other things that can cause the symptoms you have mentioned so it would be helpful to see an expert and get a definative diagnosis.

I would be happy to help, you can email me or call me at ###-###-####
K. Willis Rn, IBCLC
@ The Nesting Place

You might have clogged ducts. Try filling up some water bottles with HOT water, wrap in a cloth and lay them on your breasts for a long while. Or fill a bowl with hot water and soak your breasts in them for a while. The hot water will help to clear out those ducts. Also be sure to massage your breasts while they are warm. You'll need to do all this several times a day, maybe even for a few days but it should hopefully give you some relief.

If you're worried that your baby isn't getting enough milk, you should see a lactation consultant. They will sit with you and monitor how much your little one is actually getting fed. I recommend A Mother's Gift at Plano Presbyterian ###-###-####.

Good luck, I know this pain is NO fun!! Espcially when it feels like little pieces of glass trying to push through your nipples!! :-)

-Char

The pain could be a sympom of thrush or it could be normal. Check out www.kellymom.com for symptoms of thrush.

If your baby is making 6-8 wet diapers and 1-2 poopy diapers a day it is getting enough to eat. Fussiness at the breast could be a result of several things. 1.) a growth spurt and your baby really is frustrated that there is not enough milk but keep nursing and this will up your supply 2.) overactive letdown and your baby is actually getting to much milk coming out at once and is frustrated. 3.) oversupply same situation 4.) an allergy to something you are eating...dairy is a common allergy. You can do more research on these topics at kellymom also check out the message board at www.breastfeeding.com there are tons of moms there that can offer advice.

Best site EVER for nursing moms. kellymom.com will change your life...I've nursed 3 kids and it really helped me since every one was different...good luck!

I would call a lactation consultant. They will ask you is the breast red, do you feel a lump, can you tell exactly where it hurts or just all over, etc.? It could be a clogged duct or mastitis, or nothing at all. As far as if the baby is getting enough...as long as there are 5 or 6 wet diapers in a 24hr period you are good. The baby may be upset because your milk is coming out too fast, as the weeks pass your baby will regulate your milk supply and it won't overwhelm him as much. Good luck. hope it helps.

If hot water does not relieve your pain and nursing does not relieve it either, I would check with your doctor. I had that same problem twice. It was just a breast infection/clogged milk duct. My doctor put me on antibitoics and directed me to give my little girl something else for the first few days of me taking the medication. During these two days of not nursing her I was to make sure to pump milk out at regular times to relieve pressure I was having and to keep my milk coming at regular intervals.
If your little one seems hungry still, talk to his/her doctor about it. My doctor told me that when they are that young, they will tell you when they are hungry. Sometimes my little girl wanted to nurse after one hour, sometimes after 4. As she got older, we had much more of a schedule... but when she was little I just fed her when she was hungry.