Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

By: Qole Pejorian

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

1. Painful latch. For the first few days, I winced as the baby latched on. I checked for a good latch, and everything seemed okay. I could tell she was transferring milk well (jaw movement, swallowing, and subsequent wet and dirty diaper output). The pain also lessened after the initial latch, and improved when the transitional milk started coming in.

I used expressed breast milk to heal the one crack that appeared on my left nipple. I would have used Lansinoh but it never got that bad.

2. Painful letdown. Unfortunately, when the milk came in there was an overabundant supply. While I suppose I would rather deal with oversupply than low supply, it comes with its own set of complications. One of them is an intensified feeling of pins and needles as the milk lets down. It’s temporary and fleeting and I can deal with it (now being familiar with the sensation). I also recall that this feeling goes away when my milk supply regulates in a couple of months.

3. Painful engorgement. When my second child was born, I didn’t have to deal with engorgement because my first child was tandem nursing and she quite efficiently drained my breasts anytime I started to feel over-full. This time I am not tandem nursing, and I have had to hand express when I start to get engorged. Then I ice my breasts to reduce inflammation and slow milk production. I know some women swear by cold cabbage leaf compresses, but they never worked for me.

I have also been block nursing — nursing on one side per nursing session. That helps drain each breast fully, ensures that my nursling does not develop green stools, and lowers milk production overall.

4. Painful plugged ducts. When I spiked a 102.5 degree fever on day five after the birth, and I started to feel cramping and back pain much like labor, that was too much for my body to handle. In the kick-you-when-you’re-down tradition of breast infections, I developed a plugged duct that eventually became red and inflamed. I rested, got plenty of fluids, and nursed, nursed, nursed on that side. I also tried a couple of remedies that I think help — but I am not a doctor and I have no proof these work at all. File them under “can’t hurt, might help.” I took cranberry supplements (I figure if they help fight the bad bacteria that cause bladder infections, they might do the same for breast infections) and drank diluted grapefruit seed extract. All I know is, the next day the red and inflamed spot was gone.

It’s day 8 as I write this, and I feel good. Everything is under control again. Perhaps the benefit of all that breastfeeding experience is that I know that with time, any problems do resolve, and perseverance is rewarded many times over with a successful nursing relationship.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Click here for more breastfeeding videos. For more help with latch-on, see the Checklist for a Good Breastfeeding Latch.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

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~ Breastfeeding Basics Checklist for a Good Breastfeeding Latch
~ Gentian Violet and Grapefruit Seed Extract as Thrush Remedies
~ Breastfeeding and International Travel
~ Top Five Breastfeeding Interviews

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

__ In the cradle or cross-cradle positions, the baby should be resting on his side, his tummy facing your tummy, shoulder and hips aligned, mouth level with the nipple

__ The baby’s mouth should be covering at least a half inch of the areola, the dark area of skin around the nipple

__ His nose is touching or nearly touching the breast

__ Both the top lip and bottom lip are flared out

__ Once your milk lets down (starts to flow freely), you can see the baby’s jaw moving all the way back by his ear

__ The baby’s temple may wiggle, too

__ You can hear the baby swallowing (you might notice a pattern, such as “suck, suck, pause for swallow.” The pattern will slow as the baby fills up and takes in less milk). Dr. Jack Newman describes an “open mouth wide – pause – close mouth” pattern that indicates whether the baby is swallowing big mouthfuls of milk.

__ Absence of pain (if breastfeeding doesn’t hurt, that’s a great sign that the latch is good. Some women may experience initial soreness, tenderness, and even pain in spite of a good latch, but it’s a good idea to work with a La Leche League leader and/or lactation consultant to rule out problems with latch, thrush, or other things that could cause pain).

__ The baby’s tongue is extended over his bottom gums and is cupping the breast (if you peeked, you could see a little triangle of tongue in the corner of his mouth, but there’s no reason to peek if everything feels right).

__ When the baby pops off (or the latch is gently broken), the nipple does not look unusually squished or angled like the tip of a new lipstick (a distinct line across the nipple might be a sign of tongue-tie).

One final way to gauge latch (and the baby’s consequent intake of milk) is to watch the baby’s output! Is the baby having enough wet and poopy diapers?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3