Due in March/April/May 2013 Roll call!

[Rosie85]

The pump isn't nearly as painful as when baby is on the breast. It feels like fire a hundred times over when I use baby instead of pump.

[Rosie85]

I do get very weird crusty stuff in my nipples, like they are leaking something?? it happens 24/7 whether I am pregnant or not or breastfeeding or not. Anyone know what it is? I was wondering if that is an indication of something wrong or why I can't breastfeed.

[suregena]

You know I thought of that last time around Shell...perhaps I will order new ones just in case.

Can I recommend *not* pumping in the beginning unless absolutely necessary and/or you are returning to work?

It just is not as good as the baby for telling the body how much milk to make. Also, early introduction to a bottle can totally screw with a baby's ability to learn to latch, as well. Artificial nipples are not shaped nor feel the same as a woman's nipple/area, and the milk flow is much faster with a bottle, so if you try to go from bottle to breast to bottle to breast (i.e. if you pumped milk to let daddy feed the baby), the baby will get used to the "fast" flow of the bottle that requires much less "work", and thus will become a bit more difficult to latch correctly (lazy latch) and they will be far more prone to getting "fussy" at the breast because it just won't 'behave' like the bottle does. By keeping them firmly at the breast, on demand, for as long as you can while they are a baby, they will never get the 'way' they get the milk mixed up and it will be far more beneficial towards the success of a breastfeeding relationship, in terms of not getting them confused.

Oh, goodness, that's a whole different topic! Ayyyyiiiiii! I could be here all night.

[suregena]

I do get very weird crusty stuff in my nipples, like they are leaking something?? it happens 24/7 whether I am pregnant or not or breastfeeding or not. Anyone know what it is? I was wondering if that is an indication of something wrong or why I can't breastfeed.

What color is the crusty stuff? I get crusty stuff often but that's because I'm breastfeeding still. Sometimes it just gets dried up there.

[suregena]

The pump isn't nearly as painful as when baby is on the breast. It feels like fire a hundred times over when I use baby instead of pump.

That description does sound normal *in the beginning* of breastfeeding... if it goes on longer than that, I assure you... it's the latch!

[Rosie85]

Yeah I can try...the only reason I pumped to begin with is the baby would never latch well and the nurses go crazy on your ass. baby will starve baby will starve! argh.

[Rosie85]

What color is the crusty stuff? I get crusty stuff often but that's because I'm breastfeeding still. Sometimes it just gets dried up there.

hmmm like a greenish yellow brown , lol.

[suregena]

Yeah I can try...the only reason I pumped to begin with is the baby would never latch well and the nurses go crazy on your ass. baby will starve baby will starve! argh.

What you could try... is hand express milk into a little cup or a syringe if you are still working on the latch... but stay away from the pump if you can. Through the frustration, just keep trying. Take breaks, but just continue to try to latch. You can pump but then that's like two less times your baby is stimulating your milk production... one for the pumping itself, two for giving your baby the pumped milk (all the while your baby missed out on two potential proper feeding sessions, equals potentially decreasing milk output.)

I remember (because my boobs were like 5x bigger than his little head! AND HARD AS A ROCK!) having a cry at one point because he was just not latching (I mean, they were huge... I couldn't blame him! His mouth was so tiny!) and I tried multiple holds and nothing was working. My mother held him while he cried, and I cried into my husband's shoulder. After my cry, my mom was like, "RIGHT. YOU HOLD YOUR BOOB. I WILL BRING OTIS TO YOUR BOOB. WE WILL GET THIS DONE!"

That was my only weak moment... but she got him on there and away we went. That was probably 3 days post partum... and my only weak time, but there are such little things that can throw you off. I needed my husband and my mom there, both as stubborn as me, to get that baby on my boob!

[suregena]

hmmm like a greenish yellow brown , lol.

"Generally, a discharge from both breasts, or one that is yellow, green, blue, or black is due to benign causes. But if you have a clear, colorless, or bloody discharge, particularly if it is only coming from one breast and spontaneous, you should be concerned."

I just read that. You're probably okay! And I really doubt it would be an effect to your milk. You could investigate why you have the crusty stuff... but it might just be what's normal for you but not something that would hinder your ability to breastfeed.

[Tiffani3]

Oh, dear.

That's the thing - they will seem ravenous seemingly *all the time*... you just have to sit your butt on the couch and give in to that hunger. The hunger is not because you are not able to give him enough - it's the opposite... it's because their stomach is TINY, so they can only fit so much, and because breastmilk is the most gentle, wonderful, super easily digestible food for a baby, it will literally go right through their digestive tract - and therefore, they will be hungry again. There is always milk 'left', you just can't get it out like your bub. There are also growth spurt periods where you do feel like you literally have no more... but those periods are actually THEM doing the work to signal your BODY to make MORE because their tummies are a little bigger and they are a little bigger and now their milk requirements have increased a little, so they get crazy-hungry and want feeding nonstop, but it's all part of the process for continuous, healthy, breastmilk production. And, unfortunately, all of these signs can be misinterpreted from the mother that it's *her* problem, that it's *her* fault, that she isn't making enough, that she isn't satisfying them enough... that is SO far from the truth, I'm afraid!

Thanks sweetie for your help hopefully this time I will get through that stage of it and continue on fx xx