Help me with advice for SIL: Bfing pain

[Ashley&Scott]

My niece was born yesterday, yay!!

SIL is bfing,I remember the pain of those first few days. Poor thing, she said she's already dreading the next feeding. I told her to hang in there, it will get better.

I am taking her nipple butter, but can't get it there until tomorrow night. (it's not available in her town) My mom is dropping off some gel soothie pads tonight.

She said niece's latch is good, I'll remind her to make sure niece's lips are puckered out. I told her to put milk on her nipples & let them get as much air as possible.

Cool washcloths would also relieve some pain right?

I don't think the lactation support at her hospital is very good

[arch01]

I hated the gel soothies, I loved the breast shells. It took pressure off the actual nipple when I had clothes on and allowed air to circulate.

[Brie]

Lanolin after every feeding.

[Ashley&Scott]

Jenny- I actually didn't know, but did find out today. She nursed for about a week but then she switched to EPing.

IDK if this matters but she's young (19).

[MamaMaui24]

Sounds like good advice so far. Just make sure baby's mouth is open wide and jam as much nipple/areola in as possible.

[atouchofklasse]

Did she ask for advice?

[Deleted]

Advil.
These printables are great: www.llli.org/toolkit/ (esp. the laid back breastfeeding)

I don't think there's anything wrong with being supportive. Young moms have low breastfeeding rates because often the support is not there.

[Ashley&Scott]

Oct 25, 2012 13:56:10 GMT -5 atouchofklasse said:

Did she ask for advice?

I told her to let me know if she needed any bf support, advice, tips. She said was in pain & sounded like she was going to cry. She said she was dreading the next feeding. I took that as a request for advice. She sounded very grateful & relieved when I started giving her tips, told her it would get better & that I would bring her cream that would help.

[froggy76]

Lots of lanolin, which should be available at any Target or Walmart. And letting them air out helps!

[Ashley&Scott]

Oct 25, 2012 14:31:13 GMT -5 froggy76 said:

Lots of lanolin, which should be available at any Target or Walmart. And letting them air out helps!

She has lanolin & will have nipple butter tomorrow

[Deleted]

I expressed BM before and after feeding (Karinothing suggested that to me.). The before was key. It worked wonders - My sore nipples went away in about 48 hours.

[Ashley&Scott]

Talked to SIL this morning, she thanked me for all of the help & advice.

She's worried that her milk isn't in yet (baby is almost 48 hr old) She does see colostrum. I assured her the colostrum was enough for baby & the milk would come soon.

She mentioned that she's using a nipple shield & it's helping with the pain. I have no experience with shields... Kellymom & LLL seem to indicate that while they do serve a purpose they are easily misused & cause issues too. Any advice about them? (I haven't said anything & might not, or I might just send her a link to KM about them so she has tips when she wants to wean from it)

I'm going to give here the # to my LC, I wish her town had more local support available

[Deleted]

If a shield keeps her going, then it's a good tool. It will reduce the stimulation her nipples are getting, though, which will mean it takes longer to get milk in and can cause problems with low supply. And it's a pain to use on the go. Some people use them for a few weeks and worry about weaning off it later, though.

If things seem really rough, try to get baby checked for a tongue tie. A really obvious one will make the tongue look heart-shaped.

[Ashley&Scott]

Good idea about the tongue tie Token, I'll check into it.

[arch01]

We used a shield due to shallow latch... but I didn't realize that it could affect supply. Interesting. I'm not sure it would've made a difference for me though.

Along with the tongue tie, check the upper lip to make sure it's totally curled out. DS had an upper lip tie.

You can also check to see how the baby is sucking by putting your pinky in (nail toward the tongue). You should be able to feel a strong thrust.

[Ashley&Scott]

Thanks uncharch!

[curbsideprophet]

Is she only using the shield because it feels better? Or does the baby have latch issues? I would try to stop using the shield if it is only for comfort because it can cause issues later.

[Mrs.Syntax]

Oct 25, 2012 13:23:09 GMT -5 arch01 said:

I hated the gel soothies, I loved the breast shells. It took pressure off the actual nipple when I had clothes on and allowed air to circulate.

This this this. I didn't try them until several weeks in, and I instantly regretted not having them from the get-go. I had to order mine online though, they weren't available at any store in my area. Overnight shipping would totally be worth it.

[Ashley&Scott]

Oct 26, 2012 14:38:17 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Is she only using the shield because it feels better? Or does the baby have latch issues? I would try to stop using the shield if it is only for comfort because it can cause issues later.

I'm not sure about this. I'll ask next time I talk to her.

She said the hospital told her the baby's latch was good, however I have reason to suspect that the LC support is not very high quality. Obviously latching does not always mean good latch.

[Mrs.Syntax]

Re: the nipple shield. I used one for a while (a week maybe?) because nursing was so fucking painful. I remember bawling during nursing sessions because I could hardly stand it. I know it's not good to use them long-term, but I think I would have quit otherwise. Using a nipple shield and then breast shells + lanolin in between feeds gave me a chance to heal. I tried to use the shield every other nursing session so that DD wouldn't get used to it, but I'd get a "break" once in a while.

That being said, I think there was a problem with DD's latch so that didn't help things. I saw a LC that wasn't very helpful in identifying the problem. I hope your SIL is able to muscle through this - it is hard!

[Willis Jackson]

There are several posters here who have used shields longterm (myself included) w/o any problem.

[Ashley&Scott]

Oct 26, 2012 16:36:13 GMT -5 Willis Jackson said:

There are several posters here who have used shields longterm (myself included) w/o any problem.

:y: This is good to know.