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 Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 5:57 am
One thing that can really help chapped nipples is lanolin. Lansinoh makes medical grade pure lanolin. I don't know if the chapstick is okay for them or not.
The only way to really know if you'll be able to breastfeed is to try it. It's usually recommended that if you really want to breastfeed to give it a few weeks at first because it can take awhile for you and baby to really figure things out. Keep in contact with a lactation consultant because they may give you ways for breastfeeding to work for you. You really never know how hard or easy breastfeeding will be until you try it. Arianah may be able to better answer this for you.
While I definitely advocate breastfeeding because it has a bunch of benefits, if you're just constantly stressed out from being in pain, formula feeding may be the best for you. Being constantly stressed out is detrimental to your baby. If you are able to be calmer around your baby, your baby will probably be calmer. Also, if breastfeeding is stressing you out then you may be able to bond better with your child while formula feeding since you'll be able to concentrate on your baby rather than stressing about the pain.
Honestly, whatever decision you make, you shouldn't feel guilty. It sounds like you are trying to be as informed as possible so you will make the best decision for your baby.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:51 am
What Ritza said is pretty much straight on, especially concerning nipples, also you might look into what your bras are made out of. You might react badly when chapped to any synthetics.
You really don't know if breastfeeding is going to be difficult for you or not until you try. And it can change from child to child.
A friend of mine has a 3 year old and a 1 year old. She breastfed the 3 year old successfully up until a year. The one year old, she was diagnosed with poor milk supply by both a LC and her doctor. She was taking all sorts of fenugreek to try to keep her supply up she smelled like brown sugar oatmeal, and started breaking out in a terrible rash. Plus she was just mentally crushed that her BODY HAD FAILED HER and she had FAILED as a mom. Which neither had happened. Since her child KEPT losing weight/failing to keep weight on she switched to formula. And she told me she cried every time she gave her child a bottle for like the first week.
I have also been on both sides. I didn't respond to pumping, AT ALL. Period. And I and my husband went back to college full time for our senior year two weeks after my child was born. It was an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY that my husband be able to feed her when she was with him and hungry. And I couldn't pump more than two ounces while she was eating up to 6. I also felt horrible when we started giving her formula.
But you know what, it's not poison. It's food. It's not perfect, but it's leagues better than karo syrup and milk which is what women used to feed their children.
I think that a lot of breastfeeding stress comes from NOT WANTING TO FAIL. And if you look at it that way, you certainly are setting yourself up to failing. The best way to be ready for anything is to be ready for anything, and to be accepting of what you have to do for you and your family.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:17 am
While we do strongly encourage breastfeeding in my field there are seldomly cases where the hurdles can be too much. However, your concerns could actually just be worrying as breastmilk does have a lubricative property as well. There is no way to tell until you actually try. We normally tell moms to give it a two month run since that is about the extent of most problems and their resolve. When the baby is on the way we encourage attending groups such as la leche league for the information as well as the mom to mom support. Already knowing people who are breastfeeding successfully and being able to call on them in a moment of pain can mean all the difference in the world. If however you end up having insurmountable problems there is a wide range of parenting from exclusively bottlefeeding to exclusively breastfeeding. In between falls a range of women who nurse and bottle feed expressed milk to feeding formula at the breast via special feeding tubes. There are a few children who are actually allergic to formula due to cow's milk protein sensitivity and soy protein sensitivities. These babies as well as mothers who don't want to even try formula have benefited from donor milk. It is available through milk banks where women are tested for disease and the milk is then pasturized. Another not so popular option is that of a trusted friend donating or nursing your baby. The options are endless for parenting.
On a personal note, my son was one with formula problems. I knew there was a history of formula issues in our family but because of his palate he could not nurse effectively for a while so they insisted on supplementing him until I was pumping enough milk to sustain him. His allergic reaction was almost fatal but we overcame and the nursing problems eventually did work out, palate issues and all. He's a happy nursing toddler now in spite of the early days.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:48 am
Arianah There are a few children who are actually allergic to formula due to cow's milk protein sensitivity and soy protein sensitivities. There is actually formula, Nutramagen, made for these children as well these days. As you said there are ALL kinds of options. Two year old little best friend of my daughter, Lily, was raised on Nutramagen after ending up in the hospital for allergies related to formula. Quote: These babies as well as mothers who don't want to even try formula have benefited from donor milk. You will absolutely NOT be accepted by a donor milk bank simply because you have problems breast feeding and you don't want to use formula. You need a doctor's prescription to receive donor milk, therefore you need an actual medical reason, for the CHILD, and each recipient of donor milk needs to be under medical supervision. From Mother's Milk Banks: "A candidate for donor breastmilk might be a formula-fed infant that exhibits prolonged episodes of inconsolable crying, ongoing vomiting and classic allergy signs such as purple or black circles under the eyes, pallor, skin inflammation, lethargy and frequent or bloody stools. Another candidate might be a premature infant whose mother cannot (or cannot yet) supply breastmilk." Also on cost: "The Mothers' Milk Bank of Denver, Colorado charges $2.25/ounce plus $0.25/ounce if shipped. Other milk banks may charge somewhat different fees. Donor milk from a milk bank is covered by some medical insurance policies. (If you control which insurance plan your company uses, here's a good question to ask them!) WIC clients are eligible for coverage." So, if your child does not actually have a medical problem your medical insurance is not going to cover milk from a milk bank.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:12 am
Wow! Lots of info! Thank you, this was extremely informative biggrin
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:19 am
Ok I can't figure out how to multiple quote like you did so nicely so bear with me as I copy paste. xd
"There is actually formula, Nutramagen, made for these children as well these days. As you said there are ALL kinds of options."
Nutramigin is cows milk based. For a child like mine Nutramigin is still highly allergic. It was actually Nutramigin that caused his reaction. There is also another baby I've worked with who had the same problem. There is no such thing as completely hypoallergenic unfortunately but the hydrolized (sp?) formulas do tend to have fewer reactions. For that reason Nutramigin and shoot the other popular hydrolized formula name is passing my memory, but those types are normally tried as a last resort. They tend to be pricey though not as pricey as human milk banks.
"You will absolutely NOT be accepted by a donor milk bank simply because you have problems breast feeding and you don't want to use formula. "
Um actually this information is slightly flawed. I work with a mother who uses donor milk for that reason. All it takes is convincing your doctor to write the script and you being willing to pay for it. Milk banks merely require the prescription. A doctor who is very pro breastmilk and WHO compliant will issue the prescription without any questioning. However finding a WHO compliant doctor in the US can prove difficult. The costs may or may not be covered by insurance and it is expensive as you pointed out. But I do have clients who use this route.
"Donor milk from a milk bank is covered by some medical insurance policies. (If you control which insurance plan your company uses, here's a good question to ask them!) WIC clients are eligible for coverage."
I'm not sure about this one. I have not had any clients eligible for WIC that deemed human milk as necessary. When my kids were on WIC I wasn't aware of this option.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 12:19 pm
Regardless of how WHO compliant and breastfeeding friendly your doctor is...I'd have to say the odds of getting a scrip simply because you do not want to use formula is few and far between.
Reason being is that donor's milk is not some GALLON business. They simply don't have WAREHOUSES full of the stuff.
Further it's generally reserved for children who have actual problems and not for parents who just "Don't want to use formula."
Personally I'd feel a little selfish getting a perscription for Donor's milk knowing that the vast majority of it generally goes to premature infants. When my child didn't have any reactions to formula.
Either way, I've taken this thread off topic. You have your information from your specific client, I have my informtion from Mother's Milk Banks...you can probably find some doctor who will or will not do this or that based on their personal prefrences.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 12:42 pm
Actually a woman who wants to breastfeed but can't for whatever reason is medical reason enough. So it's ok it's all on topic. And my information also comes from direct conversations with the director of one of the milk banks in Texas. She spoke at a conference I attended last year, and I had the opportunity to ask her questions after her session personally since I hope to be involved in getting one started in our state (which at this rate is probably 300 years from now). She fully admitted to the milk being used for all types of infants and even showed pictures of a toddler happily pulling the frozen milk out of the mailing cooler when it arrived at his house. The client I speak of is an adoptive mom who could not get a full supply for her baby. Since she does not know her child's medical history fully she chose not to test the risks of a reaction. Her choice. Her doctor agreed with her. Any insufficiency of breastmilk is reason enough to warrant a prescription. It is not selfish at that point. And it is a medical reason. It is normally not a matter of merely not wanting to use formula. A woman who deems human milk is important for her child enough to want to use donor milk has in those situations already tried to feed that infant from her own breasts. Other than premies the other cases of milk bank users are mothers who have insufficient milk.
You are right though. It is not a warehouse full of gallons of milk. But yet, every single bank is full to overflowing and they decline donors daily b/c they do not have the room. The space is very limited. It's actually funny this has come up since there is another board I work at discussing just this and some odd woman thinks she can start a bank up in her home and provide money to donating moms as well as make a buck for herself. I'm about ready to smack her but that's another topic altogether. xp
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 2:08 pm
Kukushka I'm not a parent yet (and probably won't be for some time), but I was wondering if you could maybe answer a question anyway. I have extremely sensitive nipples. I feel uncomfortable when they are touched. They also chap very easily. I usually spend all winter with them chapped and bleeding. I've actually started using lip balm on them (which does help a little) sweatdrop I do want to breast feed my child. I know that it helps build the immune system and it helps the mother/child bond and all that. I am just worried about being able to stand it. I guess this is less of a "question" and more of a "please give me support!" thing. Do you think I will even be able to breast feed? Is using formula (if it turns out to be too painful) bad enough for my child that I should just suck it up and do it anyway, at least for a few months? I'm a latecomer on this thread, but I've just read it all and wanted to reply to this bit. I also have really sensitive nipples, and had a really painful time of it for the first 5 weeks of breastfeeding, wanting to scream when she latched on, and threatening to give up EVERY time she fed for those first weeks. I cursed nature for designing nipples to have SUCH a high concentration of nerves and to be used for a baby to suck on, of all things! It seemed paradoxical to me! I think my problems were also because my daughter has a really deep palate in her mouth. And I had problems with little pieces of my nipples dying, turning white, and falling off, leaving an open wound that was hard to heal. That was painful! The pain was finally lessened when I started using lanolin after every feeding. I wish I had found the stuff sooner! I stuck with it though, and I'm so glad I did. After five weeks, my nipples went blessfully numb (I think feeding broke enough nerves, or something) and then it was easy as pie, being able to feed her anytime, anywhere with just a blanket (or jacket) to throw over my shoulder. And I fed her for a full year and never had any further problems (save for mastitis once when I was weaning her.) I agree with the others here to at least give it a shot and see how you do. Any length of breastfeeding is an advantage, as even during the first week or two your baby will get some much needed antibiotics. And if you have problems, seek support, help, and try to stick it out for those first two months, and you might be glad you did! Painful as it can be in the beginning, it never lasts forever.
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:26 pm
Sienna is teething and therefor has decided to test out her new chompers on my nipples! gonk It hurts soooo bad, how do I get her to stop. I read an article that said to try not to react by screaming or fussing, but it's so hard not to. Any advise?
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:49 pm
Angiemademe Sienna is teething and therefor has decided to test out her new chompers on my nipples! gonk It hurts soooo bad, how do I get her to stop. I read an article that said to try not to react by screaming or fussing, but it's so hard not to. Any advise? Put your finger in her mouth to break the latch. Look at her and say. "No biting." She's gonna get frustrated enough eventually constantly having to stop eating when she bites she'll figure it out.
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:10 pm
I've been breast feeding my 6 week old since she was born, which hurt terribly at first, but by two weeks, the pain stopped.
Recently, my right n****e has started hurting whenever Aimee will eat off it. She's latching on correctly, and sucking the same... And I have no idea why it's hurting so bad.
Anyone know what's going on?
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:13 pm
Haku Chan I've been breast feeding my 6 week old since she was born, which hurt terribly at first, but by two weeks, the pain stopped. Recently, my right n****e has started hurting whenever Aimee will eat off it. She's latching on correctly, and sucking the same... And I have no idea why it's hurting so bad. Anyone know what's going on? You know when I breast fed my son the same thing happened and i though something was wrong because I have an inverted n****e on my right side... But when I went to the doctor he asked me how often I breast fed on each side, and made me keep a log... It turns out I was favoring my right side because I am right handed and I was over-draining one side... The bad part was that when I started to even them out again it was like the first two weeks all over again on the left!!!
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:57 am
My baby is 13 months old and something like... 7 months ago i had to stop breastfeeding from one breast since the n****e was very sore and the pain from breastfeeding on that particular breast was really something i couldnt handle... So i decided to breastfeed only from one breast.... Now the pediatritian insists in stop breastfeeding... she says the baby starts to be addicted and it's not healthy for her...
I've always heard to breastfeed while there's still milk because it's very good phisically and emotionally... What should I do? Stop or continue? neutral
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 12:11 pm
Probably a silly question, but I'll ask it anyways.
I plan on breastfeeding when my little one is born, but as he is my first baby I'm wondering: Is it painful??
It won't change my decision, but I'd rather be as prepared as possible.
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