Every now and then, however, I need to abandon those goals and use this blog solely for its other main purpose -- delving into the experience and knowledge of other moms for personal
Most of the time all of these goals flow seamlessly together. Unfortunately, this time I need to venture into an uncomfortable realm that smacks smartly of TMI.
Sorry everyone. Particularly those with a Y chromosome.
For the brave of heart, read on! And please help, if you can!
As everyone and their sister knows by now, I've been breastfeeding Asher since he was born. We had a great start, then hit some rocky ground when his milk protein allergy manifested itself a few months back. After I cleaned all of the dairy out of my diet his symptoms disappeared and we seemed to be right back on track!
{Mom, I can't believe you're sharing this with the whole world. I'll never be able to show my face in Bugs class again. How humiliating.}
Then, just a week or so ago, I started getting some really serious cracks in my nipples. The kind that cause bleeding and lots of *ouches* from the mama bear. It certainly wasn't fun, but I could endure it and started using copious amounts of lanolin ointment after each pumping or nursing session.
Until this morning.
This morning I started pumping, yelped slightly in pain, and looked down to see gushing blood. I mean Old Faithful type gushing that filled the pumping cup and attached bottled. I've never seen such red milk. Yuck and double yuck.
{Still with me? Thanks.}
Obviously, I can't feed that to Asher and dumped it down the sink. I was left with about 2 ounces of usable milk from the other side and had to supplement the rest of his bottle with formula.
So, here are my questions:
1) Is there anything I can do to help heal these cracks? I'll take medical advice or old wives tales at this point. No remedy is too far out there.
2) Will blood in the milk hurt a baby? I'm afraid to even let him nurse at this point -- what if it bleeds like that again?
3) Should I just give up breastfeeding entirely? I mean, let's be reasonable. He got a great 6 months in, but as far as I can tell my milk {under normal dietary circumstances} hurts his body and, apparently, kills mine as well. I've worked hard at this, but am about to throw in the towel. I don't want to give up, but it's all starting to become too much.
Encouragment or reality checks are both welcome.
By the way, little mister got a tooth in and is working on a second one. I haven't felt any bites, though, so I don't think any of this is his fault. It's extremely hard to get a photo of baby teeth. See the little white on the bottom right?...
Now for a cute photo to purge our systems of my TMI.
Grandpas welcome back tomorrow.
I cannot answer any of the 'blood' related questions because my little Ms wouldn't breastfeed...AT ALL! However, if it doesn't work any longer, I do want to give you encouragement that he will prosper without it! I cannot tell you how many days I cried because I couldn't breast feed. I pumped every day/every 3 hours/day and night/for 3 months and I could no longer take it! I think I then cried for weeks because I felt like a terrible mother for stopping! It was best for her, but it was KILLING me in the process. You will do what is best for the both of you and it will be the right decision! After all, momma bear always knows best! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I am loving all of his hair!
That's a great shot of his tooth!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the blood goes, while I can't say for sure about that amount, everything I've read in the past has said it's entirely safe for them to drink. That being said, I'm sure they're referring to a tiny bit, and that he'll be put off by a large amount and not want to eat.
Lanolin didn't do anything for me when I initially started breastfeeding and used it, so I switch to the Medela cream. It was a world of difference to me. Otherwise I'm not sure what to tell you - let me think on it.
Whatever you decide, he'll be fine. If you want to stick with it, I encourage you to. Knowing how bad you must want some dairy - I know I do after over three months without!!! - though, I won't fault you for quitting :)
I think pumping wears on moms more than just breastfeeding. I use sometype of nipple butter like lanolin in a tube like chapstick. it's in my pump bag for work. I use it at least once a day. my nipples have never gotten chapped enough to blead.
ReplyDeletecould you give your nipples a pumping break? only feed directly from the breast and supplement with formula occasionaly to let your nipples heal.
good luck!
First of all, cute picture of Asher and his new tooth! I can definitely see it.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, if stopping breastfeeding would be easier and make you less frazzled, then by all means you should do it. You've made it a long time and given him the best when it was most important. A happy mama equals a happy baby, so if you think you would feel better if you stopped, do not feel quilty about it at all. I know you can keep going if that's really what you want to do. But if your sanity is at stake, then maybe it's time to throw in the towel. Can you continue to nurse him at night or in the morning? I know your body will continue to make enough milk for him for even just one or two feedings a day. It's amazing how that works!
Good luck, and once you make your decision, try to not question yourself. Whether or not you conintue, you gave Asher the best start and you should feel great about that!