Best balm for sore nipples? (breastfeeding) (line, weeks, years, early)
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My niece is nursing her first baby and I'm trying to give her some good advice (I breastfed both mine but that was over 20 years ago!).
I remember having sore and cracked nipples but not having anything to put on them that was safe for the baby. I read about something somewhere, sometime in the past, but I can't remember a thing about what it was.
Are her nipples actually cracked and bleeding? The reason I ask is because my daughter just saw a lactation consultant yesterday about the same issue and she told her not to use lanolin on her nipples until after they stop bleeding or she will be more likely to get an infection. She said to use just soap and water after feeding and then to air dry. Once they are no longer cracked then she said lanolin is great.
She gave some other excellent advice as well. She said to line up the baby’s nose with mom’s nipple and to express just a little and then to tickle his upper lip with it and this will cause him to open wide and then to plop that nipple in. He got a better latch that way. Also she advised her to massage her breasts to bring more milk down and when she did we could hear him doing the big gulps. She said to keep massaging and that that would probably only be necessary for about two or three days. She advised skin to skin contact because it creates the feel good hormones that bring the milk down and keep it coming. My daughter had much less pain that way.
Her advice was so useful that when we left he had gotten his first really good feeding since birth...before, he was non-stop feeding around the clock and she was crying whenever she put him to the breast and he had barely gained any weight. She was actually thinking about giving it up but was so determined to make it work. I’m so glad we saw the consultant! BTW, my little grandson is three weeks old today.
Now, in case anyone thinks I was pressuring her to BF; that is not the case. I told her I would support her in whatever she felt was right but that she should try to solve it first before giving up. It had occurred to me that there is another really good reason to BF, and that is the presence of more unvaxxed people in the public...BF babies get immunity from mom.
Oh yes I forgot to mention that...she went home from the consultant’s with some of those too. The brand was different but we’re in Chile right now.
Are her nipples actually cracked and bleeding? The reason I ask is because my daughter just saw a lactation consultant yesterday about the same issue and she told her not to use lanolin on her nipples until after they stop bleeding or she will be more likely to get an infection. She said to use just soap and water after feeding and then to air dry. Once they are no longer cracked then she said lanolin is great.
She gave some other excellent advice as well. She said to line up the baby’s nose with mom’s nipple and to express just a little and then to tickle his upper lip with it and this will cause him to open wide and then to plop that nipple in. He got a better latch that way. Also she advised her to massage her breasts to bring more milk down and when she did we could hear him doing the big gulps. She said to keep massaging and that that would probably only be necessary for about two or three days. She advised skin to skin contact because it creates the feel good hormones that bring the milk down and keep it coming. My daughter had much less pain that way.
Her advice was so useful that when we left he had gotten his first really good feeding since birth...before, he was non-stop feeding around the clock and she was crying whenever she put him to the breast and he had barely gained any weight. She was actually thinking about giving it up but was so determined to make it work. I’m so glad we saw the consultant! BTW, my little grandson is three weeks old today.
Now, in case anyone thinks I was pressuring her to BF; that is not the case. I told her I would support her in whatever she felt was right but that she should try to solve it first before giving up. It had occurred to me that there is another really good reason to BF, and that is the presence of more unvaxxed people in the public...BF babies get immunity from mom.
Unless he gains weight, he is not getting enough milk and should be supplemented or fed with formula. Latch is immaterial if the milk isn’t there. I never made more than 25% of the milk my daughter needed in a day. I’m so glad our pediatrician helped me figure that out early. More visits with the lactivists wouldn’t have helped me. I have several of the risk factors for insufficient milk supply, and they knew it, but they sent me home without telling me I had a very hungry baby who I might not be able to make enough milk to feed. Fed is best.
And yes, gel nipple pads, but they get expensive as they only last a couple days.
Unless he gains weight, he is not getting enough milk and should be supplemented or fed with formula. Latch is immaterial if the milk isn’t there. I never made more than 25% of the milk my daughter needed in a day. I’m so glad our pediatrician helped me figure that out early. More visits with the lactivists wouldn’t have helped me. I have several of the risk factors for insufficient milk supply, and they knew it, but they sent me home without telling me I had a very hungry baby who I might not be able to make enough milk to feed. Fed is best.
And yes, gel nipple pads, but they get expensive as they only last a couple days.
What are some of the risk factors? Btw, my daughter had to start supplementing with formula too...he just wasn’t getting enough or growing and even after the lactation consultant visit and the gel pads and Tylenol, she was still in dire pain. I think she just wasn’t making enough but then the pain might have decreased her milk supply. She’s going to do both for awhile and at least he’s sleeping more now.
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