Cracked and bleeding

[jd1998]

Hi! FTM 48 hours post partum & sent home with baby who we planned to pump/breast feed with. My n!pples are cracked and bleeding now that we are home and I’m having a hard time feeding babe comfortably. Can I swap to formula? I have enfamil gentlease and enfamil neuro pro. She was perfectly healthy at her newborn screens and sees the pediatrician in the morning! Please help, i’m at a loss! I want baby to eat but want my br3asts to heal. TIA!!!

 

[paul2112]

@jd1998 This was me 4 days ago, even though 3 lactation consultants told me the latch was good. It gets better! Ditto to ask the comments about lanolin (careful what you wear though, it stains) and I did supplement 1 Oz of formula in the night after 15 minutes of breastfeeding (don't forget to still pump at those times to keep up supply) and used the bottle pacing method so she doesn't become too attached to the bottle. Gave me a little time to heal and now it's not as painful.

A lactation consultant also told me breast milk is healing so rub that on nipples too

 

[outtathebox]

@jd1998 If breastfeeding is something you want to continue with it is something you may need to push through. It’s tough, and there were days I definitely wanted to cry through the pain.

Nipple cream will help save your cracked nipples, even rubbing a little breastmilk on them will do the trick.

Maybe look into a nipple shield? And how your babe is latching. Make sure they’re taking it straight on and not at a weird angle.

 

[darw]

@jd1998 If you want to breast feed, I would push through. I know it’s the most awful pain in the world, for me it was even worse than labor. It is SO painful to breastfeed at first. And there were a few times that I just had to pump and had my husband feed baby what I pumped. There may be something wrong with baby’s latch, or maybe there isn’t. In my case there wasn’t anything wrong and it just took my nipples a couple of weeks to adjust.

But feel for you. The pain is so awful that I would cry every time she latched for the first two weeks.

Edit: what helped me was SLATHERING and I mean slathering my nipples in lanolin. And wearing breast pads that prevented me sticking to my bra. I feel like sometimes the amount of lanolin I put on made my baby have to work harder to eat but it helped so much!

 

[eve_marie]

@darw YES. Lanolin after every feed! Breast pads to prevent too frequent washing of the nursing bra due to lanolin.

 

[repeet]

@jd1998 This was me a couple of weeks ago. I would use formula and start pumping whenever you feed your baby to keep your supply up and then start using the pumped milk to feed. Pump instead of trying to feed baby to give them a few days to heal! I was bleeding so much it, but it only took maybe 3-4 days for them to heal.

Schedule an appointment with your hospital’s lactation consultant as soon as possible. If your nipples hurt then I would use silverettes so your nipples don’t rub against your shirt or bra. Go without if you’re around the home naked. Nipple shield if you’re having trouble latching. Nipple cream to put on after pumping or hydrogel pads but if you have milk coming in they don’t stick as well. Sometimes pumping and nipple shields aren’t effective if you aren’t using the right sized - your lactation consultant will be able to tell you!

My nipples were cracked and bleeding because I have a strong let down and baby was drowning basically and clamping down on nipple to stay on.

 

[skelendke]

@jd1998 Some great comments already. In addition to those, I would say be sure to reach out to an IBCLC and see what is happening with the latch as your nipples being cracked and bleeding indicate that it is shallow.

This actually can be a result of the birth process and extra edema in your breasts preventing a deeper latch and using reverse pressure softening can help with this to get baby and/or a pump deeper to protect the nipples.

RPS information

Plus, if your plan is to breastfeed your baby, you should be removing the milk on a regular basis so you don't end up with any issue around not doing that. Ideally it is every time baby eats or, if you can't coordinate the first days 9x a day.

Here is a list of sore nipple treatments (some you likely have at home including oils and breastmilk) that have been studied:

Sore nipple treatments list

Hope that helps! Cheers!

 

[blessedj316]

@jd1998 Medela hydrogel pads between each feed + a proper latch will help so much. Formula is completely great but if bf is your goal there’s lots of help out there!

 

[fltom]

@jd1998 The same thing happened to me. My doctor prescribed me this special nipple compound ointment that healed my cracked, bleeding nipples in a day! For sure ask your doctor about it. I am also using nipple shields, which has been so helpful! My baby is now 4 weeks, he nurses constantly, and my nipples are completely pain-free. Maybe that combo would help you too!

 

[tre_corvus]

@fltom Seconding this. Nipple shields are a lifesaver!

 

[themysterydd]

@jd1998 Go ahead and give the baby formula! Fed is best. We give our baby formula to supplement and we don’t have any issues.

 

[psumoose]

@jd1998 Nipple cream (I use lanolin, but there are ones that aren't animal product-based)!

Also look up how to make sure she's latching properly and if she hasn't been assessed for tongue and lip ties already, ask at her appointment in the morning.

Finally, there are multiple different ways to hold the baby to ensure a proper latch (football hold, Thompson method, cradle, cross-cradle, lie-back, etc). Find a few that work for you.

If you give baby formula and still want to breastfeed later, you'll need to pump every time baby gets a bottle.