ibreastfed.com

A rollercoaster of pain and frustration – Ditte’s story

Posted on July 29, 2008
Filed under: Breast pain, Engorgement, Expressing, Finger feeding, Flat nipples, Mastitis, Oversupply, Thrush, Tounge tie

Before I had my daughter I never even considered that breastfeeding would be a problem. I thought it came naturally and we’d both know what to do. It turned out to be everything but easy – at least in the beginning.

When I gave birth to her she was put on my chest immediately to help the process along so that breastfeeding would come easily. But from the very start we had problems: I had flat nipples and she had a tongue tie. We had her scheduled to have a frenotomy and till that happened I expressed (at that stage colostrum) and fingerfed her. On day four my milk came in – with a vengeance. I had way too much and my daughter couldn’t even begin to empty my supply. So my breasts were never fully drained and for that reason I got mastitis. I still expressed milk and fingerfed her the milk. I expressed every three hours around the clock. For at least a week I expressed around two litres of milk every 24 hours! I filled my freezer with my milk till there was no more space. I filled my fridge till I had no more containers. I could have supplied the whole neonatal ward with my precious breastmilk! But at the time all I could think about was how engorged my breasts were – they were in almost constant pain. Not least because of the mastitis.

The doctor even managed to give me the wrong anitbiotics so I had to go back and get different antibiotics when my fever didn’t subside and the pain wasn’t going away in my breasts.

All along I was expressing every three hours and fingerfeeding my daugther all the milk she could possibly dream off. She gained so much weight in the early days – so that was a good thing! She did get an upset tummy from all that milk though, which resulted in her being very unsettled.

When the day came for the frenotomy the surgeon said that her tongue-tie wasn’t severe enough and she wouldn’t cut it. However, coupled with my flat nipples she still couldn’t latch on properly. I had set all my hopes up for this frenotomy. I had thought to myself that as soon as she would have that done she would be able to latch onto my breast and my supply could begin to settle to her demand instead of me expressing so much milk all the time. And this hope was shattered when the surgeon wouldn’t cut her tongue tie. I felt so lost.

We then decided to stop the finger feeding and start using nipple shields – with that my daughter could at least drink the milk straight from my breast. I still had way too much milk, though. And because I still had mastitis and was on antibiotics, I got thrush – oh the pain. (Lactation consultants know that women have thrush when they mention pain that’s similar to being cut with a razorblade or broken glass!) Anyway, she fed using the nipple shield and I would express milk to drain my breasts to get rid of the mastitis. But in order to decrease my supply I was informed to express as little as possible. This meant that my breasts were engorged and painful most of the day and night. I thought it would never end. The lactation consultant said that supply would meet demand around 6 weeks, but I couldn’t even think that far ahead, I was so frustrated.

My supply did decrease over the following weeks and I remember the first day I didn’t express at all. That was such a victory. And then the next big milestone was the first night I slept without soaking myself completely in milk because of the engorgement and oversupply. Through the first weeks I had soaked many a jumper and bed sheet with my milk. Everything in the house, even the washing coming straight from the washing machine, smelled of stale milk. Yuk!

Now my daughter is 11 weeks old, my supply meets her demand beautifully. We still use the nipple shield because she still can’t latch on properly, but we’re working on getting rid of that. There’s no more mastitis, no more thrush. Her weight gain has settled as well and she doens’t get an upset tummy from too much food any more.

Breastfeeding is finally a really enjoyable part of the day, my breasts are finally comfortable 95 percent of the time. My daughter and I have come a long way! A journey that I couldn’t have made it through without the help of my husband or the fantastic lactation consultants at the hospital. They were so informative and helpful and understanding. But it truly has been a rollercoaster this whole breastfeeding business and I began to understand why some women give up. However, it truly is worthwhile sticking with it. I know how good it is for my baby and the closeness I have with her through feeding her my own breast milk is truly wonderful!

Filed under: Breast pain, Engorgement, Expressing, Finger feeding, Flat nipples, Mastitis, Oversupply, Thrush, Tounge tie

Comments

2 Responses to “A rollercoaster of pain and frustration – Ditte’s story”

Stacey on August 5th, 2008 12:07 am

Wow – what a great, inspiring story. It’s so hard to continue breastfeeding when it becomes so consuming and you had every curve ball thrown at you! But good for you, for prevailing through the problems (and the pain!). Your little one will love you for it.
Candace Prosser on May 7th, 2009 3:33 pm

This mirrors my first child’s breastfeeding story almost exactly…minus the knowledge of her being tongue-tied. I do not know if she was or wasn’t, but everything else is.

I commend you for your fortitude and resolve to continue. I nursed her for 18 months before she weaned.

Leave a Comment