Have 2 questions and need help!

[intokermit]

A brief history before I ask my question. First, I have Raynud's in my nipples. I've been successfully treating with Nifedipine- 30 mg- and have had success in managing the pain. Because of the pain, I was only pumping BM and feeding it to him in a bottle (I use Breastflow bottles). For the past 3 weeks, I've been trying to EBF, but have developed a case of thrush. I'm on probiotics, and applying Lotrimin on my nipples to help with the pain. My son is 3 months old, and weighed 15 lbs. at his 2 month check up.

My questions is 2 fold. First, when my ds latches on, it is toe curling, grit my teeth pain, until it subsides; which takes about 5 min. to finally go away. I went to a LLL meeting today, and they looked at my latch. They could see nothing wrong with the way that ds is latching on, and so they didn't think that my pain could be from the latch. Is it from the thrush? I've been on the probiotics since Thurs. and it's gotten a bit better, but not 100%. I sleep without a bra on, so that the area gets lots of air. Should I stop nursing and only pump until the thrush is clear? Ds shows no sign of thrush.

Secondly- when I do nurse, ds will nurse each breast for about 25 min. each and come off acting like he's still hungry. Another LC on this forum told me that he probably just wanted snuggles, so I tried that, but he still is rooting and screaming for more food. I will give him 2 oz. of EBM and he downs that like he's never eaten before. I know that I have OALD, as he will tear off the breast, screaming, and I'll have to use a towel to just let the flow run down a bit. How in the world can I make sure that he's getting enough? I can't use the dirty diapers to gauge, as I give him a bottle after most feedings. When I was just doing the snuggles, he didn't have any wet diapers. If he did, they were just moist. What am I doing wrong?

I know that I asked alot of you and I want to thank you in advance for your help!:hugegrin:

[Maryelena_Vargas]

Hi,
Trush can be very painful so it may be good to take pain medicine also in addition to probiotics. Even if you don't see thrush in the baby most likely he needs to be treated also
Try nursing him from one breast until the breast is completely empty then if he wants more switch to the other breast. Pumping may be more painful than directly breastfeeding especially if the latch is correct according to LLL. However, if he is still not satisfied then give expressed breastmilk but continue nursing him as much as you can as your body will eventually adjust to the extra demand for milk. He may be going through a growth spurt and wants more
Maryelena

[intokermit]

One thing I forgot to mention is that when ds is done on the breast, he's extremely gassy. Tons of burps. Could it be that he's swallowing to much air when he's on the breast, and that's why he's starving? If so, how do I fix it?

[Maryelena_Vargas]

Babies don't usually swallow a lot of air if they breastfeed. Not sure if maybe your diet includes a lot of beans or broccoli but no that would not make him starve. How many stools and how many wet diapers in a day or 24 hours?

[intokermit]

I'm lucky if he has a BM every other day. Wet diapers are about 8 a day, but I do give EBM after nursings when he's acting like he's starving still.

[Maryelena_Vargas]

Babies vary as to when they have bowel movements; the best way to know is if he is gaining weight and is active and alert.
Try actively nursing one breast at a time, when both breast are empty and if he is still hungry then give expressed breast milk until he is satisfied he may be growing.
Your body will adjust to the extra need for more milk in about 2-3 days.