Good Evening! Cheryl Parrott RN, IBCLC is here!

[CherylParrott]

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[Sassafras]

Hi Cheryl, hope you are having a great evening!

http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq212/skylerstarr/hugs.jpg Sassy

[red927]

I have a 2 week old boy and have been trying to breastfeed. This is my first baby so we are both new to this process.
I think I have two different problems.
1. I'm not sure my son is latching on right. He looks like he is- lips flanged out, has all of areola in his mouth etc. but he hurts me. After about 4-5 feedings my nipples start to crack and if I continue they will bleed and scab over so bad the milk can hardly come through. I nurse for a bit then take a break for a day or two to heal, in the meantime I pump.
2. Sometimes when I try to nurse him, he cries really hard. I start to put him into position and he screams. I move him to a different position, calm him down and try again, but then he starts screaming again. After several minutes of this, I end up giving him a bottle. He doesn't do this every time. We've had one session which ended up with him nursing, then going to sleep like he's satisifed. Every other session, he either does the crying or he nurses both sides each side 10-15 min. but acts like he's still hungry so we supplement with formula.
I am trying to decide if I should continue trying to nurse.
I don't want to give up after only 2 weeks, but don't know if I can handle fighting him every time I nurse him and he hurts me so bad I dread it. I have been pumping, so he is at least getting some breast milk. About 50/50.
I don't want to make this too long, but don't know if you need any more info.
My son had some trouble the first few days after birth. They took him to the nursery the first 2 hrs. after birth cause they were a little concerned about his breathing. It was mild, he was fine, but I didn't get to nurse him for several hours.
He was also jaundice, and lethargic and wasn't eating/nursing well and sleeping a lot. He went 24hrs. without passing stool, so the LC at the hospital worked with us to get him to eat. We tricked him with formula through a tube while he was nursing, so he thought he was getting the milk from me. We did this til my milk came in, thinking that would help, but it didn't. We are still having trouble. I think I've narrowed it down to the latching on trouble and the crying problem.
I'm just at a loss of what to do, I want to try everything, before I make my final decision. Part of my wants to give up, but part of me feels bad for giving up, esp. this soon. If the nursing doesn't work, I would at least continue to pump so he can still get breast milk, but would like to nurse if there is still a chance we can make it work.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Erin

[CherylParrott]

has anyone checked his frenulum...tongue tied? If he is latching poorly, your supply could be down. I really think you need to sit down with the LC from your hospital to reevaluate that latch and do pre/post feed weights. That way you can get him nursing good and start to enjoy this more! Hang in there and get some hands on help!