Breastfeeding Hurts and Milk Supply Drops Anyway

“looking for some advice on the terrible pain I’ve been having on one side since almost birth. My baby is 5 months and my right side has pretty much always bothered me. she did have a tounge tie which was released at 5 weeks. At first I believed it was a milk blister or bleb as there have been short periods of time where it doesn’t hurt at all. this past week it starts flaring up again and I’ve tried all the things, ibuprofen, olive oil, exfoliating in shower, sunflower letchin. I sometimes have”

“Cracked sore nipples Hey all. My baby is currently 3 weeks old and I have been dealing with painful feeds since he was born. I have since seen lactation twice where they said that there didn’t seem anything wrong with my approach or his latch. I was recommended to have his pediatrician look for any anatomy abnormalities. He was seen by an ENT and told that there’s nothing wrong at all. Now the biggest question is, then why do I have cracked painful nipples? Is this normal? Has anyone experienced”

“I breastfed my first for 2.5 years, and I’m 5 months into feeding my second. He isn’t fond of my left boob, we feed off there but I’d say considerably less than the right, which is fine. I have good supply in both still but my left breast is noticeably smaller! The left breast has felt a bit more fibrous for a while but it would come and go, today I found quite a prominent lumpy section going from my nipple and directly up my breast. It feels ropey and rough and uneven. I feel like I can sort of”

“I’m now pregnant with my second baby and plan to breastfeed for a year like I did with my first. Everytime I would latch my daughter or knew I was going to have to feed her I would get a pit in my stomach. I’m talking every single time. I tried quitting multiple times because I hated it so much but my husband would push me because we both knew it was best for baby. I tried to get him to understand how I felt but men just don’t understand. Even though i do not enjoy breastfeeding I will do it as”

“Hi! I just began breastfeeding my third baby. However, since the first day, I’ve been having incredibly painful feedings. First time this has happened and I nursed my other two each for almost three years. As soon as baby starts sucking, there’s this intense burning and stinging sensation. It starts in my nipple and radiates straight down through the breast tissue. Than as soon as he stops, it’s gone. It gets a bit better after a minute or so of nursing or if I put heat on it before nursing, but”

“So our son started off using preemie nipple flow. It was taking forever for him to get down the milk. The lactation consultant told us to increase nipple flow because he was working too hard to finish the bottle and was falling a sleeping during feeds. So we went up to a 1 nipple flow. Then I think we increased to a 2 flow way to fast. Increased his milk intake to 2.5 to 3.5 to 4.0oz of breast milk. The last couple days tho he has some pretty intense spit ups. My son gets very fussy during the b”

“My baby is on nursing strike it seems. submitted by /u/Alien_Engineer [link] [comments]”

“Almost 4 months postpartum I’ve just developed cubital tunnel syndrome in my left arm and hand from breastfeeding (similar to carpel tunnel but radiates from the ulnar nerve in the elbow to the pinky and ring finger, causing tingling, numbness, and pain). I don’t know what to do. The only “treatment” to reduce pain is to avoid bending your arm. Well that’s clearly not possible with an infant, regardless of whether or not in breastfeeding. But the nursing certainly makes it worse. Also, my nipple”

“Hi! 37 yo female breastfeeding for 25 months. The last year I have had recurring issues with fungal like symptoms on my vulva. Also I get small tears and start to bleed from inner labia, clitoral hood and even the skin in the lower part of the butt crack. The tears comes out nowhere and without any form of extra friction like sex etc. So frustrating.. I have started local estriol cream on the outer parts where the symptom occur, and for 1,4 months it seemed to help. Now, all of a sudden the issu”

“So my 4 month old (18 weeks) all of the sudden will be sucking sucking sucking but not effectively removing milk. No letdowns are happening except for maybe the initial one and she isnt actively swallowing most of the time. It doesnt really matter how long shes on the breast, her sucking just isn't doing it. Her latch looks okay to me and we've never had this issue before so Im not sure why this would be happening. For more context: She gets bottles at daycare but until this past week wa”

“How common is painless and effortless breastfeeding? My firstborn bfing experience was a disaster with supply and latching issues, so I didn’t have much BF experience until now (I’m 10w pp) My second baby, who I’m currently EBF, has been a complete 180° . He latched in the hospital and has been EBF since then. Also… no pain. The only time I feel anything is maybe 3-5 seconds at the beginning of each latch and then it goes away as we get things moving. I see a lot of complaints of raw, bleeding,”

“So I am a FTM EBF, and my baby is gaining weight perfect, and has become an efficient feeder BUT, when he is hungry or tired, he becomes fussy at the breast and starts his routine of punching, flailing, nipple pulling and purple crying at the boob. All of this without having sucked for more than literally 5 SECONDS. The worst is that his loud crying ends triggering a letdown so he gets then totally rewarded for it. I am worried this behavior is getting worse and worse :( Is there something I can”

“My LO is turning 3 months this week. Until now, I have had an oversupply on one breast, and normal supply on the other. Earlier this week, I started to get pain on the normal supply side which later developed into a small lump with some light pink mark appearing. Thinking this may have been an early sign of a clogged duct or mastitis, I applied cold compresses, took advil for pain and kept having my LO take from that side first. That seemed to work because now the pain is gone. However, today I”

“I’m a ftm and just had my baby 2 weeks ago. I got mastitis 1.5 weeks postpartum and it absolutely tanked my supply and on top of it I felt like complete garbage for 3 days straight before I even knew what was going on. Now i can’t seem to kick it and I think my breastfeeding journey is over as my healthy boob has stopped producing. And yes, I’ve been offering both breasts as much as my baby requests and it’s not resolving my mastitis or supply issue. I’m on antibiotics. I’m so devastated about t”

“Hello, I am 7months pp. My son is going to start daycare next month so we decided to play around with introducing a bottle of formula (in case my supply dips, also to get some freedom back from pumping). I still breastfeed him three times and pump once at night but we have dropped one feed and replaced it with formula. A few days after this, I started to experience some physical symptoms of anxiety - feeling of doom in my stomach, some lightheadedness. This evening I felt some form of depersonal”

“Has anyone experienced this with their baby? (8 months old) Looking for other moms who’ve dealt with something similar — want to hear other experiences, not medical advice (we’re already working with our pediatrician and a PT). My son is 8 months old. A few things going on: **Tense default posture** — arms bent, elbows tucked tight at his ribs, shoulders raised. This is his resting state, whether I’m holding him, in his high chair, or sitting. **Can sit up unassisted and can reach for toys** — w”

“Input please LO is 11 weeks old so almost 3 month. Over the past few days he has seem to have lost interest in feeding. He will signal hunger, will drink from boobs reluctantly for 2 minutes while fussing like someone is strangling him (panting, grunting, pushing, kicking, twisting, chocking). It almost seems like he might be uncomfortable or in pain when he swallows. Then he will adamantly refuse boobs so I offer a bottle of 90ml. He will drink 30-60 ml and refuse again. When I finish the feed”

“I’m 6 months PP and haveEBF since day 1 without issues but now I’m suffering with a deep crack that is taking time to heal. I got a prescription for Jack Newmans nipple cream and the bleeding subsided so I stopped applying it but within 24 hours it reopened. I’m frustrated. My baby has been spiting up blood for weeks, it’s messy & I’m in pain. I also suddenly feel like the other breast is getting sore now too. I did notice that she likes to grab my boob and push it away while she feeds .. co”

“FTM. I am EBF my 6.5 month old and lately really struggling with feeding him. Boy is distracted and isn't really interested in breast. He does tend to get mad when I offer him boob unless he is ravenous and it's been like 4-5+ hours of him eating or it's before a nap. I don't mind feed to sleep so not trying to avoid that at all (I enjoy our peace together before he sleeps). I am just struggling to understand if I am maybe just offering too often and it's causing an aversion”

“My baby is 1 month old and although the breast she is being fussy over now was her preferred one. Now she is not happy at all, she arches, pulls herself away and cries when i offer her that one. She mostly does this at night and in early morning . It’s very frustrating and triggers my PPD, I don’t understand how to keep her feeding from that too. Also that breast seems to leak and get engorged more, i suspect fast flow. Is there anyone with same issue? submitted by /u/Farmacisa18 [li”

“Hi everyone. I had a really good milk supply from the beginning, but for about a week now, when I press my breast to check if there’s milk, the spray feels completely different. Before, milk would spray out strongly, but now the stream is very thin, and lately it’s almost just drops coming out instead of spraying everywhere. Could this just mean that the flow has changed, or does it mean my supply has decreased? For the past three days I’ve also had nausea, and I had loose motions for one day. M”

“My 3-week-old has been breastfed since birth, but for the last week he has become increasingly unsettled during and after feeds. He often pulls away from the breast, turns red, cries, arches his back and brings his knees up to his chest. We’ve been to the GP, who said it could be reflux and prescribed Gaviscon. However, it seemed to make him really unsettled before bed, so we stopped giving it. Today has been particularly difficult. He has been very unsettled both during and after feeds and seem”

“Has anyone else experienced aching shoulders while weaning from breast feedings? submitted by /u/TeachAdventurous2917 [link] [comments]”

“My baby was born premature at 31 weeks +3 days. I started exclusive breastfeeding at 35 weeks when i was able to take the baby home from NICU. I was told he had a "great" latch by the lactation team at the NICU. he was gaining weight, but overall, it was too slow of a progress, so I had to supplement with EBM in a bottle. After painfully triple feeding for some time, he has now gained good weight at 43 weeks of corrected age (or 3 weeks from the estimated due date). I want to go back t”

“I’ve been exclusively pumping for my NICU baby for about one month now and the last week my right nipple has been in excruciating pain. I noticed the last few days my supply has dropped by half on that side and I can feel a hard spot on that boob that I can’t get rid of no matter how many things I try. I noticed the nipple is very painful just in one tiny spot and it doesn’t have a noticeable white spot like I hear a lot of people describe, but it almost looks like a blister with what appears to”

“Hey everyone! Not sure if anyone else has experienced this (hopefully it’s normal?) but my 3 month 1week old girl just started struggling with feeding. She is generally breastfeeding (except 1 bottle a day at night just to keep her used to it for when she starts daycare). A week or so ago, my wife almost had mastitis due to a clogged duct that my girl finally opened up. Now my wife has another one and she can’t unclog it. But I general she seems disinterested in feed from the breasts which is st”

“Hi All, My 11 week old (time flew way too fast) has clusterfed on and off for the past two days. Usually, my supply immediately reflects her needs but it hasn't and feels like it stalled out. On top of that, my frozen stash is pretty much done. I work 7a-3:30p, and pump every two hours at work. My mom and my husband rotate watching our daughter during the week, and they feed her whenever she cries for a bottle. When they feed her from the bottle, she can drain a 4oz with no issue, and someti”

“My baby is 5.5 months (born at 37 weeks, so technically 4.5 months). Since about May-early June, I’ve had random sharp shooting pain deep in my breasts, especially the right. I was given clindamycin “just in case” but never examined by my doctor. It helped my supply a little bit, but not for very long. The last few weeks, my son isn’t eating nearly as frequently as he used to; He throws frequent fits because he’s not getting enough milk at the breast anymore/it’s not coming out fast enough. If h”

“Baby is 4.5 weeks old. Breastfeeding was incredibly painful for the first two weeks until we had a tongue and lip tie 1.5 weeks ago. Latch is better now but she still gets very snoozy on the breast and I have been triple feeding to ensure she is gaining weight. My midwife suggested slowly reducing the amount of top ups given, but would she just likely get better at milk transfer with time and practice after the tongue tie revision? Or do I need to challenge her with reduced top ups to keep her a”

“Hi everyone, I’m looking for some insight or similar experiences. My baby is 4 months old (3 months adjusted, as he was born premature). Up until this week, breastfeeding was going well and I had a solid supply. However, starting Monday afternoon, I noticed a sudden and severe dip in my supply. My baby started struggling to stay at the breast and would only drink a little bit if I actively used breast compression to help the flow. He was still producing wet diapers, but feeding him became extrem”

“Did anyone have intense let downs (painful even) that eventually stopped? I’m still nursing my 24 month old and I stopped actively feeling my let downs before a year hit and now I’m just wondering if it will come back after the new baby is here in about 2 weeks since my milk will be back to hormone based? If that is the correct way to put it. submitted by /u/Terrible-Run6878 [link] [comments]”

“Has anyone had the misfortune of having to wear a heart monitor while nursing? I have an 8 month old and I’ve only had it on for a few hours and it’s not going over well 😅. Any tips or tricks welcomed because I don’t know how I’ll be able to do this for a whole week! lol submitted by /u/devours_veggies [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone, As the title says, my baby is 27 days old, I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding him since he was born. His feeding pattern is really confusing me. There are days where he would latch and feeds for 20 minutes or more and days where he would latch only for 5 minutes, these days are usually the hardest for us as he would be very fussy, angry and would start crying after few minutes of latching. On these days I usually have hard and full breasts due to his poor latching which makes feedi”

“My boy is 8 weeks old and we’ve been EBF since he was born. About 4 days after I gave birth i started getting large painful cracks that still have not healed and cause me a considerable amount of pain when he eats. I’ve been working with a lactation consultant weekly, I’ve had 3 different consultants at this point. The next step they want me to take is using a nipple shield. I’m not completely opposed to it but I’d almost rather just deal with the pain than have my baby sucking on plastic every”

“My little guy just turned two months and is still yellow. We have an appointment with pediatrician on monday. His 1 month appointment the doctor just stated he had breastfeeding jaundice and not to.worry to keep doing what i am doing. How long did it take your babys to get rid of jaundice 😭😭 ill put him in indirect sunlight..i also give vitamin d drops...i swear one day he looks fine and the next yellow again. 😭😭 submitted by /u/madamelady24 [link] [comments]”

“Got mastitis when baby was 11 days old. Hit hard and fast. Now, about a week out from that date, my supply has definitely dropped. Baby still isn’t back up to birth weight. Breast feeding and also supplementing with breast milk in a bottle after feeds when he still seems hungry. But I don’t have a significant freezer supply or anything. Just a little bit from passively collecting letdowns over the last two weeks. Just having a crash out thinking that my supply won’t come back and baby is just st”

“Hi everyone! My 13 month old son just had a bad flare all over his back due to sweat/heat friction. We have since bought a new house that has AC and within 2 days we have seen major improvement. (This move was just good timing, not due to his eczema haha) I understand that a flare up is typically never an isolated accident and something you’ll be monitoring until they (hopefully) outgrow it. My question is: once your child has healed from a flare, do you continue to do the thick moisturizer/spec”

“Hello mamas, Im a ftm, exclusively pumping while my baby is in the nicu. Ive been pumping for 4 weeks, and have only recently started getting clogged milk ducts. They are incredibly painful! I started taking Sunflower Lecithin 4x daily beginning today. Ive done the hot shower and hokka and get relief and have done the dangling method while pumping on a higher pump level. So clearing them isnt the issue (yet). My question is why this is happening? Am I doing something wrong while pumping maybe? H”

“No one warned me about how at some point your breastfeeding baby will beat you up while feeding. My 6 month old punches me in the face, claws me all over, grabs my loose skin on my neck and twists (Don't judge I am 38 almost 39..he is my second), pinches my arm fat while also digging in his tiny talons, somehow manages to find a group of loose hairs from my pony tail and yanks them. How do I make this stop!? I know this comes up often but lord I also just need to vent. I have tried giving hi”

“Hi all. I need to know if this is normal or something to be concerned about. I’m not new to clusterfeeding as my now almost 6 week old went through a clusterfeeding phase around 1-2 weeks old. However, this seems more extreme. Starting 4 days ago, he started to severely increase his feed lengths. He was taking around 30min to eat and then would fall asleep. He’s been gradually increasing that duration to 45min… an hour… two hours… currently I’m on my fourth hour with him just switching back and”

“As the title suggests, my 4.5 month (19 week) old a week or two ago has started grasping at and pinching the area above my nipple while she eats. It was cute at first, but with how quickly her nails grow and how hard she grasps, I find myself reaching a breaking point and having to rip her away from the boob to take a breather before I react out of anger and frustration. It’s much worse at night because she still wakes up every 2-3 hours for more and I’m. So. TIRED. What do I do?? Shirts don’t h”

“Upfront disclosure: I literally have an appt with our pediatrician set for tomorrow, I am just looking for some real world experiences. My 9 month old just recently started struggling with eczema. No cracked or blistering skin yet, but I fear one patch is headed that way. I wish I could put my finger on when this started, but I think it's generally been the heat here and maybe exacerbated by when we tried eggs. He had a mild reaction on his mouth and hands. My main concern is genetics...my h”

“My son is 3 weeks old, the first 2 days he was breast feeding exclusively and then his 3rd day he was cluster feeding soo much my nipples cracked after 4 hours of almost continuous feeding and my mild wasn’t coming in and I couldn’t feed him. He was born a little early and small… so we got scared and gave him formula in a bottle. Since then he has been reluctant to latch on, we went to a few consultants and they said his latch is fine and position is fine - however he just won’t latch for long.”

“EBF. Never used a bottle or paci. Baby is now 1. I cannot get her to stop wanting to nurse. Shes pulling down my shirt. Shes crying and hitting me when I refuse her. I am exhausted and want to be doneeee now. I will take all advice because this girl is nursed to sleep, nursed when sad, nursed when hungry, nursed for everything. And ive loved this experience but i have to go on medication soon that ive been putting off that is not BF friendly. submitted by /u/YaGurlLurkin [link]”

“Not sure exactly if this is supply dip but concerned it might be. Recently my 8 month old has started shaking her head side to side when eating and playing more with my boobs. I’m not sure if she’s just self soothing, playing, or she’s not getting enough milk. She’s always been a boob monster, and doesn’t take a bottle or use a dummy. Anyone experienced similar? submitted by /u/Englishgirlinmadrid [link] [comments]”

“How did/is everyone handling 3/4 month old "nursing strike" with the second kid? My almost 4 month old all of a sudden will not nurse during the day other than in my bed. She keeps popping off looking around getting fussy. My supply is fine and my letdown is fast so I don't think those are the issue. Pretty sure she wants to just look around. Thing is I have a 4 year old so I can't really nurse in a quiet dark room all the time. Yesterday at the fair the baby wouldn't nurse”

“In the last couple of days my 5 month old has started refusing to feed from my right breast about 75% of the time, including overnight. I know it's not a supply issue as I did a pump this morning due to the engorgement (as well as hand expressing overnight to take the edge off). But he's literally crying, arching his back and pushing away from me when I try to offer him that side. I have minor success feeding him in football hold, but it's not comfortable for me and as it's not s”

“My baby is 11 months old, and I’m grateful that our breastfeeding relationship is still going strong. However, she’s gotten increasingly aggressive with me. She loves to pinch and grab my nose, chin, and neck, sometimes to the point of drawing blood or leaving a mark. Constantly redirecting her little hands makes breastfeeding less enjoyable, and I’m hoping this is just a phase? Does it get worse before it gets better? What is she trying to tell me or do, because I don’t think this helps milk fl”

“My 3 week old and I, FTM, are struggling with milk leaking out of the side of his mouth while breastfeeding. He had a very painful, shallow latch for his first two weeks but suddenly a week ago the pain stopped so I assume his latch is better now?? We soak a burp cloth at every feeding, sometimes through the folded up cloth and onto his clothes, my clothes, down my side, everywhere. It’s significantly worse on one side. I feel like I’ll never be able to nurse in public with the way I have to sho”

“I’m only 9 weeks but today I decided I needed to wear a “comfy” bra at all times since my boobs feel like they’re weighing my skin down and stretching my pacemaker scar. Has anyone else run into this? Should I bring it up to my doctor? submitted by /u/ReasonableAffect1815 [link] [comments]”

“First time mom here. My baby developed Atopic Dermatitis. He is 4 months old now. My GP did not suggest elimination diet or any diet in particular. He recommended to moisturize or use 0.5% hydrocortisone. I tried moisturizing first, worked on some parts of his body (face) but his back and chest are becoming worse (bright red and scaly patches). Tried hydrocortisone and it worked first 3 days like almost gone but came back again, though not as bad. I haven’t eliminated anything yet, I eat everyth”

“9 weeks pp and starting to get back into the workout routine but it hasn’t been easy. My boobs are still engorged and so painful in a sports bra. I’m usually in-between feedings if I’m at the gym or workout class and I find that anytime I do something physical I start leaking through my nipple pads and the weight of them becomes so uncomfortable as I’m moving. I also get some shooting pain if I stay in a tight bra for too long I’m a 34DD and need some tips please!! submitted by /u/Im”

“My 9 week old has had this from last 36-48 hours and it has increased on one cheek (gotten redder and spread). Please help! Ped is OOO till Monday. https://imgur.com/a/YCXQjdM submitted by /u/Intelligent-Lake-943 [link] [comments]”

“I’m in a bit of a conundrum between our doctor and daycare, and I could use some sanity check. Our baby is now 8 months old and has had eczema since the newborn phase. We went to a paediatric allergist around 3 months and the eczema is now well controlled with cream and steroid. He’s also been blood tested for allergies and we know he has egg allergy but no wheat or soy bean or dairy allergy. So the baby started going to daycare since last month. Yesterday, the baby had bread for the first time”

“Hi everyone - we are dealing with dry patches on our 1 year olds back. So far it’s quite mild and doesn’t seem to be itchy. Most flares are after a hot and sweaty day, especially in his car seat. His paediatrician has given us a few things to try as far as ointments, lifestyle changes but doesn’t feel a steroid is necessary at this point. One thing that just dawned on us is how our water is hard. Has anyone dealt with eczema and noticed a difference when they switched to a soft water system? Tha”

“I’m writing this crying for I don’t even know how many days in a row. I desperately need help/advice/ or someone that has gone through something similar. My LO was 11 weeks this past Saturday. Starting last Monday (going on a week now) she has been on a nursing strike. Little history about our nursing journey so far: we found a severe tongue after we left the hospital and that was removed at 5 days old. We did the routine finger swiping under the tongue to prevent regrowth and it has healed grea”

“I’m doing a combo of BF and pumping with some supplementation of formula if needed. Currently 2 weeks PP and baby sometimes latches but other times gets frustrated and we move to a bottle. Last two days they’ve latched 3x for 30 min each time. LC didn’t see issues with latch when I saw her last week but it’s painful to nurse now. I’m doing exactly what they taught me, flipping the nipple in and they latch deep enough I can’t see my areola. Nipple after 30 minutes it’s very elongated. I also foun”

“I’m doing a combo of BF and pumping with some supplementation of formula if needed. Currently 2 weeks PP and baby sometimes latches but other times gets frustrated and we move to a bottle. Last two days they’ve latched 3x for 30 min each time. LC didn’t see issues with latch when I saw her last week but it’s painful to nurse now. I’m doing exactly what they taught me, flipping the nipple in and they latch deep enough I can’t see my areola. Nipple after 30 minutes it’s very elongated. I also foun”

“Our baby is almost two weeks old. About 3 days ago she started taking much less time on each breast (maybe like 5-10 on each one). She appears healthy and is peeing / pooping normal. She feeds every 1-2.5 hours. I have an appointment on Monday but just curious about other parents’ experiences I do occasionally pump so my husband can feed her for a shift at night. I pumped after one of her feeds and there was barely anything in there which makes me think she’s getting enough. But again those seem”