I'm going back to the doctor tonight, the skin around the nipple is getting flaky - and the whole thing just doesn't look healthy. I'm nursing on that side occasionally, sometimes, she just won't nurse on the shield, and sometimes I can't get anything out with my manual pump and just have to nurse. But mostly, I've been either pumping or using the shield, and letting it air dry, then coating it with lansinoh lanolin. The cuts are not healing, the one cut that's been there for almost three weeks is still there and another one has formed. Luckily, Julianna does nurse with no problems on the other side, and is definitely still getting all the breastmilk she could ever want. I don't want to wean, I hate the thought of formula, but am still seriously considering weaning on the right side and sticking with just the left one. The only reason I haven't done so is because I'm not positive that the left one won't develop the same problem - when I had thrush, it was the opposite, the left side was crap and the right side was the functional breast. Not weaning on one side keeps my options open. I just can't figure out why breastfeeding Julie is so challenging - I've nursed over four years, if you combine Jess and Sam, and went thru clogged ducts and mastitis, and it never felt like it was this hard.
Jess spent the night at my sister's house last night, she's going to the beach today with my mother and my niece. She's practicing for Hermit Island - our summer vacation. I'm not a girl who loves camping and my daughter is - so my sister is taking her up for a few extra days. She'll go up to Maine on the Sunday after July 4th, and I'll be up on Wednesday, with my cousin and the other two kids. Sam doesn't like camping either, strangely enough (because you'd think he'd like the dirt and bugs and general grubbiness that goes along with camping), and with a two and a half month old baby, camping isn't sounding all that appealing to me. Luckily, my stepsister lives up in Maine, not too far from the campground and we'll be able to sleep at her house :-)
3 comments:
Maine! ::sigh:: how fun for Jessi to go camping! :)
so reading through the LLL leader book, it references some research done with moms with cracked nipples and found that more than half tested positive for staphylococus aureus bacterial infections. that vast majority improved after being treated with oral antibiotics and the study "concluded that oral abx are an effective treament in mothers with extremely sore, cracked nipples." perhaps it is worth looking into?
Jo Ellen - I can NOT thank you enough for all of your advice. Really, you've been a huge huge support, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I don't know that I could have gotten this far without you :-).
feel free to tell me when i'm being a pest, seriously! lol. i would just hate for you to give up on that one side before every single possibility had been exhausted, you know?
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