mastitis, b-f-ing - fed-up, giving up!

[Suzie and Faith]

I've been feeling rough for a couple of days and had noticed a red lump on my right boob but I didn't pay any attention to it.

In the middle of last night I couldn't stop shaking with cold - despite it being warm in my room! I then woke up with a fever! I googled my symptoms and it seems to be mastitis.

I hadn't realised I needed to go see the doc (until reading LisaJ's thread). So i'll do that tomorrow.

It's one more of many problems I seem to have had with my boobs and now I just don't want to try any more. First of all she wasn't latching, which made my boobs sore, then I realised it was because I had flat nipples and no matter how hard i tried she just wouldn't stay latched! So i started expressing and bottle-feeding, occasionally topping with formula if I couldn't express enough.

The the bottles were causing her tummy pains.

The nipple shields worked as a latch but the open cuts meant it was agony.

Now the mastitis has set in. I tried her with expressed milk from the sore boob but she doesn't like it! I then found that mastitis can cause the breast milk to taste funny and some babies don't like it.

All day today she has had formula and i've chucked whatever I've expressed and I am probably going to stick to formula now. I am just so fed up with the pain and the expressing. It'd be different if I thought she could ever feed directly from me.

It just feels like one thing after another - at first my stitches hurt like hell, then the bruising was very painful and now I have a fever, headache and general aches from the mastitis!!!!!!!!!!

I'm feeling sorry for myself I know - i'm sure everyone has problems and has had a hard time!

On a plus - I do love being a mummy! Watching her grow and seeing her change every day is amazing and I love the way she looks at me and I see myself in her, it's just amazing!

Ok, ramble over.!

 

[charlie84]

Oh hun, make sure you get to the docs tomorrow and get the mastitis sorted.

Breastfeeding is one of the hardest things i have had to do and i havent experienced mastitis, so i cant imagine how horrible it is for you.

You have to do what is best for you and baby hun.
Remember Happy Mummy=Happy Baby

 

[beanie]

oh hun

just keep expressing though to avoid engorgement as that will make it worse. hope you feel better really soon

 

[valentine]

It sounds like you've had a hard time BabyBee. I really hope you feel better soon.

Valentine Xxx

 

[DebbieM]

You need to do what's right for you to keep yourself and baby happy hun xxx

 

[Becky]

Mastitis is horible, I've had it twice, once as a teenager and once when I was bf. It really does make you feel awful so you have my sympathy, especially with trying to keep up feeding your baby!

When it comes to making a decision about bf/bottle the important thing is that you and your baby are happy and in a good state of mind in order to build your relationship. It really does sound like you've given it a good shot so try not to feel too sorry for yourself, you've done a great job so far and well done for continuing through so much difficulty.

 

[sarah2807]

hope you get it sorted hun and feel better soon. xx

 

[loz]

It can be really diff the 1st few weeks - I had mastitis too. It does get better - mastitis clears up real quick with anti-biotics. BF does becoming easier if you persevere on, I know it can seem awful tho. Do what you can hun

 

[KJ]

What Loz said.

I had amstitis too, but I went straight to the emergency doc and got antibiotics. It was hell for abotu 24hrs, then it started clearing up. The pain lessened after the 24hrs but I still had theinflammation for about a week.

I know feeding through it is easier said than done, especially as it feels like someone is sticking knives through your nipple, but it does get better.

Obvously you have to make the right decision for you. I just don't want you to give up and then when the mastitis clears, regret your decision.

I would say, go to the doctors NOW, don't wait until tomorrow. No-one should have to live with mastitis without medication. ALso get some savoy cabbage and put the leaves inside your bra. They're very soothing.

I hope it clears up for you soon,

K.xxx

 

[valentine]

Obvously you have to make the right decision for you. I just don't want you to give up and then when the mastitis clears, regret your decision.

Absolutely, I want to support you in your decision, but I've seen so many posters move to bottles then really regret it.

If you do make the decision to move to exclusive bottle feeding, then great, we're all behind you, but its very hard to move back again, so please make sure you are 100% sure.

Valentine Xxx

 

[debecca]

Hey Suzie,

First of all have a huge because mastitis really sucks. I had it too (despite not even starting BF) and was hot and cold hot and cold all night - it's a pain not being able to sleep when you're tired after the birth anyway!!!

On the plus side if you can get to the docs today (get an emergency appt) the antibiotics do work REALLY quickly. They don't help with the engorgement and related pain but they take that acute pain away.

As for the decision not to BF, only you can make that, but be sure you make the right decision. There are many advantages and disadvantages to each method. However, we've been bottle feeding for 2 months now (yay! She's 2 months!) and:

PROS:

* Daddy / Grandma / whoever can feed her with relatively little inconvenience to me. I can sleeeeeeep and no expressing.
* She goes much longer between feeds than a breastfed baby - up to 7 hours at night and up to 5-6 hours during the day if we let her (but we don't, we're trying to stick to 4 hours otherwise she only has 4 bottles in 24 hours which is against what it says on the SMA tin). The going longer is because the milk forms curds in the stomach and breast milk is more easily digested.
* No embarrassment when feeding out of the house - but some people don't feel embarrassed BFing anyway. I wouldn't but I'm a "bold madam" as my Grandad used to say.
* Your body returns to normal quicker so your periods will come back (hang on this needs to be in cons too!) and you can fit in your normal bras without boobs leaking and hurting.
* NO MASTITIS PAIN OR BLEEDING!

CONS:

* Making the bottles is a pain in the bum! We now use the "Kimbo" method which is quicker and works better - but you still have to actually get up in the middle of the night
* Temperature can be an issue - never a problem with BF.
* Formula costs cash. Oh unless your baby is diagnosed lactose intolerant of course - we now get food on prescription. But the powder doesn't dissolve as well and it froths! Ming!
* Breast is made for your baby - you have no worries about chemicals etc.
* Random strangers (and even yourself at times!) make you feel like crap about bottle feeding with a load of emotional blackmail about how you don't care about your baby
* Lose that 'closeness' you might have - although I cried at 5am when feeding Connie cos I realised just how much I love her so who knows?

I THINK that's a balanced argument but given how much pain you're in the Pros may outweigh the cons for you?

BFers I need more Pros and Cons here!!

 

[sarafet]

i'm just going to pm you suzie xxx

 

[Becky]

My pros and cons for BF!

Pros:

**So convenient - no preparation needed so when baby lets you know its hungry you can feed straight away - I found Lucy cried a lot less waiting to be fed than her bottle fed cousin
**You use 500-750 calories a day producing breast milk so you gain your figure back nice a quick
**Breastfeeding stimulates certain hormones which help the uterus contract back to "normal"
**Less to pack when leaving the house - no bottles etc.
**Its easy!! (Ok not to start with but you do get so good at it you can latch on in the dark, without looking and when you're out with no-one noticing!!


Cons:
**Only you can feed baby unless you express and not everyone has success with this
**Your boobs take longer to get back to a reasonable size
**Breastfeeding bras are not the nicest!
**Leaky boobs - not the best look in the world!
**You get a lot of negative comments like "You're not still breastfeeding are you?
**Its hard work to get past the first few weeks and at times your emotional state all over the place


I nearly gave up with Lucy and I would never think bad of anyone giving up after such a hard effort to keep going. However I am glad I stuck to it, it was just right for me and Lucy.

 

[kalia]

As I've said before, the most important thing is that you are happy

Some people have pointed out that others have regretted giving up breastfeeding. Without a crystal ball there's no way of knowing if you will but you might like to keep expressing just in case. You wouldn't have to express as much as she eats but as long as you maintain some kind of milk supply you would be able to build it up later if you change your mind. If you go dry I don't think you can get your milk back The reason I suggest this is that at the moment you are in a lot of pain - both from giving birth and the mastisis, you are not getting as much sleep as you used to once upon a time and you are still chock full of hormones. This all adds up to you feeling awful and so it might not be time to make big decisions.

My LO has been exclusively on expressed breastmilk for 7 weeks now and all that expressing has toughened my nipples (and had done weeks ago) so we can pain free breastfeed if we are both in the mood. Neither of us gives it 100% - she gives about 75% (or 100% if she's feeling happy), I give about 10% - so we average at about half a breast fed meal a day as I prefer expressing. But I like knowing that if we had an emergency situation when out and about when we had no sterile bottles we could breast feed. It wouldn't be a pretty sight but we could manage it.

The most important thing for both of you really is your happiness so do what will make you happiest.

 

[Lisamj]

I know how you feel. You have to go with whats right for you at the end of the day.

I can tell you that 24 hours after starting antibiotics for my mastitis I am feeling better. The red painful boobs are still there but the fever has pretty much gone.

xxx

 

[keli]

As everyone has said happy mummy = happy baby you've got to do what's best for you. Hope you feel better soon xxx