Painless Breastfeeding… Finally!

I am truly overjoy about how breastfeeding (BF) is quite successful this time around.

Did I attend BF class?  Nope.
Did I buy BF books?  Nope.

I only have the What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff.  I did read as many free pamphlet as I can get my hands on from nearly each big brand formula company and the benefit center of the company I work for.

I think there are 2 main sources to this success:

(1) lessons learned from attempt to BF Koala: latch-on and never give up!
(2) expressing milk for Koala for 7 months!

I read about BF getting easier the 2nd time around, especially if I BF the first time around; but I didn’t BF 1st time around, then what happens?  So I guess the expressing helps; however little I expressed.

So, did BF go smoothly right from the beginning during this 2nd time around?  Yes and No.

The latch on and the milk supply were fine.  Unfortunately, there was a problem with Breastmilk Jaundice.  It’s quite rare according to whatever statistics that got posted on pamphlets, books, websites.  Yeah, the stats are different all over the place depending on where you see it.

Since there hasn’t been any serious problem developed from Breastmilk Jaundice, I guess there’s no research nor prevention on this “concern”.

The only problem with Breastmilk Jaundice is that Roo got blood drawn (heel prick) every week!  Just to make sure his jaundice level doesn’t get too high.  Poor baby.

Finally at 6 weeks, the jaundice level lowered to a comfort level that blood-drawing is no longer needed.

Then comes the 3rd month: biting started.  Ouch!  Month 4, I found out the reason: stop offering him the “milk” when he pulls away.  Fine!  He only got 5-8 min. of BF each session and he nurses every 2 hours.  Better than being bitten.

Month 4 and 5?  Painful nipple for an hour or two every day for no apparent reason.  How painful?  Imagine being cut open!  No amount lanolin, warm compress, or air-drying helped.  I was so frustrated that I went to my ob/gyn.  She took me in right away worrying about breast infection.  But nope, no breast infection and sent me home with 1 advice: warm compress or motrin.

I didn’t want any pain-relief medicine to get into the milk, so I tried dabbing some infant tylenol on the area.  Too bad that didn’t help.

My only method in reducing the frequncy of pain was not to let myself fall sleep while Roo was nursing.  Eventually, the pain comes every other day; once a week; then it finally went away during Month 6.

Woo hoo!  No more pain!  Roo has 2 teeth already and still no pain…. yet.  We will see…