Blah - feeling sorry for myself!

[scrapperjade]

Elora has thrush. I have thrush on my nipples. Her mouth is white, my nipples are on fire & bright red & soooooo painful.

I've been wondering why she hasn't been sleeping well the last few nights. She's been really wiggly and squirmy, and hasn't been settling well. Then she started getting a bum rash (poor little girl), which is pretty mild, but still there. And she hasn't been latching well when she nurses, so of course, I am in pain. I could not understand how come she seemed to be going backwards in both her sleeping & eating - she's been a 4+ hour sleeper since the day she was born, and has never given me a problem in nursing either.

Yesterday I saw some (what I thought was) spit-up in her mouth, and didn't think much of it, even though it never went away. But today it was way worse, even on the inside of her lips! I showed it to a friend who had 3 boys, and all had it, and she said it definitely was thrush. So off to the hospital we went (small town, no clinic open on Sunday), saw the doctor, and got a prescription (can't fill it till tomorrow though, again - small town, no pharmacy open on Sunday).

Ava never had thrush, so I'm at a loss. And I'm frustrated too. I don't *love* breastfeeding at the best of times, so when I get a set-back, I get discouraged & want to give up altogether...

[AmyG]

Poor baby. And you, I winced reading it and remember that all too well. OW. Do you have some lanolin? I swear that stuff is miracle cream for nipples! Might help with chafing during the night until you get your RX filled. You will both feel better in a few days.

I hear ya about nursing. With both kids I had problems. I wanted to love it. I wanted it to be easier. I had a lactation consultant both times. I came to the realization that when I wanted to quit I really needed to nurse more haha! Usually when a growth spurt was hitting and they wanted to eat every other hour after sleeping all night or they were getting sick and didn't want to eat just mouth me, the joy of being a human pacifier.

[Jengerbread88]

ouch I hope it gets better once you get the Rx filled... until then, hang in there!

:: hugs ::

[nun69]

so sorry for both of you guys...I hope it gets cleared up quickly....I have no advice for the breastfeeding, but if you have made it this far, keep it up

[AmberK]

sorry you are dealing with thrush. My oldest had thrush a few times but he was bottle fed so I didnt have to deal with it on me. Hope it clears quickly for you guys and BF'ing goes smoother.

[jessica31876]

Please dont blame yourself or feel bad. Thrush is caused by yeast and yeast is naturally present everywhere in your body. If either you or your daughter recently were on antibiotics you have even more chance of developing it from what I remember. When I googled it it said this:


Clean your nipples with medicine, such as nystatin, if you breast-feed your baby. Breast-feeding mothers and babies can pass a yeast infection back and forth. Dry your nipples and apply lanolin lotion after breast-feeding.

Also keep an eye on the diaper rash because it can turn into a yeast infection as well. The dr may have already prescribed something for that though.

It happens though. It happened more then once with my son. He was six weeks premature so he was even more susceptible to the yeast becoming abundant and causing the infection. It does clear up really quickly with the medicine though so after probably only a day or two you will both be feeling a big relief! Just wanted to say Ive been there and I know it sucks but itll be gone before you know it and youll be back to normal

[neenee]

I wish I had words of wisdom for you. I never had thrush nor did my babies. So, I can't imagine how that feels. I didn't LOVE breastfeeding either. Sorry you are going through all of this. All I can do is give you {{{BIG HUGS}}}. Hope you feel better.

[nietis]

So sorry... I just hope you and your little girl heal soon. *hugs*

[emmasmommy]

aww jae! (((hugs)))
i didn't bf so i have no experience, but i would imagine that HURTS!

[cardinalskate]

Yowchie! I'm so sorry for both of you girlies! BF'ing was so hard for me...you just have to do what's right for you and your baby. I hope the meds give you some relief quickly!

[Leah]

Ugh thrush sucks. DD1 had thrush and DS had thrush for the first entire year of his life. With Sydney, the prescription always worked. With Ethan, the only thing that would work was gentian violet. He had a purple face for a year. Luckily, I never got thrush myself.

[heathergw]

(((HUGS))) Jae!!!

[pewtertm]

So sorry, sweets! Rachel and I never dealt with thrush, but I had the bleeding nipple issue from day 2 until I gave up b/f a few weeks later. It's a miserable feeling.

[mummytothree]

I haven't read any of the responses so some of this might be repeats,but here is my 2 cents worth!!

If they gave Nystatin cream for your nipples that is fine.
If they gave you Nystatin liquid for baby it's gonna be iffy if it works...read the little pamphlet that came with it...it's made with a 50% solution of sugar (to make it sweet so that babies will take it) well what's one of the main things yeast thrives on!?!?! SUGAR!!! Yeah....let's feed the baby a medicine made with sugar to kill a sugar feeding fungus...bet a man came up with that combo!!!

Go get yourself some Gentian Violet (I got mine at Wal Mart, ask at the pharmacy...it's just a couple bucks) and use that: here are a few links about it:

http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_abo...t_gentian.html
http://www.llli.org/faq/thrush.html

It's messy but it works great for most everyone!!!

Start taking a probiotic, this is a good one and it survived the stomach acid the best (I also got mine at Wal Mart) Take it until both your symptoms are gone (at least 10 days to 2 weeks):
http://www.culturelle.com/find_retailer_EDH30

BOIL EVERY THING THAT TOUCHED HER MOUTH/LIPS AND YOUR NIPPLES. Seriously I mean everything. Everyday. After every time she or you use it (binks, bottles, pump parts, spoon ect). Wash all your shirts/bras/reusable nursing pads...anything cloth that touches your nips or her mouth in HOT water and bleach (if you can...if you can't use bleach the grapefruit seed extract will work and so will vinegar sometimes) everyday until you're both clear of the thrush.

I had it for 2 months with C and it was a bitch!!! I let it go too long and it was really resistant, I finally had to go to Grapefruit Seed Extract to kill it...you can read about that here!!!

http://drjaygordon.com/breastfeeding/thrush.html

Good luck Jae...it's a pain...it really is but you can beat it with just a little bit of diligence!!! After that one time we got it (at around 2 months of age) we never had a problem with it again and we are still nursing now at 22 months of age!!! Let me know if you have any questions!!!! momma!!!

[MandaT]

((hugs)) Hope things get a little easier for you today.

[scrapperjade]

Thanks for the hugs & support girls! I'm feeling better about it today, but still totally bummed out.

Elizabeth - thanks for all the great advice! I have Clotrimazole creme for my nipples and her bum rash, and Nystatin liquid for her mouth. I just got it all this morning, so the regimen has begun, lol! I've currently got a pot of water on to boil with both her soothers, and a bottle nipple that I was trying to get her to use, but to no avail - she likes the boob the best and I'm going to have to suffer through it (ahhh), lol.

I'm going to be going to a city on Thursday, and will definitely stop at a health food store and get some probiotics. I'm thinking of going on the Candida diet as well. I've had to do it before Avalynne was born because I had a huge candida infection in my system, which cleared up for the last 4 years, but has obviously gotten out of hand again. I'm just worried that if I do the Candida diet, my milk supply will be effected. I'm not ready to quit nursing her yet.

Gentian Violet is on my arsenol plan for after the weekend. We have an important event coming up on the weekend, and I really can't have Ellie with a purple mouth! The doctor wants me to try this first, and if it's not cleared up within 7-10 days, I'll start the Violet.

[Tracie Stroud]

HUGS! Eli had thrush too. Gentian violet worked wonders for us. I would swab his mouth with it then let him nurse so he applied it to me too. lol. It took about 4 days of applying it for it to clear up.

[mummytothree]

Good plan Jae!!! I'll give you a little adviseon the nystatin for her (only because my nurse didn't tell me this...thy diagnoised us over the phone and just phoned everything so I only spoke to a nurse), what ever her dose is put it in a shallow dish...medicine cup... ect and get some q-tips and dip it in the medicine and rub it everywhere in her mouth...tounge, insides of both cheeks, roof of her mouth, the inside of both lips, along her gum lines...do it a couple times and then give her the rest of the meds if there is any left.

Silly me was just shooting it down C's throat and it wasn't even getting to any of the "hidden" places that thrush like to hide in the mouth!!! When I called the doc back after like 10 days and it wasn't better he asked me something about the rubbing it all over and I was like I wanted to shoot that nurse!!!

[Paula]

My middle child and I went through that. I can totally sympathize.

[kendallt]

I'm sorry, girl. That must be so painful! Hope it gets better soon!