Nursing can be a beautiful yet sometimes stressful thing. I have had mastitis 2 times which is extremely painful .I have wanted to give up more than once. I have curled my toes and screamed and cried in pain. I have had cracked and bloody nipples. I have been there. Trust me. But if you can try to push through the difficulties because in the end it is one of the most beautiful things you will have experienced. My preemie has not been able to nurse effectively and this has been emotionally hard on me. I have been pumping and bottle feeding her for the past 8 months in hopes of her being able to someday nurse, this is how much I love to nurse!
My advice:
Hang in there.
do not feed your baby every 2 hours as your boobs will be raw and never get time to recover and heal. Try feeding every 3 hours.
Use: mothers love nipple cream. After you nurse excrete some breastmilk on your nipples let it air dry then use the nipple cream. If your boobs are super cracked then I suggest putting melaleuca oil on before the nipple cream. Just wash off with a damp cloth before you nurse again as babies don't tend to like the taste of the melaleuca oil.
If engorged: Use heat packs right BEFORE you nurse and massage your breasts. then AFTER nursing ice pack them. I also use the panaway essential oil on them (but not the nipple).
Give yourself grace if you just can't do it you are NOT a failure.
My advice:
Hang in there.
do not feed your baby every 2 hours as your boobs will be raw and never get time to recover and heal. Try feeding every 3 hours.
Use: mothers love nipple cream. After you nurse excrete some breastmilk on your nipples let it air dry then use the nipple cream. If your boobs are super cracked then I suggest putting melaleuca oil on before the nipple cream. Just wash off with a damp cloth before you nurse again as babies don't tend to like the taste of the melaleuca oil.
If engorged: Use heat packs right BEFORE you nurse and massage your breasts. then AFTER nursing ice pack them. I also use the panaway essential oil on them (but not the nipple).
Give yourself grace if you just can't do it you are NOT a failure.