can anyone help in regards to blocked ducts???? please!!!

ok, so made appointment with the doc, so fingers crossed she'll be able to help. will let you know how things go. thank you for all the support xxx

Thanks for all the support ladies, it might sound bad but i'm happy not to be the only one going through this. You are now my new role models! Am giving myself till three months, if i'm still having the same issues then i'll speak to my husband again about putting DS on formula (not that hes going to have a choice at that point, unless he wants to take over breast feeding, but at least he can feel as though he's had a say) To answer your question designbabe originally i was expressing all the time from my right breast whilst my nipple was bleeding (as no blood was going in the bottle so i could give that to DS) whilst feeding him from my left. Once my nipples healed i started breastfeeding day and night from both, but continued to express when i could. With the milk i was able to express i was also able to let my husband do the dream feed (however it would take me all day to get that one bottle) but i always felt better cause at least i knew he had eaten well. Because i was expressing i could see how much was coming out, i started to worry my breast were and still are not producing enough milk. For example from one breast i might be able to get out 90ml and from the other only 15ml. (which originally it was the other way round). For this reason i'm not sure if he's eating well. between feeling my breast is empty (except for the lumps caused from the blocked ducts) and not knowing if he is using the nipple shield as a dummy (which now he's also pulling my nipple through the holes, so again i'm not sure if he's getting milk from the breast!) and also stressing about all this (which they say stress reduces milk supply!) Is it any wonder i'm worried? Was told by my LC to take the alfalfa. she informed me it does not increase milk supply but enhances the quality of milk. Now i'm still feeding everyday but been trying out new ways to feed DS. For example will give expressed milk during dream feed and another bottle at next feed to see if he will sleep better cause he was constantly falling asleep on the breast. Again this way i reasured that he has eaten well and puts me at ease. I do try and remove the nipple shields during feeds to see if we can go without but i'm still not good at latching him correctly so it ends up hurting me further, so i then go back to the shields BCF / FRANCES - thank you for the information and contact details. Am already working with a LC, she was the one who spotted the tongue tie, but she said it was to slight for something to be do about it. either way will call Dr Delphine tomorrow and see what she says. maybe she can be of some help. will let you know how i get on again many thanks for the support :)

Many thanks for the reply Unfortunately i have tried all of those suggestion. in the past 6 weeks i have milked my child in every hold possible including from on top (felt very much like a cow being milked!). he doesn't always manage to suck them out, even if i massage/push on/ pressure on the area during feeds I also on a daily basis: -before feedings i'm putting on a hot press, -after feeding i'm putting on a cold press -i also wash my breast with Epson salt and warm water after a feed -i clean my breast with vinegar water (due to nipple thrush......which i never knew existed) -i use daktaren cream for the thrush -on top of that i put on lanolin (?) cream to help with the cracked nipples -i also take 4 tablets of lecithin a day which is meant to help with the blocked ducts -i'm also taking 3 alfalfa tablets a day to enhance my milk (not to mention my multi vitamin and extra iron tablets) In addition to all of this i also have to use nipple shields as DS never latched properly (been told due to a tongue tie) however whilst in hospital i was never shown how to latch him properly. Every time i called the nurses to ask for help they would tell me he was latched correctly (he never was). he was only taking in the nipple, finally when the LC would come and see me, id have just finished the horror of feeding, non the less she would try to latch him after a feed which just further damaged my already cracked nipples. by the time i got home my cracked nipples turned into bleeding nipples (talk about painful and scary!) so then i started expressing. I feel as though my breast are empty all the time but for me to be getting blocked ducts must mean i'm doing something wrong. i want to be able to continue breastfeeding but at this rate it looks to be impossible. due to this reason i don't want to have any other children! before anyone suggests formual, my husband doesnt want me to give that as long as i can still breast feed!