first poop?

[@llli*alilwest]

I did have an IV, but DS was born less than 20 minutes after it was inserted, so i don't think his birthweight was inflated. The scale that he was weighed on on Saturday is at another pediatrician's office, so unfortunately, I cannot use that one again. I will be going to a bf-ing support group today, so I will get a ball park number of what he's weighing.

So, I've noticed that about a quarter of my right breast is hard. It's near where the blocked duct is. Could this be mastitis? It is painful, but there is no redness, flu symptoms or fever. Also, my breasts seem to be VERY tender, even after breastfeeding. On Kellysmom it says you won't always feel the lump under the skin when you have a bloced duct.... could i Have a ton of blocked ducts? Actually, now that I think of it, when I stopped breastfeeding my daughter, I stopped cold turkey. Which was extremely painful, and not recommended . That was a year ago, could that be why I'm having issues now?

[@llli*littleturtlelove]

See if you can get a hold of a scale that measures how much he is taking in at a feeding. They can weigh, then you feed and then weigh again to see exactly how much he gets per feeding. As a side note, my daughter didn't poop until the 6th day after birth and she was fine otherwise. I know this sounds off the wall, but have you tried using a wet wipe on his butt around his hole? I noticed it helped my kids when they had a hard time pooping. Just a suggestion....

[@llli*alilwest]

we finally had poo! a whole lot of it, too! haha... never thought that would make me so happy! The pediatrician recommended I use a rectal thermometer to stimiluate the area... we had tried wiping, with no luck... and luckily, we didn't have to use the thermometer, it happened organically. Our IBCLC came over and weighed the DS and he's also gaining. So... thank you everyone! I'm so happy!

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

YAY!

[@llli*lllmeg]

So, I've noticed that about a quarter of my right breast is hard. It's near where the blocked duct is. Could this be mastitis? It is painful, but there is no redness, flu symptoms or fever. Also, my breasts seem to be VERY tender, even after breastfeeding. On Kellysmom it says you won't always feel the lump under the skin when you have a bloced duct.... could i Have a ton of blocked ducts? Actually, now that I think of it, when I stopped breastfeeding my daughter, I stopped cold turkey. Which was extremely painful, and not recommended . That was a year ago, could that be why I'm having issues now?

hooray for poop, awesome!

a plugged duct can be huge. it depends where the plug is, think about a dam, the further downstream it is, the bigger the pond it makes. I recently had a plug the size of my hand. Maybe it was one, maybe it was a cluster, all I knew is it was gigantic. And despite its size, I did not realize I had it until I had relieved the engorgement in that breast enough to feel the plug. In my case by that time I had already come down with mastitis symptoms (fever, chills, and aches like the flu.) Oh and this was the first time I ever had a plug or mastitis, and both my older kids nursed for years and weaned very gradually. I would doubt anything that happened while nursing your older child made this happen, unless we are talking engorgement to the point of burst milk ducts or something...and even then I do not know... plugs can just happen.
Kellymom has a good article explaining the difference between plugs and mastitis-basically, you want to treat both basically the same way, but if you are to the point you have a fever or flu like symptoms, anti-biotics may very well be needed as well.

It is very important to be very frequently 'emptying' the breast by effective nursing if possible and pumping if needed, and by getting lots of rest. Also try things to break up the plug-massage, vibration, a personal massager worked for mine. But i was not out of the woods until i got baby latching better so she could nurse effectively on that side and also, I had to set my alarm at night so she would nurse more frequently. In our case, she was sleeping too long and not nursing frequently enough for me, although she was gaining fine. I have oversupply, be careful about pumping if that is a possibility for you.

plugged ducts and mastitis: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/mastitis/

Quick tips for plugs and/or blebs (blebs are plugs that occur on the nipple rather than further back in the breast) http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...plugsblebs.pdf

[@llli*alilwest]

Ok, that makes sense. It is rather huge. I asked my LC to check it out and she wasn't sure what it was, that she was the one who identified the other blocked duct. Is there an average amount of time it takes for these to clear up? I have been using the heat compress, compressions, and massage in the shower.. but haven't been doing a good job of keeping it as empty as possible. I haven't been resting as much as I probably should, either.

Is there an average amount of time it takes for these to clear up?

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

If I do everything I should to eliminate a clog, it's often gone w/i 24 hours. If I don't do everything that needs to be done (if I don't massage or completely empty that side) it can last a lot longer, or even turn to mastitis. Sorry, I know it's a lot of work!

[@llli*alilwest]

I have other sore spots on both of my breasts that don't have anything hard underneath... and it's all the time, not just when they're full.. any ideas??

and i apologize if this is a stupid question, but will those ducts 'work' after they're cleared? OR is there lack of functioning right now going to affect how they work later....

[@llli*lllmeg]

the ibclc i saw said the plugs and engorgement 'should' clear up in about 48 hours. that was why she was so worried about me, as i had been struggling with it for about a week by the time i saw her. my fever was gone due to anti biotics but i still had major engorgement on that side (the other side leaked so it was noot nearly as bad) and the plug. in my case I had to get really proactive with the frequent nursing and fixing the ouchy latch. for me, a big part of the latch issue was due to the engorgement-its harder for baby to latch onto giant hard breast. so fixing one helped with the other if that makes sense.

Keep an eye on the soreness, it could be a tiny plug, it could just be a part of being engorged or overfull if that is happening to you. my breasts just felt sore in general the whole time i struggled with this. Your breasts are going gangbusters at this point, ramping up the milk production. this is why REALLY frequent milk removal is so important in these early days-not just so baby gets enough, it helps with everything.

fyi some engorgement ideas http://www.llli.org/faq/engorgement.html and http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/engorgement/

[@llli*auderey]

we finally had poo! a whole lot of it, too!