And You Thought That Was Bad

I have thrush. Most breastfeeding mamas get it at some point or another, and now it’s my turn.

Baby was fussing at the breast most feedings for a couple days, and I blamed the bottle. This three-month-old went from breast to bottle to nipple shield back to breast, so a little confusion when we tried to give her bottle once in a while wasn’t so surprising.

But then I started putting the pieces together. Reasons why I think I have thrush (before you ask, no, there is no cottage-cheesy stuff in the baby’s mouth.)

- Itchy, burning nipples (I disregarded nipple pain for a few days because it’s become so normal to me)
- Red nipples
- A little bit of white on the right nipple
- Baby is fussy during feedings
- Baby pulls off nipple during feedings
- Baby makes smacking noises while eating
- Baby fusses more often than usual between feedings

Last night she would start eating and then pull back as though my nipple was stinging her.

That’s enough to convince me! I am using clean, dry breast pads regularly, and since we discovered what was going on, I’ve started applying Dr. Newman’s APNO cream after every feeding. On the recommendation of my friend Cheryl and my trusty NourriSource Nursing Guide I tracked down some Gentian Violet, which I’ll use before bed tonight.

This morning, she was so not into eating (again it seemed my nipple was burning her mouth!) but she was starving.  And I was so not into pumping (or giving her a bottle), so I placed her on my lap and she watched me manually express milk and then drank like a champ from a tiny medicine cup.
Just when you think you’ve got breastfeeding under control…