Help!!! Not enough breastmilk for baby???

Thanks so much for all the advice. I will try them before I can see Mrs Chee.

btw, if my nipple is suffering from yeast infection. Is it possible that baby's mouth is also suffering from yeast infection (something mentioned in a book that I am reading). How can I be sure baby also has yeast infection that spread to the nipple or vice versa? Apart from curing my nipples as mentioned above, do I need to do anything to heal the yeast infection in baby's mouth as well?? After the blocked duct is cleared, will they come back later if nothing is done to baby?? Mrs Chee mentioned on the phone that such blocked duct probably caused by C-section as doctor gave me antibiotic after the surgery. She said it is common to appear from 8-12 days after C-section. Today is my 9th day after surgery. But she does not have time to talk about whether need to do anything on the baby side.

I do not heard from anybody about good lactation consultant in any hospital so I have to wait until I see Mrs Chee. Hope I can get more advice from all of you as I am a first time Mum. Thanks again.
 
also, I read the instruction sent by Sarah about how to hand express the milk. It really works great. You are all right. Much better than the Medela pump.
 
Joannek, I would like to check with you if your block duct come back after it was cleared by Mrs Chee?? I have met with Mrs Chee, she used a needle to unblocked my duct. As I already bought the Nutribiotic before meeting with her, she told me to cointue taking it orally for 10 days. Also, I have been controlling my diet not to eat anything that will stimulate the yeast infection. I also bought the Avent hand pump which proved work much better than the Medela electric pump. HOWEVER, after 10 days of above treatment, my block duct comes back on the 10th day. What should I do with it?? I am concerned that if I see Mrs Chee again to unblock it, it will come back again. Seems to me quite a waste of money if it comes back in 10 days. SHe charged me over $500 for me going to her office for each treatment. I wonder why the methods she taught me is not effective in preventing the block duct too. I cannot imagine if she expects people go back every 10 days to unblock the duct. Mrs Chee also said that the block duct must be cleared instead of letting it be, otherwise, the breast will become red and swallon....Is that true?? She also tried to sell me different product when I was in her office too.....
 
yes, the block duct must be cleared, if not it will affect your breastfeeding and when you have another child, you're gonna be in more pain & agony than now. i know cos that's what happened to my sister in law. she never cleared her blocked ducts & she was painfully nursing her child for 6 mths yrs ago. and she's now nursing her 2nd. during these 2 yrs before she had her 2nd child, everytime we talked about nursing our baby, she said it really scares her to think about having to nurse a 2nd one! i kept telling her that nursing should not be a scary & painful experience. I deduce that she had blocked ducts which didn't clear up when she was nursing her first (she was painfully in agony & was helped by the LC, whom i said was uselss, for the first 2 months). so i insisted on calling mrs chee to help her this time after she gave birth (she just had her baby last month), i made an appmt w/ mrs chee to go to the hospital & i paid for the 1st 2 appmts. she found out that one of her breasts were VERY blocked up, and they're still not fully cleared up yet. but it's getting there & she said she can tell it's clearing up.

now about you, what happened to you also happened to me. the white dot was gone for a week or so (so i thought it was cleared), and it came back. what mrs chee & i both think is the yeast is coming up from the back of the duct, we cleared the opening, so the milk that is at the back comes thru, when i've got yeast all the way at the back of the duct, it eventually made its way up to the opening. i don't remember exactly how long it took me to clear it up (mother's brain!!), i only remember i used hand expressing to specifically pushed at that duct, and i was doing it for a week or so every day at bedtime, and suddenly one day, a big string of yellow "milk" flew out from the hole and it was cleared afterwards. i was taking nutiobiotic until one month after everything cleared.

mrs chee does seem to be selling us things, it's only cos she thinks those are good stuff. but don't feel obliged to buy any of them. just say i'll think about it, and she won't push. imagine charging so much for a visit, she's making a lot of money already la!

and good luck!
 
Wow, the way you talk sounds like Mrs Chee herself. You even know she earns a lot?? Amazing!! :)

Another friend said that professional lactation consultant at Matilda only costs $300 per session. I amy go seek for thrid party opinion on this too. Any other comment from Mums are appreciated, if you know any professional lactation consultant who is more economical OR if you know anything about clearing block duct. Thanks.
 
I’m not sure if your question is about plugged ducts or a milk bleb as both have been mentioned in this thread.

Plugged Ducts

It is not uncommon for plugged ducts to return. It really depends on the reason that the duct became plugged in the first place and whether those conditions repeat themselves.

The standard treatment for plugged ducts is:
Nurse frequently, rest and apply heat to the tender area.

See My Breasts Hurts. What Can I Do?
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/mastitis.html

I’ve found it very helpful to change nursing positions as well. Especially if you can get the baby’s chin at the lump or to lay the baby flat on her back and dangle your breast into the baby’s mouth (not an easy position but one you usually only need for a few minutes at a time). Only the most severe cases need to be massaged.

It is not necessary – or even possible – to completely drain the breasts BUT you should try to keep them as empty as possible. Remember that the baby feeding directly is usually the most efficient way to get milk from the baby – generally direct feeding is better than pumping or hand expressing.

Milk Blebs

It is quite common for a milk bleb to return. Often the problem is because an extra bit of skin is covering the outlet of one of the ducts. This causes a white blaster full of milk to form.

The standard treatment is apply wet heat either with a warm compress or by soaking the nipple in warm water and then feed as much as possible. If this doesn’t help then asking a health professional, usually a nurse, to pick it can help.

I would advise using lansinoh cream to try to reduce the scar build up. As too much scar tissue can be the cause of milk blebs!

You might also look into why you are getting either the blebs or the plugged ducts. Do you have too much milk and so leaving your breasts too full? Is your baby too erratic with his feeds – sometimes leaving you too full?

You might also look at your diet. Often a diet high in saturated fats causes lots of plugged ducts and blebs. You might like to consider taking a lecithin supplement. (The usual initial dose is one tablespoon three to four times a day or one to two 1,200 mg capsules three to four times a day.) I'd known some mothers who needed to take small does of lecithin throughout their breastfeeding days.

Other things that might be a factor are:
  • Fatigue and stress
  • Nipple damage
  • Lowered resistance to infections or anaemia
  • Overabundant milk supply
  • Use of a nipple shield
  • Baby who breastfeeds reluctantly or refuses the breast periodically
  • Constrictive clothing
  • Breast abnormalities
  • Too much salt intake
  • Exposure to allergens
  • Excessive upper-arm exercise

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Last edited:
in case u're wondering, i tried everything that Sarah mentioned before i called Mrs Chee, cos i had a LLL leader helping me already, but nothing helped. i suffered for 2 mths with plugged ducts, yeast infection, mastitis, abcess, you-named-it & baby had diaper rash, ezcema, sinus problems all that time i was nursing her. (plus, EVERYONE around me told me not to bf anymore cos they see all that trouble i was going thru. i was only getting support from my hubby, mrs chee & my LLL leader to continue bfing my baby) so yes, i've been thru a lot, and i thank mrs chee for helping me solved all my problems by teaching me how to change my diet & hand-expressing (plus all those things i posted on geobaby trying to help other breastfeeding moms), and bringing an avent bottle wherever & whenever i had to go away from my baby for more than 2 hours. and finally at 6mths my problems were solved & i was happily nursing my daughter. even so, i still spent 1 hour clearing both my breasts & checking them EVERY night before i went to bed, so i made sure there was nothing blocked & no pain anywhere until baby was 12 mths. my daughter finally self-weaned at 15mths.

my baby was underfed at 1 mth (40%tile in weight, but when she was born her weight was 55%tile), and thanks to mrs chee, at 3 mths she was at 90% of weight, exclusively breastfed. i still update mrs chee with the photos of my now 2 year old girl cos i want her to know she does good things.

i know she makes a lot of money cos 2 yrs ago she charged me $650/visit. (& i know she charges $720 now, cos i yet have to pay her my SIL visits) and she is ALWAYS full. she told me her earliest appmt is 10am & i know she makes home visit until late, imagine all that time she was at my home helping me out, chatting along, she had to tell me a lot about herself. i spent tons of money asking her to come 3 times/wk for the 1st few weeks clearing my breasts, thereafter once to twice a week until my breasts were cleared. i could've used that money to buy formula for my baby but i chose to breastfeed, despite all that pain & agony & tired fingers. cos i didn't want to have problems with my breasts when i become old, and i want my child to have a good start (both my husband & I threw up a lot when we were infants cos we were fed formula, and we were very skinny & weak & always sick).

i spent all this effort typing away here at geobaby trying to help breastfeeding moms out cos i know how tough it is to be breastfeeding in hk, with so little support.

and btw, i don't know any other more economical LC, cos the other one (the useless one) is even more expensive. i also gave birth at Matilda. 2 yrs ago, they only had mrs chee & yvonne heavyside, but if my memory serves me right, at that time yvonne wasn't an LC. so mrs chee was my only bet.
 
Thanks Joannek for your sharing. May be my experience with Mrs Chee is different. When I first called her, she said she charges $630 per session and she was full until the week after. The next day I called her to ask what I can do before she has time to meet with me. She asked me to go to her office the same day. She said she cancelled 2 appointments to fit me in. I was surprisingly happy although I dont know why she suddenly cancel other appointments. She told me if I go to her office, she will only charge $500. While I was at her office, she keep on saying she has to go after 1 hour for another appointment but then she ended up spending more than 1.5 hours with me without going or calling anyone to postpone appointment. 2 days after I met with her, I called and asked her should I buy an Avent hand pump. She just said it is no use to buy one if you dont know how to use it. Her answer shocked me as I was expecting her to say more positive thing like giving advice how to use it better if she thinks such pump is helpful.

Anyways, I am also very determined to breast feed my baby. I only have one blocked duct and it seems comes and goes. I was pain 2 days ago and the blocked duct comes back. As I pump frequently, the block duct seems goes away these 2 days and my breast is not pain anymore. I will observe it for a few more days before calling for a LC for advice. btw, do you stop eating dessert and other food mentioned to stop the yeast infection the whole time you are breastfeeding?? I miss dessert very much but I have not eaten any in the past 2 weeks due to my yeast infection. I am wondering when I can enjoy dessert and other things again.
 
yes, i stopped all desserts until after 1 mth the yeast infection cleared up & no bread either... everything i mentioned that will affect yeast infection, i refrain from. my friend who had yeast infection stopped eating dessert & the yeast went away. one day she went out to dinner with her MIL, her MIL said "hey, a little dessert won't hurt! i don't know why you're going thru all this trouble breastfeeding your kid?! they were all fed formula, & they're fine!!", so my friend had a little dessert & guess what, the next day her yeast infection came back!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top