Hi,

Thanks for your reply to my earlier message.

I have started bottlefeeding my baby and also side by side breastfeeding. I tried taking a break from breastfeeding for 3 days but still could not fully recover from the sore/cracked nipples that I had. After starting to breastfeed, the nipples have become more sore. I have not idea as to what is going on as it is more than a month after delivery and still the problem of sore nipples continue.

To add to the problem, I had taken a course of antibiotics for 5 days (suprimox 500mg - 3 times a day) for fever and after this the problem of piles which I had earlier and had been treated before pregnancy recurred. I have started taking ayurvedic medicine for the same and the doctor adviced me to stop eating foods which increase body heat. Now I have seen that my milk production has gone down. Even when I breastfeed my baby, he is not satisfied till I give him the formula feed. I had read that Methi is good for increasing breast milk, but since it increases body heat, I cannot take it.

I tried Shatavari kalp. But twice after taking it for 2 days, I got fever (i.e. the nerve on both breast become green and very painful and then I develop fever but still the BM is not high).

Hetal, please suggest something that will increase the breastmilk. I would like to breastfeed my baby fully (I would like to remove the formula feed that I am giving him). Is this possible.

During my first pregnancy, BM was never a problem. BM formed a major part of my baby's diet till she was one year old and now even before my baby is one month, I had to introduce formula feed. Hetal, please let me know why this is happening and will I ever be able to completely breastfeed my baby.

THanks & Regards,

Lata Hetal replied. at first the severity of cracked nipples is more thats how you are adviced to take break...taking a break means often a week ! yours being just cracked, i expect a healthy body to recover in a week ! and yes as i mentioned in earlier post,,once the cracked nipples are healed compltly,,it often hurts while bf or soreness comes and goes ! rem my prev post, check on things that might help you soothe sore nipples like breast shells,all those preventive measures, pads, gel packs or ne ointment that you are given, or nipple shields while breastfeeding...
yes for piles, you have to reduce your body heat...if you are taking an antibiotic, avoid taking ayurvedic medicines along with it...only one type of medication has to be followed..and right now considering that you are having fever and that cracked nipples need to be cured first,,,,your need for antibiotic is more than ne ayurvedic medicine..
complete the dosage of antibiotic...

i recmnd you to have lots of greens and fibr in your diet. it will give you regular bowels and avoid piles. avoid spice or chillies in your diet,,
drink lots of fresh juice, esp mosambi. and i strongly recmnd you of remaining stress free..
rem piles is also caused by mental tensions, pressures and general weakness of tissues of the body...all these leads to irregular bowels or constipation...

some remedies that might help you in boosting your milk supply as well as help you fight with piles are :
1. soak 3-4figs for overnight in water,,after cleaning thoroughly in hot water,,take it first in morning just after you brush and take them alongwith the water you soaked them ! do the same in evening..do it for 3-4 weeks..it will help you easy evacuation of stools and keeps the tracks clean !

2.half a tsp of ginger juice(if fresh, take 1/4th tsp),mixed with 1tsp of fresh lime juice(if taking 1/4thtsp of ginger juice,thn take 1/2tsp of fresh lime juice),,and mix in 1tsp of mint juice,,a tablespoon of honey,,,and take that as a medicine, once a day,,

3. boil jeera in water, throw in some dill seeds and at the same time, mint leaves,,drink that water thru out the day. the proportion of dill seeds will be of half proprtn of jeera and mint leaves/pwder.

4. when you eat rice, mash it, have it with buttermilk(avoid curd), and after eating that,,have 1 banana a day(ripe)...it will help you recover from piles..take this during lunch only !

5. before sleep, a glass of warm milk should help you with regular bowels..

all these will help you alongwith medication and reduce your body heat to desirable level, by 1month....it also depnds on all other foods you have been eating,,so stop all hot foods other than this...

i read that the nerves of your breast have become green and that its painful,,are you pumping milk every 2-3hours regularly...dont worry about the amt of milk expressd..see if it helps you regain your supply !!
your milk supply will get affected if you remain sad like that,,just keep in mind onething that many people dont know that eating hot food increases milk supply,,still they are able to breastfeed or express milk !!! so first throw that idea out of your mind !
also, i would suggest you strongly that considering your case and severity of cracked nipples,,for the time being,,recovery should be your main aim....

your words seems to me that you are not trying to come out of the loop of breastfeeing,,so at first, remove all myths from your mind that eating this or that, gives good milk supply..be confident about your recovery first,,or else you will never recover !!!
if eating hot things would have solved the problems of breastfeeding all mothers of world would have started eating those things and would have succesfully bf thr babies thru out 1 year or may be later on...,,but thats not the case right !
you have to balance your food while eating hot foods...check the post below from practical mothers exprs and my replies to it,,you will understand how the balancing of food works :

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=1319&table_name=dis_healthissues

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=1139&table_name=dis_breastfeeding

try your best,,,once you have tried your best,,,thats it,,you should not run after it..not everytime our body responds to the way we want...
if it comforts you,,my prev preg was better,,this one has become risky one and my dr/gyn asked me to take a break and make a vacation trip,,if i wnt do that she told me it will cost my life and my baby life !! after paying good hefty fees of my college for this semster,,,i had to let them go,,because i will b responsible for not only my health but my baby health !!! so i had a vacation and m back,,the cost was huge,,not to mention,i felt the crisis...but wat to do !
i know the comparison doesnt stand true matching your case,,but sometimes lettng go things and considering your health first,,is wise decision to follow...
our body changes in each pregnancy,,we are giving birth to a new life and there is a huge transformation that takes place during that phase of giving birth and thn concving again...
in that comparing your both pregnancies or body capacity or post delivery body nature during both the deliveries is like comparing earth and moon !! at first avoid doing that...you tried your best and you still have a chance to try,,so keep trying,,once you think that its going out of your reach,,just leave it..dont feel guilty about it...

formula is not a bad food,,my baby was on formula for 1 month when i was hit with viral fever,,not to mention i used to pump and throw away that milk !! wat to do,,bm is the best source for baby, but does it mean i will give infected BM !! no right...so be practical. my baby was perfectly fine during that 1month gap !!!
many babies are surviving on it and it has all your baby needs,,your depression will affect your concentration or your attentn in baby care and it will affect your baby development,,let me tell you this right away,,so now its upto you,,how long you want to feel sad about it or run after it.recover from it and if necsary,take a second opinion.

your query is removing formula from baby diet is quite understood and i will not like to calculate the possibility considerng your health conditions because if mother is healthy irrespective of breastfeeding,,baby is healthy ! mindset is reflected very much. so remove all guilts,comparisons and depressn from your mind,,pump milk every 2-3hours and see if it maintains your milk supply..IF IT DOES NOT,,never mind,,offer whatever is in your reach,,rest forget about it ! there are so many beautiful ways to bond and help your baby to be a healthy child with positive development,,bm is not everything...

strong desire to achieve something is good attitude,,,but then running after it at the cost of health is not wise !
thats all i can tell you !
you take care, and recover,,