Breastfeeding with One Boob

Two months after my incision and drainage surgery, I am still breastfeeding with one boob. See, my incision was made right on the areola. It's not a big wound and it healed quickly but when I tried to pump so I won't get engorged, the wound expanded that it no longer looks like an incision.

We showed it to the surgeon who said that I had to stop breastfeeding. As this was not an option, we just packed the wound with gauze and I still pumped. 

As the wound was not getting smaller, and using the pump aggravated it, I resorted to hand expressing. One time though while expressing in the office, milk suddenly spurted out of the wound through the gauze dressing like a geyser. We sought another surgeon, this time, a breast surgeon. I thought she was going to say that the wound needs to be stitched up. But no, she said that might cause another infection.



 

So here I am, two months after, still changing dressings every day. I pump my good boob in the office which produces 5oz. of milk, just enough for one bottle, and direct latch at night. 

It is getting tiresome, this brouhaha over the wound. And I'm sad about all the milk in there  going to waste. It was an emergency operation so we didn't have time to research, but I read that the surgeon should not have incised me on my areola. Although the abscess appeared right smack on my areola, I'm now left wondering if the incision could have been made to the side of the breast. I guess I'll never know. 

So as of now, we are still mixed feeding as clearly, breastfeeding with one boob is not going to cut it (pun not intended). The wound has shrinked a bit but it is still leaking milk so who knows when it will really dry up and heal. I hope really really soon.