Hi I'm new to the board and looked back a few pages and didn't see any answers I was looking for, I'm' sorry for the length of this but I'm new to breastfeeding, I formula fed my first two and really want to be successful at breastfeeding this time around....

My little peanut was born at 32 weeks and just came home today. So up till now I have been pumping and was allowed to bf twice a day while he was in the NICU. The lactation nurse they had was sadly killed the same week my little one was born so there was not a lot of help at the hospital. While he latched pretty well and would suck for maybe 10 minutes at a time, after he would let go he would not relatch and would just want to eat out of a bottle. Since it was my bm anyways I didn't want to fight it since the nurses and doctors said not to expect to much as these breastfeeding sessions would be more for "practice" at this point since he was still so young.

Anyways, I was having problems with the cone I was using, it was too small. I went to the lactation clinic across the street from the hospital and they gave me a larger one, and said my duct may also be clogged. My nipple on my right breast is so purple its almost black, they told me to soak them, and to put the lanolin stuff on. My supply on the right side is also down. I'm only pumping about 25-30ml's every 3 hours. My left side gets anywhere from 50-70ml's every 3 hours. The pain on the right is getting is easing, but is far from better. The left side, is feeling sore but I'm assuming that soreness is normal.

Now that my little one is home I will start going to the lactation clinic for help getting him weaned from bottle to breast, but meanwhile I'm in pain and don't know what else to do. Aside from the pain, why is there such a difference in what I produce on each side? Also how do I know if I do have a clogged duct and besides soaking what is the best way to fix it. What else can I do for the pain and get my production back up. It used to produce almost as much as my left side. Right now I'm soaking, using a heating pad, using the cream all as suggested. I've also bought some lecithin (sp?) but it made me really sick to my stomach.