Milk Mama Update

So, things are a little better. Thank you everyone for your concern and good advice! After 2 days of pumping, I put the babe back on the boob, minus the shield. I think the shield was preventing a proper latch, so I was losing my milk due to that. So my nips healed up enough in those 2 days to put her on directly, and so far, so good. My milk has started coming back. I still have to top the babe off with a bottle, but the amount of said topping off is growing smaller. I am taking probiotics to prevent the thrush from returning, and am hopeful that things will continue looking up. Man, I wish nursing was easier for me. ::Sigh::