Problems with upping from a 00 to 7/16ths?

I had 00 ear gauges for several months and about two weeks ago I decided that I wanted to go up to a 7/16th. The entire time I've been gauging my ears (the RIGHT way, doing one notch up at a time) I've never had bleeding or pussing. But upon trying to up to a 7/16th, it just wouldn't go in. It was so tough I had to make sure that it was the right size after 00. Since it was, I tried again... Still no luck. So, since it wasn't doing it the easy way, I took all the pre-causions. Took a hot shower, used vaseline to help lubricate, and took it very carefully. After minutes of trying to get just one in, I got it. The other one took a little less time. Well, the tapers are massive and hard to sleep on, but my ears were so sensitive and swollen that I couldn't change them. After three days, they finally moved around more and were less painful so I switch them out. Well, they're crusting pretty bad. Its not straight blood, its a mixture of puss and blood. Any time I try to take them out, it starts pussing and bleeding... not heavily but pretty good. I clean them, but I don't take them out because they're so sensitive. When I did take them out to change them, they don't look exploded or ripped. But I've never had that problem before so, maybe I just don't recognize the signs. There's nothing extreme looking going on with them besides the excess liquids. Any advice?