Still in pain 16 days on

[AyeAyeCraptain]

Any ideas or encouragement??

I'm still finding breastfeeding quite painful over two weeks after giving birth.

The initial latch is very sore on one side (deeply stingy and pinchy) for a few seconds, then it gets better. The other side is fine. But both sides feel slightly uncomfortable (that pinching feeling) throughout the feed. It's not horrifying, but enough to make me not enjoy the feeds.

I've been to BF drop in and seen a private counsellor, all who said the latch was good and tried some positional tweaks to get a deeper latch, which have helped turn the pain down from excruciating (first week) to the level it's at now

The pain is mostly on and around the nipple

Is it just a case of pushing through till things get better? Will they get better??

[rabbitmummy]

Could be thrush? Has baby got a white coating on tongue? Can cause deep pain. See GP if so.
Have you tried putting lanolin cream on your nipples? (Lasinoh) Does that help?
Great that you've got a good latch, well done for persevering.
Does HV suggest anything?

[AyeAyeCraptain]

Thanks rabbit
Was checked for thrush and it's not that
Going through a lot of lansinoh!
No new suggestions from HV, midwife or the breastfeeding supporters (but I've only been once so going to make another trip back to drop in)

Have just shelled out for silver nipple protectors out of desperation - saw reviews on Amazon. Might be snake oil but getting desperate

[Tumtitum]

Has anyone checked for tongue tie? My DD had posterior TT and couldn't get a deep latch no matter what we tried. We got it cut at 2 weeks but things didn't significantly improve until around 6/8 weeks when she really grew. When I compare the size of her head and mouth now and how much more boob she can get in her mouth (and it's still not 100% comfortable) it's not surprising she wasn't managed a deep latch with her teeny tiny mouth, regardless of the TT!! Everything I read on here says that the first six weeks are the hardest so fingers crossed it'll get better of its own accord, but if you have a feeling things aren't right it's worth getting multiple opinions on TT as we had two people check and say she didn't have one when she did! Hope things get better soon

[dollydaydream84]

I could have written the previous post. 7 weeks now, TT snipped at 4 weeks and now getting a good almost pain free latch on one side I'm sure it's thanks to the fact she's grown! I used silicone nipple shields they were a god send and lactation consultant said they have no impact on feeding if used long term. They might just help for a few week. Good luck

[AyeAyeCraptain]

Sorry I forgot to say, been thoroughly checked for tongue tie and there is not a trace of it - I was almost convinced that would be the problem

I am considering nipple shields now

[DialBforBaby]

I'm afraid I had similar but it was agony on both sides. Thrush was treated, no TT. I assume I'm just a weakling with sensitive nipples I used nipple shields and they were a dream come true for me. Weaned off them about 12 weeks and still feeding at 6m+. Boots own brand are good, and are pretty much the cheapest available so if you're unsure start with them as they are only about £4 from memory.

[Twodogsandahooch]

Contrary to what some say I think a bit of pain in the first few weeks is normal. Your nipples have never been subjected to regular assault like this! However definitely worth getting checked for reversible causes like thrush and tongue toe. My 2nd daughter had a posterior tongue tie and feeding was agony - completely different to my first

[Somaya]

Who has checked for tongue tie? Only asking because I saw numerous midwives/ health visitors who told me that all was fine and attachment looked great. Except my nipple were agony and had open sores. ( I used the silverettes and they actually worked wonders, way better than lansinoh)

Anyway, I eventually took myself off to see a lactation consultant who still wasn't certain but agreed to refer to the consultant. He took one look and diagnosed posterior tongue, snipped there and then (age 3 weeks) and the relief was almost instant. Hugely improved immediately and completely painfree within 2-3 days.

Had I not persevered and insisted we would never have had a diagnosis and I would've probably stopped BF. Luckily due to previous experience and knowledge I knew something wasn't right and suspected tongue tie.

[AyeAyeCraptain]

It was the certified LC that checked for TT and was certain there was not a hint of it - could this still be the issue?

[AyeAyeCraptain]

Forgot to say thank you for all the input :)

[Quodlibet]

I was exactly where you are OP. Now at 3.5 weeks and both nipples are fine. Early on the right nipple felt like it was being repeatedly slammed in a car door so we've come a long way quite quickly! Hopefully it'll be the same for you - each day a bit less uncomfortable until one day you realise it's fine.

[Somaya]

Ah well it's probably not tongue tie if a trained person has checked.
Some mums do experience a level of discomfort for a while, this tends to improve as babies get bigger and they are able to get a deeper attachment. ( some newborns have such tiny mouths that it's impossible to get enough of the nipple in)
If it's bearable then I would continue and you'll prob find it starts to get better. Really concentrate on getting a good attachment every time and try different positions and exaggerated latch techniques like the flipple.

Other things to consider are raynauds syndrome or vasospasm?

[AyeAyeCraptain]

Thanks somaya I'll google those things now

DD was 4 weeks early so maybe she just needs to grow a little bit

[makingmiracles]

Just to add my experience, both nipples hurt to begin with, after a week or so one was fine and the other was still toe curlingly painful, that continued for roughly 4 weeks at that level of pain until it got gradually less, were 7 weeks in now and finally all good.

In latch problems or tongue tie here either. Hopefully it'll get better for you soon

[makingmiracles]

*no

[AprilShowers16]

I'm at 15 days and still experiencing pain, I've been using nipple shields as I damaged my nipples quite badly in the early days (having no idea what i was doing) and so using nipple shields to prevent further damage. I've just started to wean off them very gradually but still getting initial 40 seconds of pain and some feeds are more uncomfortable than others. Hopefully it'll keep getting easier though for both of us!

[catsofa]

I had thrush and it wasn't diagnosed for months, maybe ask someone else to check for this just in case, it's SO painful!

[Tumtitum]

If you're considering nipple shields (we used them for 8 weeks and definitely would have stopped without them!) I liked the Medela ones best. Nuk are also good. Both have a little cut out bit for their little noses!

[AyeAyeCraptain]

Updating to say all of a sudden NO PAIN! :)

I think the tweaks to the latch helped and then my nipples continued to heal, allowing the pain to gradually reduced. It didn't happen overnight but has been a complete dream these past few days!

I don't think it's the silverettes as they only arrived yesterday

[Tumtitum]

Brilliant news :)