Day 4 : my nipples are on fire!!!!

[NorthernBird92]

I'm on day 4 of breastfeeding my beautiful ds, I breastfed my dd last year but oh god I had forgotten the initial pain!
Tonight is the first night ds hasn't been glued to me as my milk seems to have come in.
The past 3 days of constant feeding have taken its toll and my nipples are killing me!!!
They are cracked and so so sooooo sore, I am using cream but while he is feeding it's still toe curling pain to the point that during a feed I feel like stopping and not restarting.
His latch is ok although he is difficult to get on right as he searches while trying to latch on but once he's on its OK.
Any tips to help cool the pain down before I give up?

[kimmy726]

Lanisoh cream is amazing. As is (I found) a cool soft cloth on my boobs and nips. I found that even the breeze on the nips hurt like hell! Also very soft cotton or silky breast pads/scraps of fabric as I found bras too rough. As you know it will pass, drink plenty water too. Enjoy your ds. :) xxx

[abc12345]

Definitely Lanisoh and see a breastfeeding specialist (they can usually be found at children's centres or your check up at the maternity ward) it's not as cringeworthy as it sounds and they can solve your problems in minutes

[NorthernBird92]

Thankyou I will keep creaming and hope for the best ! At the min even brushing past my boob hurts...
How would I find a breast feeding specialist? I have a very uninterested midwife

[cookiefiend]

Warm flannel on the nipple and also you can buy pads that you heat and wear on the boob, which I found soothing (though like a previous poster you may prefer cold in which case I have heard cabbage leaves from the fridge are also good). Lasinoh cream is amazing.

Congratulations!

[cookiefiend]

Is there a bf clinic near you? I got given info by my midwife, but a quick google brought it up too.

[NorthernBird92]

I'll try find the nipple pads they sound good!
And I'll google bf clinics is it really embarrassing though ?

[PiafPilaf]

Cabbage leaves work a treat. The NCT usually has a volunteer bf counsellor who can help. They also have a bf helpline. Also try La Leche League.

[NorthernBird92]

Thankyou !

[pursuedbyabear]

I second all previous posts but also try multi mam compresses. You can get them from Amazon. They are expensive but are really good.

[NorthernBird92]

Did u find the bruised nipple feeling went?

[FirstTimeMummy25]

I went to a breastfeeding counsellor at my local children's centre when I first started breastfeeding she was brilliant, wasn't embarrassing at all there are others there in same boat and no one judges.
Try wetting a breast pad the put in freezer and then in your bra that should help the pain.
Good luck and congratulations

[ChipIn]

You could try hydrogel discs (if they're available in the UK, I live overseas) which were so soothing for me. Turns out my DD had a tongue tie causing the excruciating pain but the discs certainly helped the pain of the blisters.

[WrigglyWorm2016]

Congratulations!

I know how terrible painful bf is, I honestly don't know how I fed my daughter more than twice and by week two I had awful aversion to it meaning she didn't gain weight and I was awake crying all day and night. It went on for four weeks and the end was terrible, I haven't trusted the people that should help me properly since following their reaction to the most difficult time of my life. So don't leave yourself in pain and struggling.

I really recommend a IBCLC Lactation Consultant. All of the NHS bf counsellors I have seen have been misinformed and provided me with extra nails for the coffin. They will also do a full proper examination for tongue tie. Obviously you'll have to pay, but they're worth their wait in gold. I saw mine before having my second baby and after and I've had hardly any problems with soreness (even with late milk).

In the meantime although it's painful air dry your nipples and just rub a bit of breast milk into the sore bit then when dry a really thin coat of lanolin on the affected area. I found changing positions, rotating around the nipple for me really helped as it'd give the sore bits a reast. Disposable breast pads and bras are my bf enemy so only put them on when needed and I have G cup boobies, haha!

[squeezed]

Would second lanisoh cream which I think is actually magic. Put loads on between feeds. The multi mam compress is really good for the damage. If you can speak to a specialist that would be good to check the latch. With dd2 I had terribly cracked nipples and it was due to tongue tie. Quick snip and it got much better in a week. I ended up expressing for a few feeds to try and repair the damage she was doing, but it can interfere with your milk production. Good luck.

[seven201]

If it all gets too much you could try nipple shields to gird a bit of relief. I used them for the first month - I would have given up without them.

[GrumpyDullard]

I had no problems with DC1 and DC2 but I think I was a bit too relaxed with DC3 and didn't really check the latch properly and had the agonising burning nipples. I felt I knew what I was doing but, in hindsight, it was DC1&2 who knew what they were doing.
Once I had watched a video showing the correct latch and made sure we got it right every time, the pain went away very quickly. In the mean time, cabbage leaves straight from the fridge are great or, if you don't have any, lettuce leaves did just as well.

[1frenchfoodie]

I can empathise - DD (now 5 months) rapidly earned the name 'nipple shredder' in this household in the early days. She had a fearsome nip even when she had a good latch and lansinoh and sympathy from my DH was all that got me through the first few weeks. It got much better though and I'm very happy BFing.