Is there any hope now?

Have you seen any specialists?

A lactation consultant once told me that she frequently saw an improvement at the 10 week mark. Babies often have a growth spurt at that age and a slightly bigger mouth can make all the difference.

Tongue tie is a beast of a problem and I hate how easily it's missed or dismissed. Can you express for a few feeds a day to give yourself a break?

Forgot to say, my DD improved her latch and stopped needing top ups at 10 weeks old. I had mentally prepared myself to be pumping and topping up until she started solids so it was an amazing surprise.

I was in a similar situation, tongue tie only cut at 7 weeks. Took ages after that to get better. I found nipple shields amazing and then weaned off gradually a few weeks later.

Nine months on and we are still going so for me definitely worth it!

I would definitely have a lactation consultant have a look. Is there a bf group near you? Your hv should be able to tell you.

Also I would look for pictures of thrush online and see if that’s what it looks like. With my first, I got really red painful areolas and nipples. I thought it was thrush, but gp and lactation consultant said no and it was likely dermatitis. No treatment worked and eventually all my skin peeled off and I had to stop. It was horrific.

I’m 4 weeks in to bf my 2nd. I got the same red painful nipples this time and I was determined it was thrush this time even though no one believed me last time. I got gp to prescribe anti fungals and surprise, surprise, it cleared up and pain went away in 3 days! If someone had listened to me the first time, I probably would have been able to continue bf, so don’t hesitate to push back if you don’t think you’ve been given the right tx.

I know how miserable it can be to struggle through pain and worry. For both of my children, latch was good by about ten weeks - I agree that often they improve when they grow and their mouths get larger. It sounds like you’re doing an incredible job in difficult circumstances, and I hope you’re well supported.

Also wouldn’t hesitate to use the shields. At least they will help you keep going for now. You can worry about supply later, but no sense being miserable.

I don't have the answers but clicked on this thread as I'm having similar issues. Tongue tie cut three weeks ago seemed to made little difference despite my high hopes. Certainly not the radical improvement I hoped for. My baby is 9 weeks and pain is almost gone at this point (could come back; is seems to go through peaks and troughs) but my nipples are so sensitive/ delicate/irritated that I'm still faffing around with compresses etc as I can't bear anything touching them... or even air getting near them. The minute I get out of the shower they're feeling fragile, and feeding is a big performance of removing pads and gauze and shields and nursing cups and you name it! Which makes feeding in public very off -putting.
The reason I write is to tell you that I know how you feel. I think I feel the same. And yet this is my second baby. First one had none of these issues and we fed till 27 months with zero issues! Never dreamed I'd have these hiccups and feel certain that if this was my first baby I'd definitely have given up.
I have good support and know how convenient and good breastfeeding can be. But I'm also hoping that the baby having a bigger mouth soon will help.
It's not your fault

P.s. maybe you've already tried this - laidback feeding? I got some relief from doing a few feeds like this. It is not without problems: baby is still small and head control is not great yet/ I feel unsure how to support the head.. also not always possible in public. But maybe worth a try?

I used nipple shields and couldn’t recommend them enough. I don’t think it affected my supply at all, and we have had no problems feeding at all. If you wanted to try them and then in a few weeks try to start the feed with a shield and then take it off half way through and let your baby finish the feed ‘naturally’ if that would help?