Breastfeeding & Cheese Graters

[YuzuSake]

I heard a comment in a show that breastfeeding felt like running a cheese grater over your nipples. I have never breastfed and this comment has stuck in my brain as it really made me wince. Is it accurate? Or sometimes it can be and sometimes it isn’t? I figured if anyone had a good idea of this it would be MN!

Briefly I found on day 5 and 6, but it passed.

I waited too long to seek help because I’d been told that pain was normal.

when I eventually saw the lactation consultant, she was horrified - yes it might be uncomfortable to begin with, but definitely should not feel like a cheese grater forever!

and if I hadn’t waited so long, I might have been more successful at breastfeeding, we only ever managed mixed feeding and she weaned herself at 5 months 😥

No more like a wet suction sensation.

Like a gentle fluttering suction. It was a wonderful feeling, full of happy hormones. Yes there was the odd day where a nipple had been bitten that hurt for the initial latch but maybe 3 days out of 30 months of breastfeeding my 2 kids. From this thread I gather I was lucky.

I listened to this article today and it described exactly what breast feeding felt like for me. Agony. I didn't have an easy experience either. Mastitis in both breasts and eventually a staph infection in my bleeding left nipple that required three weeks of antibiotics. But was still told to feed from that breast, fine for baby. What about me?!
The hardest part was unlike stubbing your toe say, which is very painful but goes away, as soon as you finish breast feeding, you know you're going to have to go through it again in a few hours.
I do have friends who breast fed without issues for a long time, but that wasn't my experience and cheese grater described it well.

I didn't have pain breastfeeding at all with either of my babies.

Absolutely the case for me. The first 4 -8 weeks were pure agony. Latch was difficult as I had absolutely tiny flat nipples so basically my LO had to rip my nipples from their muscle bonds? If that makes sense.

I don't have flat nipples anymore, theyre absolutely fine and healed - healed after about 8 weeks.

The nipple pulling and healing process were hell. LO fed well and gained well so no issues there but my god! Should be fine if I do it again though I hope, as I actually have nipples now! She's done me a favour 😂

A midwife told me it can take a bit of getting used to, a bit like wearing in new shoes, which IME was accurate.

But then I had a blister and picked it off not knowing what it was... it was excruciating then the a couple of weeks on one side while that healed despite lansinoh and nipple shields!

After that easy peasy for 10 months with DC1.

No pain with DC2 at all but I just couldn't keep up with his huge appetite and I became a starving hormonal mess so I stopped at 3 months.

Didn't hurt me at all but pumping hurt like fuck and all myfriends said they never got that so 🤷‍♀️

No never had a problem . EBF two daughters for 2 years each.
Also was a wet nurse to my friends baby ( she was diagnosed with breast cancer a month after giving birth).
I also donated to prem baby unit .
( Hand pumped ) and ran a la Lechè group.

The way people think someone is doing something "wrong " if it hurts is so crazy! Are we still so backwards that we think if it is one way for you it must be like that for all? Big fat sigh

Do they mean once babies have teeth? Then yes, sometimes it can feel like a cheese grater. My DS has had a crappy, uncomfortable latch from day 1 though (lactation consultant couldn’t help much since he was still getting enough breastmilk despite refusing to open his mouth widely -“Gosh he just slurps it in doesn’t he?”) - and once he had teeth he now grips with those too and it’s really hard to pry him off (I’ve had to try to do it just now with finger to edge of mouth but he really clamps! and the scraping sensation…😩)

Luckily after over 2 and a half years of feeding my nipples rarely bleed anymore- but yes for some of us breastfeeding is not the most comfortable experience! But there is also nothing else like it in terms of emotional bonding with your child imo and my DS is still obsessed with it - so I’m not sure how I’ll get him to voluntarily give it up (and I’m reluctant to push him as I think I’ll find it tough emotionally too after all this time 😢).

For me it was toe curling painful for the first six weeks with ds, and for the first two or so with dd, mostly the first minute or so at let down. Latch was fine, they fed well, just extremely painful for the first minute. It settled eventually and I bf both for about a year. But I strongly disagree that it shouldn't be painful if you're doing it right. For some women it is painful. Even if everything is right. I was one of them.

Will add - after the first couple of months of pain, it was lovely. I loved breastfeeding. Lots of happy hormones and lovely quiet bonding time. BF for 2 years :)

It can, our latch was absolutely great (and I fed for 26 months) but my let down for the first 10 weeks was absolutely excruciating for about 30 seconds. Like being electrocuted.

Never hurt me once and I breastfed two babies, one doe two years and one for two and a half years.

If they are matched in properly it doesn't hurt whatsoever.

Snap. Let down was bad enough to make me
cry at times in the early days.

I never had any nipple damage, the pain was inside. Very hard to explain.

Only when they latch really badly. One of ours did as a newborn and it caused open sores on my nipple, which were then horrible sharp pain each time she fed.

BUt once it healed up and she sorted her latch it didn't hurt at all. Breastfeeding properly feels more like someone lightly pushing on your leg with 1 finger. A kind of repetitive light pressure.

Not for me. I had no discomfort whatsoever.

My let down was intensely pleasurable, not sure if that’s usual though!

Never had pain breastfeeding 2 dc, although I’ve always had quite sensitive nipples (especially to cold, which can be super painful).

I thought the letdown sensation was kind of cool actually

It was absolutely excruciating for me. I had to give up after about 3 weeks because it literally made my body tense and toes curl with pain

For you 🙄.

Repeating what has already been said. The gas lighting from some is absolutely unbelievable. people continue to perpetuate the myth that if it hurts you’re doing something wrong. In a lot of cases poor latch is the reason for pain but not all, as in my case. My latch was perfect. I persevered because I knew it was only a week or two before my body adjusted and then it was plain sailing and I loved my bf journey with all my children.

It would be lovely if they people who had it so easy and pain free would realise it’s not a one size (nipple) fits all

I loved it and didn't have any pain, although I did find it hard to get it right at the beginning. Breastfed for a year, until DD refused to continue!

I’d say more like a pencil sharpener than a cheese grater, personally. People say, if it hurts, then you’re getting the latch wrong. I don’t think it’s about the nursing mum learning to latch, I think it’s about the baby learning to latch. I used to spend all this time aiming my nipple at the roof of baby’s mouth, but a year later, same baby was nursing whilst pretty much climbing upside down on me. I think it’s more about what they’re doing with their mouth, rather than what you’re doing with your nipple. We’re mums, so we think it’s all on us to make it work, but I think it’s baby who needs to figure things out, at least as much as us.

At first!