BFing- struggling with sore, cracked nipples

[hmyh23]

Not really an AIBU but I'm desperate for some advice.

Day 8 of BFing here and really suffering with sore, dry, scabby nipples. I am following all the advice I've been given- using Lansinoh, dabbing with breastmilk, air drying where possible but they don't seem to be healing up and are constantly stinging and tingling. The initial let down when the baby latches is very painful and then the rest of the feed is better but still uncomfortable which means I dread every feed. The hospital midwives and community midwives have checked the latch and agree it's good, the baby is maintaining weight and is thriving so no problem with the amount she is getting. They seem to think the damage is from the first couple of days when the latch wasn't good but I dont know how to heal it when there's only 3hrs between each feed. I don't know whether to stop and express for a few days to see if this will help but I'm worried about getting her back on the breast afterwards. I don't want to throw the towel in now after trying so hard to get to this stage but I don't think I can just keep feeding through the pain and I am also recovering from a tear so quite uncomfortable In general. In all honesty I'm wishing I had just bottle fed from the outset as I feel this is adding an extra level of stress on top of recovery from labour and getting used to everything. NCT advice is that the latch mustn't be right or it wouldn't hurt any more and I should try and get an appointment at the local midwife unit for more help.

Any advice welcome from people who have been through similar, they are sticking to breast pads/bra/tops which is taking the top off the scabs and making it all worse.

@ “only short visitors”! Tall people ruin breastfeeding. It’s scientific fact.

15-25 minutes sounds about the same as what we were doing at about that time, and the busy evenings are also very similar, I find that we will do a feed every hour between about 8pm and midnight. Sometimes he would feed for longer, one night he fed for 45 minutes, then switched to the other boob and did another 40 minutes, that was fun!

We do all the evening feeding on the breast, put him down for his sleep and then give him a formula bottle when he next wakes, which is usually around 4am ish. He sleeps through til about 7.30 after that, which is a good break for my nipples. One step at a time sounds like a good approach, I got quite overwhelmed recently thinking about how long I might have my ds pretty much attached to me for, so I take it one day at a time now!

love the short visitors only.

Agree regarding combi feeding. That would also be in my fantasy breastfeeding advice leaflet.

It shouldn't be all or nothing. I've heard far more successful breastfeeding stories through combi feeding.

Oh and I forgot, as well as the cluster growth spurts, you get cluster evening feeds, putting in an order for next days milk.

As a result DS2 stayed up with us in the evening whilst we watched TV. Never attempted early bed times as too stressful.

One day at a time.

With my first they were so sore I'd squeal when he latched on (he fed for an hour with a 2 hr break) they did heal and I continued feeding for a year. It will get better

You're right about the all or nothing mentality OP. Even now at 4 months when we've started having some problems I was really close to quitting. Over the last 3 days I've swapped one or two feeds with a bottle and it gives me a break for a few hours. It makes a massive difference to my mental state, Even more so than the physical. Now I feel so much better and we'll probably stay like this for another couple of weeks. I'd planned on getting to 6 months before weaning but now I think its better to do it as a slow and steady process.

You are doing so well and it will suddenly get easier....It is worth it I promise.
For about the first 6 weeks with my D'S I had a mantra where I said "I will do it for one more day!" And I think I know where the expression "toe curling" comes from!....It helped that I didn't have a bottle in the house
It really did suddenly get easier and I expressed so he could have the occasional bottle without an issue
Keep going!

I was a midwife with the most awful cracked and sore nipples you can imagine. Nipple shields saved feeding for us. I used them for a good couple of months, maybe more. Feeding does take longer and the baby and you need to get the hang but they protect you from further damage.

I’m not sure why they aren’t used more. You can have the most perfect latch and still get sore especially if you are fair skinned.

Oh, and a dummy. I was being sucked on as a comforter and it nearly wrecked breast feeding. I ended up feeding both dc for 8 months.

Just remembered that I also only fed from one breast per feed to give the other side a rest and get as much hind milk as possible into the baby. And almost always fed underarm as it’s easier to ensure a good latch but when I was sorest I would alternate feeding positions so my nipples weren’t constantly being chewed at the same angle.

To be fair, other than evenings and growth spurts they did go 3-4 hours between feeds mainly and slept well at night by 5weeks.

Sounds like you're doing great OP, taking one day at a time and just seeing how it goes sounds like a really sensible approach.

It's been so nice to read this thread and hear other peoples stories though, so thank you for starting it OP. It's such a shame that there's such limited advice and support in some areas, a lack of honesty, or even worse, conflicting advice. It's reassuring to read that you're not the only one muddling through though, when awake at 3am, feeding a baby with horribly sore nipples!

@matildathecat I am very fair skinned, does this have an effect? My mum said something about it but I thought she was just making it up 😂. Today's feeds have been feeling a bit better so hopefully this is a sign of things to come. This is such a lovely supportive thread, thanks everyone.

I’ve heard that too - also v fair skinned. I’ve no idea if it’s an old wives tale or not.

Glad you’re feeling more positive! I found bf rewarding in many ways and very hard in others. More awareness that it can be difficult and a painful at first can only be a good thing.

I had this and felt sick before every feed - I know it’s not recommended but I used nipple shields for a few days and it’s the only way I managed to keep on breastfeeding. Just needed to use them long enough to have a chance to heal.

Just a couple of things that I found helped:
Make sure your nursing bra isn't too small and fattening your nipples too much. It stops them healing. Expressing milk made me produce tons and so I was really full before feeding. Expressing a little means it's softer for the baby and they can get more nipple in their mouth. Get someone to double check for a tongue tie. My 3rd kid did and it was easier to spot because I'd mastered the latch but things still weren't right. I also found dummies and Lansinoh helped. Definitely got easier after 1st month. Best of luck. Remember being horrified when my first born had a wee trickle of blood from her mouth and working out it had come from me. I was terrified of her for a while because she had such a powerful suck!!

Glad today a bit better for you.
PS cluster feeds or growth spurts will be fine when you are all healed and feeding painlessly.
Then you will just need to find the perfect TV box set!

hmyh23 I went through exactly the same as you. Your explanation of what’s happening and how you’re feeling brings back memories of how difficult it is.
Keep it up, it is worth it and it seriously does get better. Before you know it, it will be the easiest thing in the world x

I too had sore, cracked bleeding nipples. Baby's latch was fine I had it checked by everyone!! Turned out I had thrush which wasn't helping my nipples heal. I also have a very painful let down and at 10 weeks on that is still very painful but only lasts the first 30 seconds or so.

To protect my nipples while they were healing I used nipple shields which were a life saver, made feeding so much better I used them mostly for night feeds as DS would cluster feed then. I also used the breast pad shields during the day which help airflow and stop anything touching your nipples while they heal.

Your doing a great job. If expressing helps you both mentally and physically heal then do it. If nipple shields helps reduce the pain use them or if you think formula feeding is the way to go then that's great to. As long as your baby is feeding it doesn't matter. X

Well down OP . Pleased it's getting better. I'm the previous poster who jacked it in after 10 days second time round as it was ruining my relationship with DD2. I'm very fair skinned. I've also read online that it's supposed to make no difference but I don't believe it.