Breastfeeding. Please help!!

[ftm90]

Long time lurker, first time posting.
Not sure if this is in the right place but there's a lot of traffic here soooo

I'm a first time mum, my baby is 6 days old, I had my heart set on breastfeeding and have been doing so exclusively, the latch is fine, but damage happened to my nipples in the first day and just hasn't healed. My nipples are so cracked and sore, that at every feed I'm in tears through the initial latch. I feel so guilty about this and then when I consider switching to bottles I'm also racked with guilt. Please please please help, anyone own experiences or how to feel less guilty about potentially switching to bottles?! TIA.

Oh also, I coated a breast pad with a layer of lansinoh to stop them rubbing when I was wearing a bra. My boobs didn't leak much though so I didn't need the pads to absorb much if that makes sense.

You can do it! This is really common, it doesn't mean anything is wrong- as unpleasant as it is in the short term.

Lanisoh, nipple shields, alternating sides, checking the latch (google hamburger attaching, baby led attachment etc). When I was really uncomfortable I would feed from one side, pump the other and then do the opposite the next feed. It meant each side had 6 hours at least to heal without my piraña baby.

This will pass so soon. Breastfeeding is so so so much easier than bottle feeding long term, it's just harder in the first few weeks.

Hang in there! You can do it.

Being topless as much as possible helps as well.

Thank you everyone, I have Lansinoh, I am currently taking Midwife's advice and am going to express and rest my breasts for 24 hours as the cracks are so deep and so painful. Thank you all for your positive attitudes and advice. I really was feeling so awful about it. Pain and hormones not the best mixture. Thanks again ladies x

This was me 4 weeks ago, I had cracks and it was incredibly painful to feed, I was dreading the baby each time he needed to eat as feeding him caused me so much pain.

I second the advice everyone here said.

Get some lansinoh, put it on after every feed.
Get some nipple shields to use while your nipples are healing.
Arrange to see a lactation consultant as soon as possible, as there may be issues such as tongue tie, which is an easy short procedure to fix (if it's an anterior tongue tie, posterior is a bit more challenging).
I found this website really helpful in helping understand positioning, they have great videos.
globalhealthmedia.org/videos/

Forgot to add:
As soon as I put the nipple shields on it was instant relief at feeds.
Then my son got his tongue tie cut, and I instantly felt him sucking a lot more effectively and he was actually using his tongue to feed!
I can now have him latch on the left side and feed with minimal pain.
As my right side is more inverted than the left we're still having some pain and issues without the shield, but I'm seeing a lactation consultant next week about it.
I've been told that new modern silicone shields don't affect milk production as much as the old ones, especially if you have cutouts for skin on skin contact. At any rate, for me it's actually beneficial that the shields slow down flow, as they prevent little one from choking on an overactive letdown!
Also, the lactation consultant I saw said that if it's not affecting milk supply, there is no harm in using shields as long as you need to. Breast feeding is breastfeeding, whether it's straight on the nipple or through a thin silicone shield.

One of my nipples actually detached. It was agony. I express for an entire week when DS was a week old and used bottles. A week later I was fully healed and he went straight back to BF with no problems, although I chose to mix feed after that.

@MaryShelley1818
OMG

As you can see, so many of us have been there... the whole 'if it hurts, you're doing it wrong' line doesn't feel helpful by this point! Make sure you nail your technique to prevent it from getting worse, seeing a lactation consultant if need be. But be mindful that even if you have great positioning and a good latch, it's very likely to hurt until you heal - after all, you're applying constant pressure to an open wound in a very sensitive area!

From day 4, I was in agony for a at least a month. Honestly I took it one feed at a time, and pledged not to give up on my worst day. I gritted my teeth and curled my toes through every feed. Baby was gaining a lot of weight which helped motivate me to keep going. By 5 weeks, it was so much better, though it still ranged from a pleasant tugging to painful. By 8 weeks, I was loving it and it became one of my favourite parts of the baby stage.

I’m not sure why things changed - probably a combination of factors. My cracked nipples slowly healed (probably aided by lots of time wandering around topless and keeping them covered in breastmilk or lansinoh). Baby got his tongue tie clipped. I asked for help latching with every single midwife I met, and came close to seeing a lactation consultant (but found I didn’t need one by then).

Other things that I heard can help are block feeding (offer the same breast for 4 hour blocks to give the other side a rest), expressing or changing the holds you use frequently so the damaged parts get a slight break.

It frustrated me sooooo much to hear that it would just get better in a few weeks, but there was a lot of truth in that. All the old MN posts I searched for were full of women saying the same thing, that it does get better and that you can get through it if you have good support, good technique and take it one feed at a time. This might be the case for you too - sending good vibes and hope it works out for you.

Midwife here telling you to disregard previous midwife's advice! It's fine to pump and give your nipples a rest but I would probably only do that for every second feed and as a first resort I'd try nipple shields, honestly the barrier makes such a difference in helping you get through a feed bearably. Medela is a good brand. I used them for weeks. Then as everyone else has said, gel packs thingies, pain relief before a feed, and most important is to see a trained lactation consultant who can assess for tongue tie and give advice on latching. These are all normal initial problems and can be fixed relatively quickly with the right support. You're doing well.

It will get better! Your nipples just aren't used to it yet. Lots of lanolin. It's wonderful stuff. Give it a week or two and you'll be right as rain. Mastering the latch is the trickiest bit and you've done that so you're well on your way.

I sympathise with you. I had the same. Great advice about creams etc.

How I got past it was to get my husband to hold my hand while baby first latched on and I just braced myself for the pain! Just having someone there really helped for moral support.

It really does get better.

I'm 2 weeks on from you. I was in the same place.
I second the advice to use nipple shields for a bit, lansinoh or breast milk after every feed. Get the latch checked. My dd has tongue tie and wasn't gaining weight. But it was the flipped technique that made a difference and so we didn't get the tie snipped.

My nct bf counsellor recommended jelonet. About £5 from Amazon for 10 large sheets. Really speeds up the healing process.

Good luck op. Like others have said, it should get much easier but don't be hard on yourself if formula is the right choice for you and your lo. X

I had this and just powered through even though it was agony when he latched every time. By 5 weeks it was pain free and I'm so glad I stuck with it, it's such an easy way to feed once you're past the first part. We're still going at 13 months.

Loads of nipple cream and no paper pads use cotton ones. Is one side worse than the other?

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Try these, OP. Slather lansinoh on your nipples and then put these over between feeds. Saved my sanity and my boobs in those early weeks...

Had this with my daughter. I promise it's just a temporary thing.

Try twizzling the baby round so they hit your nipple at a different angle, giving it a chance to heal. So doing a rugby hold, or a hold where you have them upright on your lap, if you normally do the classic cradle hold.

Also I took paracetamol and ibuprofen to take the edge off the pain. Plus the nipple cream help healing. Once you heal, and the baby has got more adept and has a bigger mouth things will be fine.

Btw, did nipple shields with my son because a midwife in the hospital recommended them. They worked, but were a tremendous faff in the end, causing a lot of mess and slow feeds, you need to sterilise them, and it's hard going trying to persuade your baby to feed without them. I found the Boots ones best. Try to avoid if possible.

Loads of good advice already, but, as a veteran of 2 long term breastfeeders, I'd say, hang in there, use lansinoh like it's a second skin and your own milk after every feed on both nipples and don't be afraid to take paracetamol. It will get better and it's totally worth it. Well done!

Listen to everyone else.

But if all else fails and the agony is insurmountable, I exclusively expressed for over a year for dc1. Not an easy option with all the bottle washing, pumping etc, but it was the only way I could do it.

Dc2 I managed with nipple shields (for some reason expressing hurt more that time)

Good luck...

I felt unprepared for how much BF hurt. No tongue tie, perfect latch and it still hurt when my milk let down. The first few weeks every time they latched on the pain was toe curling, like pp I would count to ten and then it would be fine.

Good idea to express and rest for a bit if you can. It does get better after about three weeks I found.

I think BF is bloody hard the first month but then gets easier, I found not gaffing around with bottles a huge driver for me as I'm a bit lazy lol! Good luck and know you're not alone

I'm really sorry, I haven't read the whole thread as have my own little one taking up a lot of my time so just popping by... my friend had thus issue and she found nipple shields really helped. Not sure if it's been suggested?

I hope things get better for you but we'll done for lasting through the pain. It isn't easy.

Sorry didn't have a chance to read all the comments but I had extreme cracked nipples with 2 of my babies.

If you have a breast pump try and give the cracked nipple a rest by feeding only on one side and pumping the sore nipple. You could then give the expressed milk in a bottle if you want or just freeze it for the future if you would rather not. You need to pump that side regardless if you want to give it in a bottle to stop you getting engorged and keep your supply up .

If you can pump well and happy to give the expressed milk in a bottle you could do this for a few feeds in a row (I did it for 36 hours once) and give the sore nipple a chance to heal.

Good luck it's hard in the beginning but is so much easier a few months down the line.

Best thing i ever did was bottle feed. Never understand why you feel guilty. Baby is fed and mum is happy. Win win.

But in your case sounds like you want to breast feed. Can you find a local breast feeding specialist. I know in my area there was one that went around the baby groups sitting quietly at the back in case needed or get hv to check babys latch. Re the pain sounds like looks of people here have good lots of good suggestions.

Congratulations on your. New baby xxx

I've had one baby with a tongue tie and one without. Feeding with a tongue tie issue was agony for the first couple of months! Definitely get your baby checked.

Exactly this happened to me and it was horrific. I wanted to smack my head off the wall every feed.

Another vote for putting break milk on nipples after a feed and letting it air dry, then keeping your nipples protected until the next feed. I used medela nipple shields under my bra.

I started expressing on day 5 too, and giving expressed milk for a feed or two a day. This seemed to give my nipples a bit of a break for a couple of hours a day which was enough to start them healing.

Oh and lanisoh. Yes. I think the baby consumed at least a couple of tubes of it before I got the hang of it.