Extremely sore nipples but good latch?

[Delizhop]

Hello!

My little one is 4 weeks tomorrow, she latched perfectly from an hour after she was born. Had a bit of rocky time when my milk came in (solid boobs) but that went in like 2 days. but in the past week and a half I’ve started to get incredibly sore nipples and I can’t figure out why

They hurt when I’m not feeding, more if I’m not wearing a bra, then when she latches it’s painful enough to make my eyes water and gasp but then then the pain goes until she’s finished (or if she goes over half hour or pulls her head back)

I’ve tried changing the latching technique but always mouth wide open nipple up and put on the way I was shown. She doesn’t have a tongue tie I’ve checked. If she lets go of it I pull back and do it properly again. Lie down sit up it’s all the same.

Even going a few feeds on one breast to give the other a break doesn’t help. They aren’t cracked or bleeding. I’ve tried nipple cream it doesn’t do anything (and rather expensive so that’s annoying) Breast milk on it soothes it slightly but that’s about it.

I love breastfeeding and I don’t want to stop but I can’t figure out what’s wrong? (I’m aware I can express but it’s actual breastfeeding I love, I love the bond) Health advisor won’t see me due to covid. I’ve tried everything she has advised on the phone but without her here I don’t know what can’t be done

Any advice would be great

I'm always glad my community midwives who ran our ante and post natal groups were so honest about breastfeeding.

It hurts. Until you're used to it. I remember it was about 9 weeks for me, both times. As my midwife said to me "brace yourself, curl your toes, and latch"!

Your poor nipples will get used to it, but it doesn't happen overnight. But it is normal.

There could be many reasons... these are some of the things I found when my nipples have hurt

Baby was tongue tied
Mastitis
Thrush
Slightly blocked duct / milk bleb - if you have a really good look at your nipple and see a tiny white dot you might have a little blockage but usually your boob hurts as well as milk gets backed up, other one is where a bit of skin grows over the hole...freaking painful but then it suddenly disappears when it peels off x

Can I just echo what others have said. Hurt does not equal wrong. It takes time for your nipples to stop hurting. I would say toughen but that sounds horrible. Good news - you will get there and next time (if there is a next time) it doesn’t hurt at all in my experience. Hang in there x

Agree with the others, at first it would be eye wateringly painful but then my nips turned to toughened glass / steel rods and is fine now

Your nips need to toughen up, check the gel discs which are awesome

Lansinoh- before & after a feed! Best advice I can give!

I find it really odd that some people are posting that it just hurts for a "while" and haven't made the connection that it takes a "while" to learn how to breastfeed.

If the latch is good then get someone else to check positioning, ideally a bf consultant. Lo should have a straight neck and back and pull their bum in close in to your body (if their hips aren't touching you they aren't close enough).

If it's thrush you will probably be able to tell from LOs mouth. White mushroom type things on their tongue and in patches around their mouth.

As LO gets older you'll find their feeding changes and this can lead to nipple pain. Teething (sandpaper feeding!), developing a lazy latch, being distracted by other things around them are all things you will need to tackle to avoid painful feeding.

Ds2 currently likes pulling back on my nipple so he can see what's going on elsewhere in the room, he's 2.5 🙄

I would put money on it being thrush. Call your GP and don't take no for an answer. You want the gel for the baby's mouth and cream and fluconazole tablet for you. Nipple shields should help too. I had this for 8 weeks when DS was born, the pain was indescribable. But the relief when it went away and feeds became almost blissful. Get better soon

Came onto say could be thrush as others have said. I had it with all 3 of mine, it is an absolute bastard.

I'm with the people here saying thrush. I had it and GOD was it painful! I had my latch checked by a lady in our local breastfeeding league too so I knew it wasn't that - I was in despair! If your nipples are bright pink and it's like a shooting pain, it's like mine and it was thrush. I'd get it when I got let down too so it would hit me randomly in the early days of breastfeeding (I had to express). Anti fungal cream and we were golden. I was a bit bitter that no one mentioned it could have been thrush to me for the 10 weeks that I was in agony!

It could be a number of things including thrush, but it doesn't mean your doing it wrong. I found bf always hurt a bit to some extent (at some times more than others) but DD thrived and a lactation consultant couldn't find anything wrong.

Sometimes it can be just the fit of the baby's mouth and the sensitivity of your particular nipples that causes it. I have very sensitive nipples and DD had a latch and suction like a top of the range Dyson on speed (she would drain a whole breast in 3-4 minutes and I had loads of milk!) If you have a forceful letdown it can also make a difference and give you a sensation of a bite during the letdown. I found it got better overall when my milk properly settled down and established around 8 weeks. But it got worse again when DD got teeth. I still breastfed DD until she was 2 though!

*you're -- sorry typo!

I came on to say rule out thrush toi!! Feeding my third was sorer than my second for the first few weeks. Like some one else mention my let down was powerful and baby really struggled with this- I would say possibly up to 5/6 weeks.
Don't know if you've ever heard of breast angels? they are silver nipple cups which sit over your nipples while not feeding with the dual purpose of holding milk around your nipple ( don't they say milk best for healing??) and the keep your nipple shaped rather than flattened by bra so especially good in the early days! silver suppose yo have healing properties but it's the other two reasons the worked so well for me. They are not cheap but anything , ANYTHING, to save your nipples in those early days. I rave about these to anyone thinking of feeding and wish I'd had them on my first cos that ended after 16 days when gp sent me to hospital because baby was puking blood. Mine it turned out to be. oh the pain!!!!!! Good luck xxx ( fed my second till he was 2 and it dried up in pregnancy!!)

Oh and a tip even though it didn't stop the pain I religiously put Lansinoh on after every feed because you don't want them to crack as well. Even if they aren't cracked right now keep putting on the balm just in case.

One of my babies just didn't quite ever open her mouth wide enough. Saw so many experts, it looked mine she gained weight like a trooper but it hurt. Was told I was just too sensitive.

Had the next one and after the first 10 days it didn't hurt at all! Nor the next one.

Basically the latch wasn't ok, her mouth was just not quite wide enough.

Others may have suggested this but first thought was thrush.

With my first my nipples hurt but I would count to 10 and if it hadnt eased I would take her off and start again. I found my nipples needed to harden up so although sore I could feed without pain. You know when they get skin and not nipple.

I used to wear nipple shields in my bra. They would fill with milk and basically soothe my nipples in between feeds. Could only do this when home though or I looked very weird.

With 2nd baby all was fine until thrush. My nipples were so sore even in between feeds. Baby had white on her tongue and nappy rash. She had to have drops and I had cream for my nipples. Also has to use barrier cream on her bottom.

Had to repeat the medication twice before she finally got rid of it. If it is thrush you need to make sure its really gone before stopping the medications. I also air dried my breasts after feeds when I could or used a muslin to pat myself down.

You can pass it between each other and it breeds in moist warm places so inside the mouth and bra are perfect places. Make sure you also change bibs regularly and any cloths, breast pads etc.

If you want to BF do preserve. It sounds like you are going well just neet to work passed this. If baby is happy otherwise and gaining weight it will be something that can be worked past

@Delizhop hi I'm sorry you are finding it painful. I also found breastfeeding very painful for the first months but am thankfully still breastfeeding my 11 month old so it does get better.
Do you put nose to nipple to get baby to open really wide? There are some good videos you can watch on YouTube of the flipper technique. Also how did you check if she had a tongue tie? You need a IBCLC to check. Also if you are on facebook join the group "breastfeeding yummy mummies" there are lots of IBCLCs on there who can help and advise and might ask to see a picture if babies latch. Also use lanolin or milk for sore nipples and let air get to it as much as possible. I promise it will get easier