Breastfeeding is so hard

[L3tsD0Th1S2020]

Im always engorged my nipples are burning and cracked. My baby feeds so often. Im told i have a great milk supply because she's such a good eater but im always sore and exhausted.

Its mentally as well as physically hard.

If I had a poor supply I think I would use that as a valid reason to stop but because I have such a good volume I just dont want to give all that up

Agred that it bloody hurts! The consensus now seems to be that 'wet healing' is better than letting your nipples dry out, which causes them to crack. I bought some jelonet from amazon (which is a wound dressing for burns) and put this over my nipples with lansinoh underneath. It reduced the pain and allowed them to heal.

Jelonet is great for healing nips! You might be able to get it from a local chemist or from your GP surgery (I’m a GP nurse and it’s something we keep in stock)

Give the national breastfeeding helpline a call. Also, if you can stretch to it, a session with a lactation consultant now is much cheaper than switching to formula!

Have a look at the flipple technique for a deeper latch first and try different positions.

You have done so well to get this far - I didn’t manage to breastfeed my twins (I pumped from when they were born and NICU and carried on with that until 7 months).

All that said, you don’t need to justify carrying on or stopping. If you want to stop then you are allowed to stop! From your posts I don’t think you do want to stop though, so hopefully you can get the support you need to keep going.

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate all your supportive comments.

I just fed my little one (through sobs). The burning and stinging has subsided somewhat since then. At least for now anyway. My biggest cause fot anxiety is that I know I need to feed her through the pain.

Ill look up the support groups now.

Tomorrow is a new day 🙏