Please help.......breastfeeding pain

[TiredofYorks]

DD is now 3 weeks old, I've exclusively bf until a complete meltdown yesterday when I switched to mixed feeding.

This isn't what I want to do however, I would like to go back to EBF.

The reason for my meltdown is severe pain in one nipple and some soreness in the other. The severe pain is from a badly cracked nipple which is healing but very slowly.

I do go to a bf group and have been told my latch is ok (now), however when dd is latched on the soreness feels as though it is where her tongue is rather than the nipple itself.

DD does have mild tongue tie and I do wonder if perhaps she doesn't get her tongue down over her gum enough although the problem doesn't seem as bad on the other breast.

I think what I'm looking for here is any advice to help and some hope stories.

Will it get better and how long could it take?

if she has a mild tongue tie then get it snipped!

i gave up feeding my first baby due to an undiagnosed tongue tie.
my second was also tongue tied and once it was snipped at 3 weeks the change was almost immediate, bar some minor positioning issues. i then fed him for 16 months

the procedure is SO quick and easy it's really worth getting done

Get the tongue tie done

Dd2 had her tongue tie done at 6 weeks, it was so quick and she fell asleep feeding afterwards. Don't hesitate!

In the meantime could you talk to a bf counsellor about how best to use a nipple shield to be able to carry on and let your nipples heal? I had a huge chunk taken out of one nipple in the first few days of dd2's life, and it just wasnt healing. It got so toe curlingly painful I was lunging away as fast as she was lunging towards me, even with painkillers. A nipple shield gave me enough protection to let it heal and carry on bf.

You just have to be careful about sterilising (have a few available), and also keep an eye on your supply in case you don't get enough stimulation - hence talking to your hv or a bf counsellor about it. Nb advice used to be not to use them, but modern shields are much thinner so much less problem, so if your hv hasn't had up to date bf training, they might still tell you not to use them.

Lukewarm, I also lunge away as quick as she lunges towards me.

I did try the shields but I found that she nipped tham and therefore my nipple making the pain worse.

I will dicuss the tongue tie with the bf counsellor on Monday.

I suppose I'm praying that is the reason we're having problems as I want to cling to the thought that it is fixable.

I so desparately want to continue but I dread each feed at the moment.

I had to mix feed my ds from about a week and half old. Also because i was in so much pain I stopped feeding him from the breast for about 3 or 4 days and expressed instead. It did take me some time to get him back on ebf (my stomach still turns over at the sight of a breast pump) Also I guess I was lucky that he didn't get nipple confusion. Anyway it took a lot of determination but I'm so glad I persevered!

Good luck! I hope you can get the tongue tie sorted and that things sort themselves out! It can all be very hard, tiring and confusing to start with but hang in there it does all get a lot easier in time!

Are you using a nipple cream? - i found that Lansinoh was the best and to be honest I had a lot of pain for the first 5 weeks but then was ok! When I talked to my sis later she admitted that she had found it painful for the first 6 weeks. I did keep getting midwives to check latch which they kept saying was fine!

Hopefully the bf counsellor will have some answers for you!

Have you tried changing the position you feed in - My midwife recommended the football (?) hold to me which did help but I found it hard too hard to do replicate once she'd left!!

Sorry can't be of more help!!

Darn, really sorry the shields haven't helped. the other thing i tried on the advice of my midwife was potato skin peelings on the nipples between feeds, like wierd breast pads. Wierd beyond measure, but it did soothe slightly, might be worth a try. Try taking paracetamol half hour before each feed (or all the time, I guess you don't know when the feeds will be in these early weeks!), and I really hope your bf counsellor can help on Monday.

The kellymom website has all sorts of bf advice on there, might be worth a look. I feel for you, I remember having to brace my legs under the bed to make myself not lunge away at each feed, truly horrible. Don't beat yourself up for the odd bottle, it doesn't mean the end of bf.

By the way, you can also get the tie seen to privately if you've got spare cash, we did this as it avoided waiting. Let me know if you want to know who/where.

I might come back to you re the private option, I will speak to the counsellor on Monday to see if she thinks this could be the problem, but after reading other threads on here about tongue tie, it seems possible.

I'm going to continue to feed of the less sore side until Monday and express from the painful side as the crack is still healing, but to be fair I'm not sure that it is the crack that's the painful bit as it doesn't hurt during expressing even though it opens it up a bit.

Roll on Monday (I'll be gutted if the bfc says it's nothing to do with tongue tie) as I need a reason for the horrible pain.

Potato skins sound interesting, I also heard wet tea bags are soothing too, to be honest I haven't tried either, just lashings of Kamilosan (sp!) to keep it supple.

even a mild tongue tie can cause difficulties. can your BFC refer you? if not you may be better of seeing a GP or a midwife if you can still get hold of one!

have a look here

some of the places you can self refer to (these are NHS places, so you won't have to pay) but others you would need a referral. might be worth giving your nearest one a call.

IMO there are NO negatives to having it snipped. so i would do it anyway

A tongue tie is a tongue tie - no such thing as a mild tongue tie - get it snipped asap! see a lactation consultant / maxifacial surgeon etc. just get it done asap as your supply will be affected and you won't go back to EBF

there are varying degrees of tongue tie. when it's very severe the baby can't even lift the tongue. some have movement but it's impaired, and in some it's not that noticeable.

so definitely can be mild!

But expressing might not hurt as much because it's the tongue tie (ie the way the attachment is positioned) that's the problem - as expressing equipment is designed to attach correctly and usually isn't as powerful as a real life baby iyswim.

Agree with this is yesterday, no disadvantages to having the snip, I think I was more upset than dd, for all of the 3 minutes it took. It can (although rarely, as they can sever themselves) also cause problems with solids and speech later on, so if in doubt, why not?

Have you also explored the possibility that the cream is making you sensitive? Just wondering, as although some swear by them, they haven't been proved to actually help soreness, and I know they just irritate my skin. Best thing for me was to rub some of the milk over the nipple after each feed, and let it air dry. Also using plenty of changes of pads to keep the area dry. Just in case it's one possibility you haven't looked at, a long shot probably! (although not so much as potato skins)

As much fresh air as possible will help your cracked nipple heal (the postman might get an eyeful - mine certainly did). Try not to wear a bra or pyjama top in bed either.

I found that expressing off the worst boob for a day and giving DS the milk from a bottle helped as well.

Also, the consultant who did the tongue tie snip said that a mild tie can cause huge feeding problems, and sometimes a more severe tie can cause less problems - all depends on the 'fit', so don't be fobbed off with no help just because it's 'mild'. If you're in pain, youve had all the normal issues checked, and you want to bf, then it's reasonable to assume the tie is an issue and it needs to be snipped.

Thankyou all for your very kind replies.

It turns out that the tongue tie isn't an issue, our problem was thrush. I never realised quite how much pain this could cause, both while feeding and inbetween feeds.

We started treatment on Monday and I now can't believe I nearly gave up. It doesn't hurt at all now.

Thank goodness you found that out! Pleased to hear it's sorted.

I'd still have the snip done, just to forestall any possible future problems (when it's too late for it to be a simple procedure and instead needs a general anaesthetic). But that's just me!

Also you could try applying cream (Lansinoh or Kamillosan - whatever!) after feeding then wearing breast shields as they allow the air to circulate around your nipples. Plus you don't have to go topless!