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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

What does breastfeeding feel like when there ISN'T a problem?

43 replies

islandbaby · 03/01/2011 01:59

Just curious, as even on the very rare occasion where I haven't found BFing my 3 week DS painful, it has still been uncomfortable. I can feel his gums repeatedly compressing my nipple, or I can feel a sort of deep pulling in my actual breast which is, although not exactly painful, is uncomfortable.

Would you normally expect to feel NOTHING at all?

OP posts:

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 03/01/2011 02:04

oh you are in such early stages of it. TBh i was in a good bit of discomfort til around 6/7 weeks. what with being too full, and then a very strong let down and sore nipples, bad latch etc.

3 weeks is still getting to grips with it. it will all fall into place really it will.
have you had teh latch checked by your HV or midwife? i don't think you should be feeling his gums compressing as hsi tongue should be over his bottom gum.

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 03/01/2011 02:20

If you can feel his gums compressing your nipple then you need to look again at how he is latching on to you. You might feel that strange pulling, but you should not be feeling his gums at alll. He is probably not taking the nipple far enough into his mouth. Has he been checked fir tongue-tie?

3w is definitely still very early days (congratulations, BTW ). This week, when the breastfeeding support groups start running again, go, and have a chat with a peer supporter. Make sure you go to a group run by any of the breastfeeding charities - NCT, BfN, LLL, ABM - as they are the experts and absolutely the best people to consult.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 03/01/2011 02:28

I'd love to hear stories about how nice/normal it is after the initial weeks too. I tried for 4 weeks, expressed for a few, and then just gave up under pressure (3am cow pumping = not my idea of fun)

Next time I want to be more prepared, but would never have contacted LLL/NCT etc as I felt I was in control (I wasn't)

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 03/01/2011 02:33

jareth for me it really only felt 'normal', in that it wasn't a hindrance or inconvenience, when ds started on solids at 7 months. before that i was expressing all the time and it was such a chore. once the solids started, my milk supply settled right down and i didn't even need to use breastpads anymore. it became enjoyable to feed because it really was just as and when he wanted and no expressing.

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 03/01/2011 02:35

forgot to add, there were many times before the 6 month mark where i was ready to give up. i didn't like doing it alot of the time.

TiredofYorks · 03/01/2011 05:17

When I could feel DD compressing my breast I thought it was because she didn't have her tongue over her gum properly and it was really painful. It turned out to be Thrush that was the problem.

TiredofYorks · 03/01/2011 05:17

When I could feel DD compressing my breast I thought it was because she didn't have her tongue over her gum properly and it was really painful. It turned out to be Thrush that was the problem.

lillylane · 03/01/2011 05:32

DD is 14 weeks now and it is fine. I can feel that she is feeding but it is not painful at all. For me the first 6 weeks or so it was very sore when she latched and then got better after a few minutes but that is not a problem anymore.And when she looks up at me and gives me a big milky smile that is just lovely!
I agree with having the latch checked and making sure you don't have trush but hang in there, it gets better!

RhinestoneReindeerHerder · 03/01/2011 06:52

Somewhere between 6-12 weeks for me I think. Everyone says 6 weeks is the turning point, and I think that is true to an extent, but don't worry if it's not magically wonderful the moment you hit that point.

Second time around what kept me going was that I knew the early bit passed and things got easier.

ethelina · 03/01/2011 06:58

It's just like a gentle pull, slightly ticklish, almost don't notice it after a few minutes. It's a very pleasant feeling once it's right. Almost disappointed when he finishes and you have to start doing stuff again. The best bit is the tickly fingers roaming over my arm and neck.

YunoYurbubson · 03/01/2011 06:58

I had the most awful, dreadful, hideous, painful time learning to feed my daughter. Hardest thing I have ever done in my life by a very long way. Everyone told me it would get better and it would be worth it.... and they were SO right.

I have told this story before on MN; a while ago dh and I arguing about something while getting ready to go out. I stood by the bed wearing nothing on my top, lecturing dh furiously only to see him crease up in giggles. Ds had been lying on the bed, spotted his two most favourite things in the world (that would be my boobs, not his parents) and crawled across the bed, pulled himself up on the iron beadstead and latched himself on. He was gazing solemnly up at me like a little lamb as he fed. All that was missing was a wagging fluffy tail. I hadn't even noticed!

VeronicaCake · 03/01/2011 08:42

It really does not hurt once the latch is good, and the painful letdown comes to an end (happened about 9-10 weeks for me I think).

DD is a little wriggler so I can usually tell when she is feeding. But I had an experience like Yuno. I was in the bath with DD when she was about 10 weeks old and swishing her up and down in the water whilst talking to DH. He suddenly started giggling and when I looked down I discovered the little minx had come abreast of me (so to speak) and latched on and was gazing up at me with an expression in her eyes which I think meant 'Dammit I'm cute!'.

organiccarrotcake · 03/01/2011 15:03

For me, it's a great oxytocin rush! It feels lovely and gentle and I just siiiiigh and reeelax.

Petsville · 03/01/2011 16:02

Doesn't hurt once it's properly established and your nipples have toughened up, but don't expect it to be a positive experience necessarily - DS is 5 months and it's still a dreary chore (physically it feels very mildly uncomfortable, but not painful).

Fernie3 · 03/01/2011 16:16

I sometimes cant feel it at all other times i can feel her Tongue sort of tickling me!

Only time i have ever felt her clamp down is when she's just playing at the end of a feed anx she bites the end of my nipple.

MoonUnitAlpha · 03/01/2011 17:05

I barely felt it at all between 6 weeks and 5 months - I'd sometimes look down and realise ds had fallen asleep and the nipple had come out of his mouth without me noticing. Still had a momentarily painful letdown til about 4 months though.

5 months in now and ds has started messing about more - clamping down and pulling away - so it's sometimes a bit uncomfortable!

togarama · 03/01/2011 17:42

Barely noticeable - just like cuddling. From very early on it was so easy that the thought of formula feeding seemed like madness for us.

Cybertrolley · 03/01/2011 21:28

Well done, big pat on the back :) as it was the hardest thing I've ever done, sheer agony for 5 weeks I used to count to 15 and bend my toes! and then it just stopped, all the pain went away and I thought nothing of it after that. It was so easy and seemed much easier than formula, sterilizing, warming bottles etc.

I'd been told to use Lansinoh and it did nothting (except cost 10 pounds) and tried Kamilosan ( a couple of pounds) and that worked wonders for me.

Good luck, I really hung onto the amount of people that told me to persevre and I'm glad I did. x

jewelsforxmasplease · 03/01/2011 21:44

My dd is now 10 months and feeding is painless but I can fell her sucking iykwim. Unlike my other 2 dc who breast fed well from the start, she took a lot longer to get the hang of it and was hard to latch easily for at least a month. I think it was about 8weeks before I can honestly say she got it right, but she was my 3rd baby I was not going to give up, but it was very hard and painful at times. Now she feeds on demand, less during the day as she has meals, but she does like to feed through the night, and latches herself of while I sleep. I plan to co sleep and do this for until she is 18months or so then try and wean her. I fed the other 2 until they were almost 3, but feel that this time I would like my bed back a little sooner!

It does get easier, well done

Porcelain · 03/01/2011 23:28

I sometimes forget I'm feeding him. Or I look down and wonder when we started. It's just second nature.

Original poster

islandbaby · 04/01/2011 01:00

Thanks for the responses. It's so hard not to feel like it got better for everyone else but won't for me!

At the moment, (almost 4 wks), I'm getting an excruciatingly painful latch, which I have to repeat and repeat and still doesn't get him on right as when he comes off my nipple is wedge shaped and bright pink with a white stripe across it, and then I'm getting vasospams (do you GET vasospasms or do you HAVE them, or am I vaspospasming...) where my nipple is blanching and which KILL immediately after feeding and the burning, cutting, stabbing pain lasts for 5 or ten minitues and comes back again every time i get even vaguely cold.

I can't even put him on at the moment, it hurts so much. I expressed for two days to give my nips a break, and have tried a few times again today but I just can't get him to latch deep enough even though he seems to be swallowing plenty of milk for the length of time I can bear the pain.

Holding out for the BF pro to come round tomorrow, as I am beginning to say very bad things to my DS as he chomps away at mummy.

SIGH.

OP posts:

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 04/01/2011 08:16

Ow ow ow. Poor you! And incredibly well done for persevering. I do hope the bfing person helps. Which organisation are they with? Make sure they check your ds for tongue-tie. Please also go to any bfing support groups near you that are run by any of the charities I mentioned earlier (your HV will be able to give you a list). Continued support is so helpful.

With ds2 (my 3rd, so you'd have thought I'd know how to do it by then) my nipples were a bleeding, blistered mess of raw meat by day 4. A BfN supporter came round and sat with me for nearly 2h helping me tweak the latch and the way I brought ds towards the breast. I could not tell you what I was doing differently at the end of her visit, but ds was feeding much less painfully. By the time I saw her again at the bfing support group two days later, my nipples were almost completely healed. She was wonderful.

Dozeyland · 04/01/2011 22:08

After 2 rounds of Mastitis, thrush, open wounds etc DD is now 10 weeks old. i have been officially pain free for about 2 weeks now! woohoo!!!! it's so great to finally be "there" and im now looking back thinking pat on the back for persevering woman!!!

Baby cafe has been a massive help, and my cousin who is a breastfeeding counsellor has been such a help, so grateful I had the support, so i would recommend baby groups and breastfeeding clinics also

Just take each day as it comes, and you'll get there! Now when I feed DD I am so proud, and absolutely love it x

Cloclo15 · 14/08/2012 11:43

Not sure if you are still on mumsnet islandbaby but I just wanted to know if you eventually got BFing right? What you describe is exactly what I'm experiencing, though strangely not at the start, this started around 4wo (LO is now 6wo). I have been in constant contact with my NCT BF counsellor and going to support groups. When in hospital (we were in for a week due to breathing issues that saw LO in SCBU) around 15 different midwives looked at his latch and said it was good, but now it feels like he constantly wants to slip back so he hasn't got quite as much breast in his mouth. It is much worse on one side than the other. I also get the Raynauds thing for hours after a feed.
Has anyone had BFing go backwards after a good start? Baby is putting on masses of weight so I know he is getting plenty of milk, but I don't want to have to give up due to the pain :(

missingmymarbles · 14/08/2012 22:42

Cloclo - do you get reynauds normally or is this a new thing only in your breasts? If it is new, together with the symptoms you identify with the op, you should consider thrush, even if it doesn't seem to be problematic as such to baby (or you), and even if he is gaining weight.

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