I have cannonballs in my bra, nipples that feel like they are on fire and a bit of a 1000 yard stare...help!

[tigana]

dd is 3do. engorgement i can handle (well...i have a cabbage) but my nipples are agony and i have another night of feeds to get through.

latch checked by several mw and mwca on ward and at home and by dh, all said looks good and dd def getting milk.

sore nips = thrush?
agony on latching and pain on each suck, like needles. and pain continues btwn feeds...like 100s tiny needles in my nipples.

help ...

Congratulations on your new baby girl.

Do your nipples change shape or colour from pre-feed to post-feed?

Has baby been checked for Tongue tie?

It doesn't matter if the latch 'looks' okay if it doesn't 'feel' okay. If you are in excruciating pain when feeding and after then something is up. Do you or baby have any other symptoms of thrush?

Helpsheet on nipple pain here.

Helpsheet on thrush here

Ouch - sounds awful.

As you'll see on the BfN info sheet that above, thrush is rare in babies younger than 6 weeks old. You would be experiencing pain after every feed though which you say you are.

Is you mw coming to see you tomorrow?

Is this your first? This goes against the advice normally given on here (by people who know MUCH more than me so are probably right!) but I was in agony for the first few days and it just passed. I think it was simply that my nipples hadn't previously been used iyswim! The experts on here will say it shouldn't hurt though (and will hopefully be along with advice soon). Did you do NCT? Could you get their local breastfeeding counsellor to help you?

Oh, and congratulations

Oh, and to reassure you, the pain passed by about day 6 and it hasn't hurt since except for when DS bites me

Sure someone far more knowledgable will be along shortly but didn't want to read and run.
If it is painful on each suck it really probably is either tour latch or your positioning. My DS is only 12 weeks but my experience was that latch was reasonable but her positioning was rubbish and I ended up with very traumatised nipples.
Is your midwife good with bf advice if not maybe see if you can meet up with a local bf councillor for some real life advice.
Good luck with it all. For us it has been worth it as it is now super easy and stress free

shpae changes a little, but not 'flattened' iykwim
colour change..no, but they are looking a bit pink.

don't think tongue tie has been checked...can I check it myslef??

other symptoms of thrush... um, my nipples feel a tiny bit itchy (but more burning). I did see 1 white spot in dds mouth, right up high on top of palette towards the back. Red around a white centre.

sorry for typos and lack of capitals etc typing 1 handed, dd asleep on the other..

I had exactly the same problem with ds 6 years ago...ended up with nipples like raw minced meat, bleeding etc and stopped BFing...switched to expressing and ended up mixed feeding until supply ran out. REALLY want BF to work this time...thought it was going so well

They got here whilst I was typing!!! Takes me a while when I have to do it left handed while I'm feeding on the right

I know this isn't a cure but can you take some paracetamol to get you through the night. Then you can get some help tomorrow.

I remember lots of pain in the first few days and weeks while my nipples toughened up.

Good luck.

Saw MW on weds, she said latch etc looked fine.
Saw MWCA today (mutter mutter..woke me up...mutter) said nipples hurt etc, she just spouted about "make sure you get a good mouthful of your nipple in babies mouth" and didn't even ask to see me feed.

I've been using sort of rugby ball hold position...but often dd ends up sort of 'sitting up' next to me rather than lying down straight..could that be a problem?

(just got to dash upstars to see ds who has woekn...back in atick)

Tongue tie is often hereditary so this could have caused your problems with your ds before.

Have a look at this.

There could be a variety of reasons for your pain though- tongue tie and thrush are just two possibilities. But clearly things are not right and wehn you see your mw next, you should not be fobbed off with 'the latch looks right'. Ask them why, if it is right, why is it so painful.

I don't care what anyone says bf the first two weeks hurts! Only the initial latch on though not actual feeding! Ur nipples simply aren't used to the amount of sucking a baby needs to do to obtain milk. Lanolin cream helps but what really done the trick for me was rubbing a little of the breast milk on them and letting them air dry, helps them heal v.quickly. As for the engorent express if it gets uncomfortable then freeze the milk and use ur fingertips to gently massage ur boob all over (like when u tap a table with your fingers) it helps the milk flow and held prevent the ducts becoming blocked. Or you could use a baby hairbrush and brush towards your nipple. This advice was given to me by a breast feeding councillor. Congratulations on the arrival of your little dream too :)

Ask the MW to watch you feed next time and lock the door til she does! For us it was making sure her nose wasn't touching the breast and her chin was well tucked in. I was holding her in a cross cradle hold so it was also important to have her tucked in tightly to my body. Getting the positioning right saved our BFing. I still can't get the rugby hold right so can't help you there

I don't know about the sitting up position, I don't see why it would make a difference. Some women sit their babies straddled across their leg in front of them and feed that way which isn't much different.

You could biological nurturing a try. Have a look at the recipe here.

Sorry to be throwing links around left right and centre- you're probably shattered enough. Basically you semi recline with cushions behind you, the whole of the front of dd's body would be supported by yours. Even better if you can do this skin to skin.

the best position I found was Ds straddling my leg with her tummy to mine and my arm of whatever boon she was on to support her. all my local Bfc loved this position and the mums of the support group I went to preferred or too, try googling it to see how it's done.

paracetamol - check.

dd crying for another feed - check

Just a small thing, if you can get to DD to feed her before she cries it may lessen the pain. Very hungry babies are very impatient babies who don't give a monkey's about the proper latch.

Early signs of hunger are - Looking and Licking (eyes scanning the room and tongue darting out/licking lips), mouth opening and closing, sucking on hands, etc.

I was in agony for the first two weeks. It's a combination of the let down and nipples being chomped on. It is a toe curling pain. I somehow managed to get through. Check for thrush etc but if u want to ebf u can't escape it. Someone suggested paracetamol. I took this for over a week and it helped me cope. I'm sure u r doing a great job.

How are you this morning OP? Just a thought, I was told that midwives aren't the best people to ask for help (no offence to any midwives out there!) as their BF training varies so much. What you need is a BF specialist.

NCT BF-ing info here

La Leche League here

Your local children's centre should also be able to tell you about BF support locally. There will probably be a trained counsellor (or two, or three), a weekly support group and telephone help.

Oh, and 'this too will pass'

Hope that helps

just one more idea- if you are engorged then could your dd be struggling to get a proper latch which is causing the nipple pain? I had the 1000 needle feeling with DS1. Turned out to be an oversupply and I was experiencing letdown almost constantly. Nipples were bleeding as DS1 couldn't latch properly due to the engorgement. Other symptom was leaking constantly. Kellymom had some great tips for dealing with it and once I followed them it was sorted in a couple of days.

Hope you find something that helps quickly.

Hi. I had massive pain with my right nipple when my ds first started feeding. It was toe curling and made me jump when he latched on. However, Lansinol (?) cream helped massively. Funny I never noticed when it stopped. His positioning used to alter on each side too. The rugby ball did not work for me, felt too awkward. Now at 13 weeks he sits/lays where he feels comfortable. Don't feel pressured into carrying on if it really is too bad. Good luck.

I was exactly the same, day 3 my milk came in and boobs were huge. First 2 weeks hurt like hell but then my nipples toughened up and it was great. Toe curling is the word to describe it!

How are you getting on today tigana- things any better?

Sorry for not coming back sooner. All much better. Thanks to you all I dismissed thrush - think I was hoping for a problem that could be 'solved' with a pill iykwim - and went back to basics on latch and positioning.

Sobbed at DH when he came home that night and overnight we gave my nipples a rest (1 feed of formula, then the next 2 of expressed milk - I know, nipple confusion risk) and then back to BF after revisiting all the info on starting off BFing (sat up straight, feet on floor, 2 pillows on lap, transition hold, break the latch if it hurts etc).

Watching dd fighting to feed from a bottle was torturous for me, despite DH trying to reassure me that I was a fantastic mother whether I BFed or FFed. And it cemented how much I LIKE BFing her and enjoyed the closeness etc, as well as all the health benefits (not to mention the faff of bottle/FFing).

Now feeding is fine, I think I have something of a painful let down as I would class the feeling I get in my boobs when they start leaking as painful too. But once we get past the initial few seconds it's ok and no more burning/needled nips in between feeds.

Thank you all!

Good to hear from you tigana and so pleased that things are better.

Hopefully the painful let down will calm down as the feeding gets established.

Oh and congrats btw, I think I forget to say it.

Well done. My let down twinges a bit, but I have gotten used to it. Good on ya for sticking with it.
:o