Pain on latch- reassurance please.

[KeepTryin]

Hi, I'm on day 3 milk starting to come in but am not at the rock hard canon ball stage yet can anyone reassure me the bite down pain on the initial latch will pass?! And how long will it last? Feeling sore and close to formula at the moment

Hi, I'm on day 5 and its still v painful. I am shockingly bad at breasfredimg though.

Sorry not to be any help but didn't want to leave your op unanswered, I hate night times with a newborn.

Good luck x

What sort of pain is it? Is it sort of a toe curling pain which goes away after a few seconds, or is it just sore the whole time you're feeding?

Congratulations!

I would get someone to check your latch in RL - either your mw or a breast-feeding counsellor. Until my mw came and spent 20 mins with me on day 4/5 helping with my latch, it was painful.

If your latch is good, it shouldn't hurt, other than a tingly, achey discomfort as the milk starts to flow.

Lansinoh cream might be an idea, to prevent/treat cracking? Pricey but does help whilst you deal with the underlying problems.

Thanks
Without a doubt it's the toe curling pain when she latches, it passes after a few seconds though but it makes starting a feed feel like a painful chore at the moment. Rest of the feed is ok, good latch most of the time but if she gets a bad latch I dress taking her off and starting again with the bite down! Will ask midwife to check latch again today though.

I found that it took a few weeks for the nipple to toughen up, after that twas pretty much plain sailing. Ds1 had a slight tongue tie which I think made the latch in the first couple of weeks sorer. With ds 2 i had a wee bit of tenderness at the start but not as much. If the pain is really bad or doesn't get better after the first couple of weeks you may need to get the latch checked.

It passed in the first couple of weeks for me. I had a very big greedy newborn who was impatient for the milk

Keep at it! I had dreadful pain but that was caused by early bad latching. Definitely recommend Lansinoh, it's about £9 a tube but a little goes a long way. I threatened to give up lots of times but still going at week 14 now. I bottle fed dd due to medical problems but wanted to try bf ds, so I've tried both. Both have their pros and cons, but it is very handy never having to pack formula and bottles on a trip out - theres enough other stuff to remember. Ask your midwife/health visitor if there's a local breastfeeding clinic. I'm in Portsmouth and they have a fabulous group run by volunteers and drop in clinics most days at various locations. Very helpful with positioning and judt general moral support. If you get very sore try a different position next time you latch. By far my most comfortable is lying on my side with baby cuddled into my tummy, (though don't forget a towel underneath, for leaks!) Vary positions. Also, I was never told this and it's not in any of the books I read (although it's such common sense I felt a bit of a plank when it occurred to me) you will need to double the amount of fluid you drink. The most important thing to remember is this - if you decide bf is not for you then don't let anyone make you feel bad about it. Dd is healthy and bright, there's nowt wrong with formula (other than the price of it). Good luck and congratulations.x