How long did your nipples take to toughen up?

[Quilty]

I have a 9 day old baby and everything is going well except the pain when breastfeeding!

Midwife has watched me feed and said latch looks good but that because I have very fair complexion my skin just needs to toughen up. I'm just about coping with the pain, my nipples are slightly weepy but no blood.

Anyone know how long it normally takes for nipples to get used to it? I'm dreaming of pain free feeding right now!

3 weeks. All three times.
It did get substantially better by 2 weeks though.

Also, I have an olive complexion and, anecdotally, comparing mine and my friends' experiences, skin colour doesn't seem to make a difference to how tough your nipples are! That seems a very peculiar notion.

6 weeks. I'm the worst case I know of though. Most people seem to be fine in 3.

Your mw is a wally who is by virtue of her odd beliefs about bf unlikely to be able to advise you on decen positioning and attachment. Ys it gets easier as they get bigger but can often be entirely pain free if your p and a is good. Maybe you have a baby cafe near by or can access a bfc who could see if they can improve your latch and get you comfortable now.

Sorry, 6 weeks for me too. DD had tongue tie, & the midwives at the maternity unit said she had a very strong suck and hard 'grip' with her mouth IYSWIM.

YY to Lansinoh, warm it up before you use it - put the tube under your armpit for a few minutes. It's horrendous, like glue, if you try & put it on cold.

Also, another tip I heard which really helped: if you can, spend at least a few minutes each day with nothing covering your nipples. Express a few drops of milk & gently smooth it all over your nipples. Breast milk is full of good antibodies etc for the baby, it will help heal your damaged skin too. Leave it for a few minutes to dry on. Then get dressed. See this link

I still had pain when latching baby on until around week 3. After that the 'razorblade' feeling went, cracks in my nips healed over and latching no longer hurt.

My nipples were highly sensitive though until weeks 4-5... Couldn't bear to wrap a towel around myself after a shower for example. Then, one day I realised they were back to normal

LO is 9 weeks and I'd say it's been about 3 weeks since I could bear a towel touching my boobs/ nipples when drying myself after a shower. My LO had tongue tie that had to be cut twice (5 wks and 7wks), and while that was extending the nipple soreness, I think I also just have sensitive nipples that are a bit delicate - so still if she clamps down now or falls asleep on the boob and starts nipple nibbling they feel a bit tender.

Thanks for replies everyone and for the link 50shades

Yep the Lasinoh has been my saviour so far I think!

Fingers crossed for the 3 week mark!

Oh my, your nipples are weeping?
That's not quite right. Nor necessary. Doesn't matter how fair you are.

Have a look at YouTube videos and search for 'breast sandwich' - sounds a bit wrong, but it is a good technique to get a tiny newborn to take enough breast in her mouth as to not hurt your nipples. It's breast feeding, not nipple feeding.

It gets better when baby gets better at taking a good chunk of breast in its mouth, so improves with practice (yours and baby's) and as she and her mouth get bigger.

Enough of the unsolicited advice .

I found BFing very hard all round and took to 3 months to find it easier than bottle feeding. Much easier after 4-6 weeks. FWIW, I BF, mixfed and FF (4 DCs).

Congratulations and good luck .

I didn't really get pain.

Except from when I got a blister on my right nipple and that hurt like hell. I carried on BFing through it though and it popped in little ladies mouth (poor thing!)

It's now her gums have gone hard (11 weeks) that it aches a little.

That was on day 3, by the way.

I use lanolin to help though.

I also have nice hot showers.

Agree that your MW is a Wally. the stuff about your fair skin is total bobbins. Yes, a lot of mothers get sore nipples in the early days but weeping nipples are not inevitable and you do NOT have to simply put up with it. If it's that painful to feed and is causing your bipples to weep then something needs changing with the latch, no matter how it 'looks'.

Try one of the breastfeeding helplines, cannot link as I'm on my phone so hopefully someone else can post them. hope things improve soon

If its painful get a lactation consultant to check latch and if baby has tongue tie. We had pain for 8weeks before to hue tie was diagnosed.

I found those patches really good the relief of them on my nipples after feeding was great. Not sure of name of them and they are relatively expensive but just amazing relief!

Oooo I'm four weeks into BF and bottle feeding due to a string of complications including GB and baby being a little prem and sleepy! I'm still experiencing pain, different pains, I get stinging sensasion just being my nipple, also get and pulling pain from deep in the tissue and under my armpit in left boob, and also get sharp stabbing type pains intermittently during the day when I'm feeding or not! I was just about to give up BF al together last week as I was in agony and managed to split both nipples clean open but after reading feeds on here that it does get better eventually we have stuck to it feeding at least twice a day evening and morning from breast (can take up to two hours) it is getting better now. I have been told by friends and family that you do eventually get to a point where the pain goes and its enjoyable to feed, I'm holding out for that! Lasihnoh has been my saviour for nipple issues, as well as there therpay gel packs, hang in their girl you can do it your doing a fab job!

Clairebear could you see a bfc or similar, you sound like you may well have things going on that a face to face consultation could help with.

I've been feeding for 15 weeks and have never had any pain. I slathered on the lanisoh initially but stopped after one tube.

Make sure you don't get infective mastitis. Keep your nipples clean and, if you have a crack, use hydrogel pads to prevent infection entering your body. Change your breast pads at every feed.

I did not do any of these and ended up with blood poisoning.

As far as I understood, the least you put on the nipples the better. Hydrogel pads, gel, breast pads, it's all a put on/take off affair, and you just keep touching your nipples, which was the last thing I wanted to do. My road out of really miserable pain was the opposite. Breast milk on the nipple after each feed and then breast shield on. The bs allows air to circulate which helps the bm heal the nipple (apparently anything to heal the nipple is in the bm). I had the bs with holes for the day and without for the night - to collect any leakage. Sure, ds's mouth got bigger and the latch better, but a week after this regimen I took the bs off for good, before them even drying my nipples after a shower was SO painful.

Dc1 with whom I was completly clueless to breastfeeding and had terrible latch though I was unaware of it really (thought my nipples just needed toughening up) 6 weeks.

Dc2 with whom from expierence with dc1 and lots of reading/ chat at bf support grpup with dc1 I was more knowedgeble, 2 weeks.

I have really crap nipples it seems. BF hurt for four months

Been easy since then