feeding through the pain

[Droflove]

So its day 3 and both nipples are in pieces. Baby has a serious suck and feeding at night in the dark has led to bad latches etc. But at this stage even a good latch would likely hurt like the devil. My question is can I just keep going? How on earth will they heal and settle down? Or will they just toughen up as I go along?

I've been there and it does settle down. I used nipple shields and at one point was feeding from one side, pumping from the other to give the nipple a break. I was also dressing my nipples with some wet dressing that I now can't remember the name of. I fed until the DC were 22 months and 14 months old in the end.

lansinoh nipple cream is supposed to be good

Suddenly one day it won't hurt, you'll do nothing different, baby will do nothing different, but one day you'll look down and there won't be any cracks and it will feel lovely.

Until then you just have to grit your teeth, or have a little cry.

And socks to people who say it shouldn't hurt if your doing it right, ir does. DD1 was the most useless BFer on the planet and DD2 totally instinctively knew what to do. It made no difference whatsoever, it still hurt.

Hello, Droflove, congratulations on your new baby! Hopefully your nipples should toughen up in time, some things to try in the meantime:

1. Are you using Lansinoh? Apply after feeds, if your nipples are cracked make sure you stuff it right down into the cracks. The aim is to keep the wounds moist to stop scabs forming as the scabs will just be ripped off when baby sucks, putting you back to square 1. If you keep them moist, the damage will heal from the inside out, IYSWIM.

1. Make sure the latch is optimal at every feed to stop further damage.

1. You an safely take both paracetamol and ibuprofen whilst BFing. I took both at once round the clock for a whiletk take the edge off the pain!

If things don't improve try to see a BF counsellor or your hospital's infant feeding specialist. Sometimes one-to-one in person help is what's needed. Don't be afraid to keep pushing for help and Google local BFing support groups - mine was invaluable. If the pain and damage continue get baby checked for a tongue tie - these can cause excruciating pain when feeding and badly damaged nipples (been there).

Hope it starts to improve for you soon, and congratulations again!

The dressings a PP has mentioned might be MultiMam nipple compresses? You can get them in larger Boots and on the Internet I think. Keep in the fridge for added soothing-ness!

Oh and also, you know those breast shells you can get to collect leaking milk? I wore those inside my bra for WEEKS (we had a terrible, terrible start to ...!) to stop my bra rubbing against my nipples which was painful and preventing them from healing properly. You could try those. I don't think they're recommended for constant use due to the risk of causing blocked ducts, but it worked for me.

i fed both DDs through nipple shields for the whole time virtually. I fed DD1 for 14 months and DD2 for 9 months. there was never a problem with them getting enough - i could have fed the whole street both times! DD2 was the worst and i remember sweating whilst feeding her one weekend early on when the shops were not open and i couldn't get any shields.

the dressing was called jelonet

I also did the same as haroldcopter with the breast shells.

I know exactly what you mean. Even my good latch feels sore because my nipples are sore anyway. Lansinoh really helped heal the initial cuts. I put in on the breast pads too and the cuts healed quickly.

The main advice is to unlatch if it hurts and relatch but I know only too well that there's a limit of about three times doing it before you get really sore. Sometimes I just get the best latch I can as it's hard to tell sometimes if it even is a good latch. Your skin will toughen up. I was crying through feeds and whilst it's still sore it's bearable now.

You're doing a great job though and I hope you feel better soon

Thank you so much for the encouragement everyone, I could cry. Its my second and I got through it last time but she is so much suckier and the splits have happened so much faster. I desperately want to get to that day where I can enjoy disappearing off together for a feed and a cuddle. I'll persevere and keep going as you all advise.

My baby is 11 days old and we're using shields. Best thing I did was buy them.

My dd is 3 weeks and I've suddenly noticed how the toe curling pain has gone.
It still hurts a little but so much better. Persevere and it will improve.
Oh and lansinoh is your best friend!

Breast shields helped immeasurably. I was scared to use them with my first as the midwife told me it would lead to nipple confusion etc...

Second time round I bought some before the birth and started using them at about 5 days. They helped to get through the worst of it.