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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Can breastfeeding still hurt even if baby is latching on properly?

37 replies

Naomee · 20/11/2006 19:25

I had my DD 5 days ago (first baby) and I'm breastfeeding. It seems to be going well and I am enjoying the closeness, but my nipples have become really sore. I am using Lansinoh after every feed, and currently have cabbage leaves in my bra (!) but am feeling really down, and starting to dread the next feed because it hurts so much for the first couple of minutes after latching on.

I guess I just want to know if this is normal - I've read so many articles that say that it won't hurt if the baby is latched on properly - but I think I am doing it right - making sure the mouth is wide open and it's not just the nipple that is being sucked. My widwife came today and saw me feed and said the baby was doing well.

Is this normal, and if so - why do people say it won't hurt? Any good methods to ease the pain, or is it just a case of griitng my teeth for a couple of weeks?

OP posts:
TheHighwayCod · 20/11/2006 19:26

yes it can
god it hurt me

they say not but dont belive them

MamaApronstrings · 20/11/2006 19:26

absolutely agree with cod on this one

hewlettsdaughter · 20/11/2006 19:29

I had pain breastfeeding ds and dd the first few weeks - it was awful. I tried all sorts of things and in the end it did get better. I'm not sure exactly what helped (other than time).

It might be worth talking to a specialist counsellor to rule out any latching problem that your midwife might have missed.

FrayedKnot · 20/11/2006 19:30

Are you very engorged atm? I found BF used to hurt when I was very, very full, and DS couldn;t latch well, and would slide around on teh nipple. One side was always worse than the other.

Once my milk supply had evened out a bit it stopped hurting. Lasinoh is brilliant for that as it stops the chafing.

Perhaps if you are very full you could express a little first which might help the latch?

Just my own experiences, and I did experience times when it hurt, even at 11 months when DS top teeth came through! But only ever for short periods of time (2-3 days at most), with a fairly obvious cause.

Original poster
Naomee · 20/11/2006 19:34

I really want to breatfeed, so I will carry on, but it's so hard, and my DH really wants to help, but until I start expressing (which I might try after a couple of weeks) I'm on my own.

In a strange way it is comforting to know, that it's not just me and that it is normal - so thanks.

OP posts:
Original poster
Naomee · 20/11/2006 19:35

Yes, I am quite engorged - especially on one side. I am hand expressing a bit before hand, but the breast is still very full when I am offering it.

OP posts:
PeachesMcLean · 20/11/2006 19:38

Hi Naomee, I usually skip past the breastfeeding messages as thankfully it's not been relevant for a few years! But your subject line just took me right back - Good God it hurt!!!! I really learnt why people say something is "toe curling", and all the deep breathing and pain management exercises finally became useful (had a c-section so hadn't had chance to put it into practise until then!) It was just the first couple of minutes after he latched on that was simply excrutiating. The only thing I can say is that this does ease within a couple of weeks and I happily breastfed for 6 months. The old nipples also seem to get tougher, so that helps things too. I don't have a good method of easing the pain though, sorry.
Just don't do what a friend of mine was advised to do whilst she was pregnant by a particularly dim doctor - take a rough towel and rub over the nipples to try and toughen them up in readiness. She drew blood eventually....

venusinfurs · 20/11/2006 19:41

Naomee, congratulations, first off!
And I completely agree that it hurts like hell, even when you're doing it right sometimes. Do you have fair skin? I am a freckly person and I read it is even more painful if you have that fairish skin. Might be rubbish. But I would double check with the HV or midwife (ideally) that you are doing it properly...some people do find huge relief when they get some extra advice. Good luck!

shimmy21 · 20/11/2006 19:44

let down reflex bl''dy hurt me both times for first few weeks. The pain was internal rather wrong positioning. it's one of the great myths of motherhood - that it only hurts if you are doing it wrong (just to add to the guilt you are already feeling).

Good news -only hurts for the first few weeks.

Original poster
Naomee · 20/11/2006 19:44

Yes, I am blonde with skin tha burns easily and is very sensitve - probably doesn't help and interestingly a midwifw in hospital who was helping me start to feed commented that I was 'very fair' with an ominous look in her eye - so maybe there is something in that.

Oh I was so happy when the pain of labour was over! Little did I know....

OP posts:
venusinfurs · 20/11/2006 19:48

Ah, maybe there is then. I used to hold DH's hand really hard while the baby latched on. Once DS got going it eased up. After a few weeks I could have attached bulldogs clips on those nips . It will get better.

NotQuiteCockney · 20/11/2006 19:51

It's worth getting checked by a BFC. Some pain is normal, but if your nipples are hurting afterwards it could be bad latch, it could be tongue tie, it could be yeast infection, or it could just be one of those things.

TiggersBestFriend · 20/11/2006 20:06

Hi Naomee. Congratulations on the birth of your first child!
I also found bf'ing more painful when my breasts were full. DS seemed to find it much harder to latch on and would squirm a lot which didn't help. I used to count slowly to 20 and take deep breaths as I knew by the time I got to the end the pain would have lessened. I too used to squeeze DH's hand while he looked on with a suitably sympathetic expression. Same way I got through contractions! Just persevere and it will get better but it might be worth checking with a BFC as NotQuiteCockney suggests to rule out any other problems

mamijacacalys · 20/11/2006 20:10

Naomee

Am not a bf 'expert' but have bf both of mine (DD still at nearly 5 months) and you sound completely normal to me if the pain is just at the beginning. Give it a week or two and it will definitely get better as your nipples get used to it.

Good luck and keep using the lansinoh!

TheHighwayCod · 20/11/2006 20:11

naomee
ONE day at a time
dont set any goals
one day at a time

TheHighwayCod · 20/11/2006 20:11

adn iirc its toecurlign agony
i had to do labour brethign at first

Quootiepie · 20/11/2006 20:14

It was agony. Latch was fine, I think it was just the fact I was bursting with milk. It does ease, your doing great

Quootiepie · 20/11/2006 20:14

It was agony. Latch was fine, I think it was just the fact I was bursting with milk. It does ease, your doing great

Psychobabble · 20/11/2006 20:19

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PeachesMcLean · 20/11/2006 21:09

That's weird venusinfurs, I'd dismissed that as an old wives tale, about people with fair hair and freckles, or just a way of getting me to shut up!?

worleyone · 20/11/2006 21:30

hi naomee,
have you tried differnt feeding positions? for some reason i found that whenfeeding from my right side it was easier to feed by holding my ds2 in the "rugby ball" position,and now hes 4 and a half months its easier to feed him tummy to mummy again as he is so long his feet were resting on the back of the setee. it does hurt for a while even if latch is all correct, but make sure your back is properly supported and your comfortable. I kind of compare it to wearing your sandals for the first time in the summer, you skin has to get used to the shoes rubbing against them, just like you mipples have to adjust to being pulled on and chewed on now!!, but it is totally worth it in the end. Sorry that was way too long!

flock · 20/11/2006 21:31

Congratulations Naomee! Just had to add my two cent's worth - I also found it hurt in the beginning, even if you're doing it right (great that your midwife has checked that you are). But it did get better quite soon, and I was pleased not to have thrown in the towel... Good luck!

LIZS · 20/11/2006 21:36

I also found it sore until feeding was well established. Could be worth being checked for the latch /position again (and learning variations to avoid the pressure on the same area each feed) and for thrush.

themulledSNOWMANneredjanitor · 20/11/2006 21:37

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kama · 20/11/2006 21:45

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