Day 2 and can't do it anymore

[AverageSnowflake01]

I've been breastfeeding for 2 days now and it's been hell from the very beginning. I can't get baby to latch properly so her whole mouth is around my nipple and areola. I try at least 3 times and in the end I give in because she's screaming her head off and I don't want her to go hungry. It's so painful when I feed her that I actually cry but she just won't latch on. What should i do? I didn't plan to FF but I may have to do this if she isn't latching on properly

I found it very sore for two weeks, think this is relatively normal and not always a sign that something is wrong. I don't have big nips and you could still see nipple when DS was latched on. There is a technique, possibly called 'flipple' which helped get more nipple in(Google or YouTube it) but i also just used to poke more in with a finger! Seemed to work.

Its hard going. DS is my first and i had no idea bf was so demanding. It does get MUCH easier though and its a breeze now at 5 months and has been for ages.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

flossie

Hope it gets easier for you soon OP

I found it very painful at first (like you, was in tears of agony) and I wanted to stop - I think there isn't enough honesty about how painful it can be at first - but by 3 weeks it was a doddle and I was so glad I had persevered. Here's what helped me (advice from a friend) .

1. Cradle baby in same arm as boob you want to use.
2. With another hand, lift your boob up ABOVE the baby's tip of her nose and sort of drag it down slowly over the tip of her nose towards her mouth.

This apparently means she will open wide approach the breast from a good angle, and get as much nipple and areola in as possible instead of just sucking exruciatingly on the nipple.

I called my DS The Barracuda and hated the first 2 weeks as I dreaded every feed. And then magically it became easy and I ended up feeding him for 19 months (and then DS2 for 4.5 years!!).

Ultimately it's your decision, and if formula is going to work better for you then don't sweat it, but I do promise the breast feeding will get easier, and in the long run it is so much more pleasant than having to faff about with bottles and sterilising etc.

Def get some Lanisoh. It's about £8 but a tube lasted me two babies so lasts forever!

You can also run some breast milk over nipples straight after feeds which are suppose to soothe and prevent cracking

Remember always bring baby to you, not you to them. So get yourself comfortable and bring baby to your boobs, don't lean.

that diagram is so bloody kind of you Flossie.

Hope you're having more success OP

OP I started doing it your way too! Was corrected by the HV and found it so much easier after I'd got used to doing it à la diagram.

Glad PPs are appreciative of my special artwork

I remember it being really painful to start with, even though I was on masses of painkillers! Have you tried feeding lying down? I had to in the early days as I was very ill, and found that at least it was one fewer thing to think about from not having to position or support the baby. In hospital they rolled up a towel and put it under the bed sheet to support the baby to lie on her side, and got me to lie on my side with my bottom arm up under my head or on the pillow, so you don't have your arm round the baby. Good luck!

Night 2 is really hard. It's something nobody tells you before you have the baby! DD at that stage was frantically trying to feed but not latching well and due to an unusual complication of spinal anaesthesia I had absolutely no sensation in my nipples. I kept looking at pictures of a good latch but had no idea how to get her to open wide. The technique I found useful is the "flipple", which you should find easily on Google.

Not rtft, but its def better to move the baby to your nipple, rather than your nip to the baby,you get a better latch if its baby to nip. Easier said than done though. At 5.5 months I'm still trying to train myself to do baby to nip.

I think I've blanked out the utter pain and misery of the early weeks. It was awful. It got a lot easier though. The pain lessened each week and we had some pain free feeds, then at 8 weeks it stopped hurting. At 24 weeks now it's fairly easy and quick.

Just to add I found BF sore the first few days till my nipples toughened up. Especially the initial latch- it was a burn! I winced and breathed through it and then it'd ease off.

Also, my DD appeared to hoover up much of my nipple and areola but it was because my areola is actually quite small so she wasn't doing it wrong, just didn't look quite like the books showed. May not be the case for you though.

And finally, flossie's diagrams are ace.

You can do it OP! for you!

Yy to paracetamol. I took every 3 hrs (i know it ahould be every 4 but meh, it hurt) to make sure I always had some in my system and it just took the edge off letdown pain enough to mean I stopped dreading the next feed.

Also definitely lansinoh. Slap it on liberally after every feed.

And count through the letdown. By 15 it was usually ok ish. But bloody hell 1 to 10 would have tears rolling down my face sometimes. And I'd had my latch checked and with no tongue tie we had everything going for us and it was still torture for the first couple of weeks (if I forgot to take the drugs particularly).

Congrats on getting this far. It does get better but if you want to move to ff, just do it and don't worry about it or feel guilty.

Diagram is fab! Use Lanisoh nipple cream and air nipples if they're cracked. It took me 2-3 weeks to get the knack of breastfeeding. Best of luck, you've got this!

"Yy to paracetamol. I took every 3 hrs (i know it ahould be every 4 but meh, it hurt) to make sure I always had some in my system and it just took the edge off letdown pain enough to mean I stopped dreading the next feed. "

runnerd, please don't do this with paracetamol. The safe dose of paracetamol is surprisingly close to the toxic dose, and the maximum really is 1g every 4-6 hours, no more than 4g in 24 hours.

It is, however, perfectly safe to alternate paracetamol and ibuprofen in breastfeeding. Just keep a track of when you are taking which and then you can always have pain relief on board.

(After DC4, the after pains were the worst I've ever had, just awful, so I was definitely on the pain killers for those alone. Dreading them after DC5 later this year...)

Please don't take too much paracetamol! You can get severe liver damage from even a small overdose.

Bf ing is hard,it really is. I spent most of day 3 in pain, wondering why it hurt so much.it actually took me ten weeks for the pain and misery to subside and I am now enjoying it.

My tips.

Get help - HV, la leche,feeding cafe etc.
Google forgot tube videos of latching
Try different positions (learn to do it lying down as well, total life saver!)
Lanisoh. Lashings of lanisoh. Don't use the cheap stuff
Squeeze out a few drops of milk after very feed, Rubinto nipple. Allow to air dry. Apply lanisoh
Get good nursing bras. I was using h and m ones and it was only after I bought some hit milk ones that the deep breast pain stopped. Nursing bras uk website has a sale on
Keep your bras clean - don't wear them for more than day or two or you're encouraging thrush etc

Urgh. Typos.
Hot milk bras. V good ;)

Yes to hot milk bras. You won't believe the difference it makes!

Hope things are improving for you OP!

I wondered if I should post the diagram or not - glad I did now! Feeling the love!

flossie Bap love it!

Op I bf my DD for 19 months so when my ds came along 11 weeks ago I was surprised because I expected my ds just to know what to do at how bad days 2/3/4 were (so painful I cried my heart out on day 4 - legitimately considered giving up). In the end I made dh go to Asda and get 3 tubes of lasinoh (£30 but well worth it!) and it helped tremendously! Also, YY on the painkillers! X it does get better though honestly. However do what feels right for you. Xxx

The advice and support on here is great. It's day 4/5 and it has got better. I've been using the flipple technique and using the rugby position in flossies diagram. DD is kind of latching on properly with little pain. Although my nipples do end up sore and a bit mishapen at the end of each feed, skin is peeling off (ouch), so I need to practice more. But she stays on longer and is sleeping better, so I can nap more often.

I will be getting Lansinoh in the morning and hopefully it works a bit better than my superdrug cream.

Oh, good, OP, I am pleased! Misshapen nipples are totally normal when the baby comes off the boob - they do recover.

So glad to hear things are improving OP. And misshapen nipples are normal and they typically return to their usual shape.

Op if your nipples are misshapen at the end of a feed then there is still room for improvement with the latch. Baby should be latching onto the breast tissue only not the nipple and the nipple should be nice and round when she comes off.

Is great that's is getting better and often it does as baby gets bigger and is able to make a bigger mouth. But a well trained breastfeeding supporter should be able to help you with this and solve the problem now rather then you having to wait.

Has you been given information about local breastfeeding support?

The first two weeks are the hardest. Have you tried laying on the bed on your side, tummy to tummy, nipple to nose before latching? That position worked best for me (me, not everyone) in the early days.