So much pain

[Icklepickle101]

DS is 3 days old and I'm in so much pain trying to breastfeed him, I literally dread every time he feeds and have cried the last twice I've fed him.

From the moment he is latched on the pain every time he sucks is awful, like an intense burn. Various midwives and care assistants have said he is latched on perfectly so they couldn't help.

DP wants to move to formula tomorrow because it's hurting me so much but im reluctant to give up so easily if we can fix it. Anyone have any advice?

Oh no! So it hurts again even if it's not your first?! I'm not going to lie. I believe it hurts every time (from experience but also because of what nursing mothers have said on here) but whilst I know that it hurt... I cant remember that pain now, and if I were mad enough to have another child which I'm definitely not I would most definitely breastfeed.

I remember the pain vividly! Hasn't stopped me though!

I found the pain unbearable, I would sit clenching my teeth with tears running down my face, my nipples bled so much ds was sick and it had my blood in, I tried everything - 3 different pumps, 2different Shields, that cream stuff and I just couldn't carry on. My son is now 14 months and completely happy and healthy - make choices that feel right for you, carry on if you think you can but it's not the end of the world if you can't. I hated myself and tortured myself for stopping and now months later I wonder why I was so distraught , I honestly feel if I hadn't switched to formula at that point I would have had a breakdown.the anxiety of each feed, him not getting enough then expressing to 'top up' the next feed meant I wasn't sleeping or eating.
Look after yourself too and know that whatever choice you make you are doing out of love for your baby. Take care. I hope things get better for you xxx

Don't take the word of a couple of people at the hospital unless they are tongue tie experts. Mine were both misdiagnosed by midwives and turned out to be 50% posterior tied.

If you're being told the latch is perfect (as was I) then something more is going on here. And they won't be able to help over the phone! If you're anywhere near London I can recommend an amazing lactation consultant.

And although it's pretty uncommon, I'm allergic to lanolin so lansinoh just made everything much worse

Just for reassurance to some of you, my first baby hurt but my second didn't.

Agree about the lying down to feed, lots of nipple cream (I liked kamillosan as it was easier to apply than lansinoh) bare breasts between feeds as much as possible, and time. And definitely ask the midwife to refer you to the breastfeeding specialist midwife - I did this and the bf midwife just slightly tweaked how I latched the baby on and how I held her for a feed. Such a subtle tweak you'd hardly see a difference but it made a massive difference to my comfort levels.

My then DH also wanted to go to ff because I was in so much pain, but I persisted and carried on until DD was over 3years old.

As I said, 2nd baby was a doddle. No pain, even though she was much smaller than the first. I thought it was a combination of me being used to the techniques and my nipples having got used to it too.

Both of my babies hurt but ds (my first) was tongue tied and it was agony until it was snipped. With dd it did really hurt for a couple of weeks though. When your baby latches on start to count beck from 10, does it still hurt when you get to 1?

My baby did develop thrush in her first few days of life (some whiteness in the mouth but it wasn't very obvious - HV diagnosed it straight away when I showed her, though). I also got thrush in my boob, and the pain was very similar to that you describe - so may be worth exploring. Cleared up very quickly with the treatments from the dr (didn't even have to have an appointment - HV phoned them and that was enough).
Good luck OP. Look after yourself.

Today was a much better day, me and baby are much happier.

A lovely breastfeeding lady came round and said she can't see any tt and latch was fine but slightly adjusted hold/angle and 1 side is almost pain free now, still a bit of work on the other side but we are getting there!

I'm so glad last night was a Sunday and nowhere was open to buy formula, we aren't ready to give up yet

Thank you so much for all your support last night, you gave a very tired and emotional lady the determination to give it another go!!

Yay! Well done

My friend had this and swore that nipped shields saved her in the first few weeks. I have never used them so sorry if that is terrible advice, I hope things continue to improve. Best of luck.

My baby was born Thursday and I could have written your post! I had an emergency cesearian and by Saturday morning my nipples were bleeding and so sore that even my clothes touching them was the worst agony. Worse than the pains in my tummy!
I had nipple shields with me and told the midwifes I was hoping to use them. They tried to talk me out of it but I said it's either those or formula!
Last night (monday) 2.5 days on I felt so much better that I decided to take them away. Baby wouldn't latch! I cried my eyes out. Totally rejected me and would only take the shield. Throughout the night we had a battle and I was having to sneak it off mid feed and he'd be okay. Today he is totally back to nipple and the shields haven't made an appearance'!
If I didn't have those few days I wouldn't have carried on.
Everyone in hospital said he was latching beautifully it was just my nipples weren't used to the sucking.
Well they are now and hopefully it continues.
I used tommee tippee shields by the way. I'd use them again but never for long after how much he got used to them.

This is so similar to where I was. I recommend lansinoh and good BF support.

I was so frustrated because all the hospital midwives kept saying latch was perfect

She had a small tongue tie which was dealt with before we left hospital but since getting home it has been found that a small bit still remains.

Good luck