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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

For those who found breastfeeding painful... when did the pain stop?

46 replies

Nickname1980 · 02/11/2016 20:25

I've posted already about being ready to quit. I'm pretty much now taking every feed as it comes.

I had an EMCS 5 days ago and bf feels like the only thing I can do for my baby. But it hurts so much 😔 The latch is ok, I'm told. I just have to wait until he's bigger, they said, for it to be better.

I don't know how long to expect the pain for. Although I sort of do, it was weeks and weeks with my older child.

If i decide to bf in the day and bottle feed at night (formula) will my daytime supply suffer? And will my baby reject the boob? Should I use a special bottle?

OP posts:
NashvilleQueen · 02/11/2016 21:43

3 weeks with DD1. Agree that it was the latch rather than the feeding. The very thought of it just beforehand was awful. But then it stopped suddenly and never hurt again (fed for two years). Never hurt with DD2 at all. Lansinoh was godsend first time around.

I've always said that it's unhelpful that new mothers are told that if it's hurting they're doing it wrong. It is so disheartening. I would much rather have been told it'll hurt like mad for a short time but then it will be the easiest thing in the world (not for everyone I know).

seven201 · 02/11/2016 21:44

I felt like I was fire was being milked from me! Nipple shields helped A LOT! Have you tried them? I stopped using them at 1 month, so it was 4 weeks. I really would try and avoid using formula so early on as it will affect your supply. I nearly gave up but I am so so glad I didn't. My dd is 4.5 months now and I really enjoy breastfeeding her. She has one bottle of formula before bed now.

whatdoestheclocksay · 02/11/2016 21:46

Within the first month. I spoke to lots of people/feeding counsellors about various pains, one of which I still don't know if was thrush or let down pain but the nipple pain I was told would get better when baby grew. He was really small and latch wasn't always great and sometimes I could not continue the feed because of this. I could however express and feed with a tiny cup with a lip to keep my supply up and give my nipples an occasional rest! I do think after 5 days combi feeding will affect supply and make things trickier.
I understand if you can't bear more pain, after an ELCS, after birth I also felt like I'd been through enough pain! It does go though and I was soon feeding easily and painlessly. When getting feeding established though, 2 days can feel like 2 weeks.

IssyStark · 02/11/2016 21:53

Had an emergy section with both of mine. With ds1, I suddenly realised at 7w that it no longer hurt and I couldn't remember the last time it had (but we also had latch problems and I got mastitis around w4).

My home visit mw described the letdown as toe-curling and she was right. But it does get better as your body get used to it. Just like training for sport.

CarrieLouise25 · 02/11/2016 22:02

All 3, first 6-8 weeks were hell. Even with good latches, sore and cracked, and agonising at times.

After that, much easier.

Didn't discover lansinoh cream until number 3. That definitely helped.

Wish there was more support for ladies in the earlier weeks. It's very hard work, very painful, and constant (to the point you think you're not providing enough milk, but it's actually baby stimulating more milk to increase supply).

Early days and growth spurts are very very tough. But, if you can hang in there, it's such a piece of cake after 8 weeks or so.

Original poster
Nickname1980 · 03/11/2016 17:23

Oh thank you so much everyone for your replies!!! They are so useful and reassuring to know I'm not the only one who finds it hard.

Can I ask: how did you all cope with the pain in the meantime? Apart from Lanisoh, which I've been trying, any other tricks?

(Toe-curling pain is totally what I feel! Shock)

OP posts:
maamalady · 03/11/2016 20:49

I found that these compresses helped.

Also paracetamol and ibuprofen taken round the clock - don't be a martyr :)

Original poster
Nickname1980 · 03/11/2016 21:47

Thank you evilgiraffe! Will order those now and keep taking painkillers ☺️

OP posts:
sherazade · 16/11/2016 09:12

The pain vanished when his tongue tie was cut . That was after everyone told
Me the pain was normal and he just had to grow a bigger mouth. I went to a private laceration clinic where they assessed him for tongue tie and snipped it there and then

Stuckinstressville · 16/11/2016 12:16

NIckname ... you might have ductal thrush! I did and was like feeding through razor blades and don't get me started on the pain if i got cold - nippy!

See your GP for help if you can. I ended up having to use hydrocortizone in between feeds to reduce the inflamation.

WilliamHerschel · 16/11/2016 12:17

It took me about three weeks. Mine was due to bad latching .

qumquat · 16/11/2016 15:11

4 months and only after switching to pumping for a month so I could heal. I don't recommend sticking with the pain that long though! I just kept thinking 'maybe this nurse/counsellor/tt snip/fb cafe will work'. None of them did. I did go on to feed till two though so it was kind of worth it. But if I ever have another dc (unlikely, partly because of the above) I will switch to formula of it's still agony after 6 weeks.

Dinosaursdontgrowontrees · 16/11/2016 15:17

I had an awful time with dd but it started to improve and was bearable by 2 weeks. Completely pain free by a month.
With ds it was painful for the first few days pain free by end of the first week.

newroundhere · 16/11/2016 16:52

I'm sat feeding my 16 week old right now and it's still not what I'd call comfortable. Feeding was still very painful until around 12 weeks. Had lots of support - tongue tie divided at 2 weeks, lactation consultant, HVs, midwives, 2 courses of treatment for thrush- but nothing made a great deal of difference unfortunately.

Graphista · 16/11/2016 16:57

3-4 weeks following emcs. 6 weeks until it became confortable/pleasant.

Has your milk come in fully yet? That helps a bit.

I agree honesty would be better. It's a new skill for you and baby, takes time to learn but also good to get support. I had a fantastic midwife who helped a lot.

KitKat1985 · 16/11/2016 20:37

2-3 weeks. Nipple shields were a godsend when I cracked a nipple and it felt like my nipples were being cut with shards of glass each time DD latched. Laniosah cream really helps too.

PeppaPigTastesLikeBacon · 16/11/2016 20:50

My friend successfully breastfed during the day and formula at night. I think her DS was 2 or 3 weeks old!

Lj12345 · 16/11/2016 23:15

I had trouble breastfeeding and switched to bottle feeding early on.
I felt a lot of pressure to try t o continue but bottle feeding had so many benefits that you don't always hear, this included sharing feeding with my partner 50/50 which was great for all three of us, sharing the night shifts , being able to go away for nights and weekends without the baby ,,, being rested and refreshed has huge a huge impact on energy levels for looking after the baby and enjoying the baby, and the baby slept through from eight weeks. It's very personal choice but I think it's good there's more than one option for feeding baby.

parentsvsPIL · 23/11/2016 00:10

Good to hear this isn't unusual, though sympathy to everyone on here.
DS is 2 weeks old and the pain on the right side is excruciating, absolutely no problem on the left side. I've resorted to pumping post-feed to try not to lose the supply on the right because i can't last more than 10 minutes with DS on there...

Mumstheword2021 · 22/08/2021 15:26

Hi - just want to share my experience here to give hope to other moms dealing with pain. I found this post very helpful when I was going through it myself.

It took me 8 weeks to be pain-free. 6 weeks for the pain to be bearable. Until then it was excruciating sharp shooting pain for the first 10 mins of each feed. I also had the other stuff - thrush, mastitis & cracked and sore nipples.

If anyone is going through this - it gets better! You just have to persevere through those early days.

My tips, if helpful at all:

  1. Change bras frequently and try cotton bras!
  2. Coconut oil can help avoid thrush - it is a natural anti-fungal. I found this helpful in between feeds instead of nipple cream
  3. If the cracked nipple pain gets really bad, you can get a prescription steroid cream. But then there is the faff of wiping it off before each feed to ensure the LO doesn’t ingest any
  4. I used a breast massager & hot water bottle to heat and massage a few times a day - this helped clear out lumpy areas before they got clogged
  5. Nipple shields didn’t work for me - they caused more bleeding!
  6. The Silverette cups were pretty helpful
  7. I stopped BF for 3 days because of the pain (just expressed instead) and was able to get back to the breast fine after
  8. During the pain, I went through a boob rejection. I fed through the other one expressed the rejected boob. Lots of skin to skin and especially in the bathtub sorted this out in a few days.

Hope this helps someone in the future!

SirSamuelVimes · 22/08/2021 15:29

Agony from day three (when milk properly came in), probably at it's worse at about day 7. About two weeks before the pain started to significantly dip, and then another fortnight or so before it was totally pain free. Then with dd2 it was pain free from the start.

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