I'm so sore and fed up, please tell me how to stop it hurting so much

[MoosMa]

DD is 8 days old and I'm trying really hard to bf her. My nips are really sore (one isn't too bad, the other is excrutiating). I'm at the point where I'm frightened to feed her as I know it will hurt so much.

One of my nips is slightly inverted so it hurts as she first starts to suck as she is pulling on it but also it seems to be splitting in half! I've tried rubbing milk into it and using Kamillosan but it's not helping. I'm pretty sure she's latching on ok, I've tried and tried to get her in a position where it doesn't hurt but there doesn't seem to be one.

Is there anything else I can do to stop the pain, or do I give in and use the formula I sent DH out for this morning?

I so badly want to feed her as I had to stop after 10 weeks with DD1, but as it is at the moment I just can't.

You can get cream from the chemist. It doesn't always help, but it's worth a try. If you can get past the next couple of days it will get better - you are right in the middle of the worst part of it.

If you can't carry on, don't feel guilty. Lots of mums don't or can't b/f and their kids (generally) turn out ok.

I feel for you, I really do. Let me find my thread to link you to.

Back in a mo....

Get your midwife to show you a variety of positions for feeding, then you can use a different one for each feed which takes the pressure off the sore part of the nipple. After a while it will heal when it hasn't been constantly sucked on.

Poor you - I know exactly how it feels and this really helped me x

Thanks squonk, I've got the cream and it's not helping. Last time I started using it after 4 days of cracks and bleeding and got better in 1 day, this time I've been using it from the start and am still getting worse.

Ouch, I remeber that bit, just as I felt I couldn't do it any more I seemed to turn a corner.
Set yourself targets and when you reach them decide what you want to do.
When the pain started to ease it got better very quickly {{hugs}} and congratulations x

Hi, I think you should try Lansinoh nipple cream instead of Kamillosan to try and help with the soreness. It's really helping me and I think it's better at preventing soreness too.

I had inverted nipples and struggled a bit at first but i am still BF a year later If it is really bad use nipple shields whilst the nipple heals also I can't recommend Lansinoh enough... apply it liberally after every feed (and before if need be). You don't need to remove it to feed. Also check that DD is latched on ok, BF support groups and counsellors are fantatistic for this sort of thing.

Finally I know people who have fed totally from one breast alone so if need be you can do it this way

waswondering, I had her at home so haven't had anything to do with the hospital. Do the people from those organisations come to your house and help you or just on the phone? My mw is lovely and helpful but isn't here at 11pm when I'm struggling...

my thread

So I used nipple shields to soothe it and I did use f/f as well.

I have cut down the f/f to max of 1 4oz bottle if she is still hungry after b/f at night.

So now I feed her with 1 bottle every 3 days or so.

Good luck - I hope you can carry on b/f

How do the nipple sheilds work? I've seen them but can't figure them out...

Get some silverette they completely healed me within 48hours and imsure other hear will vouch for them

with the slightly inverted nipple i would use a pump to gently prepare it for feeds and i will eventually be the same as the other.

Hang in there your doing a wonderful job, and the cracks can most certainly be healed in no time at all with the Silverette from
Breastfeeding Heaven

They sort of stick on and the baby feeds over it.

They come to your house, I had a homebirth and the BF counsellor from the hospital came out to see me as did the one from the local support group.

I feel for you as the pain can be toe curling, I found the first two weeks the hardest then it started to fall into place.

ah Determination, you were lurking

IMO Determination gives a balanced view on this, as does Tiktok, both good people to listen to

I found Lansinhoe Cream(not sure of spelling) by far the best, and you can get it from Mothercare.
I had thrush in my nipples, and OMG that was excrutiating. Get your GP to check it out, and if your baby has it in their mouth (white spots on inside of cheek) you'll both need treatment.

I'm no expert but I had similar problems with first baby that went from bad to worse. This time I'm using Lansinoh and being pedantic about how well baby is latched on i.e. not letting them feed until there is no discomfort from latch (more tricky when you are already sore) even when it hurts to keep trying and I'm doing much better. Last time ,once I got sore I didn't want to keep taking them off as it hurt so much to get them back on again.

I'm not sure how contraversial nipple shields are but I've used them for a few feeds on occasion to allow me to reduce some of the sensation when really sore. They might just be enough to help you keep going until you can heal a bit.

Last ditch attempt is to express and give a feed via cup or syringe. This gives the sore nipple a break as you can express carefully at your own speed.

Good luck!

Is Lansinoh much better than Kamillosan?

IMHO yes, very much so.

I certainly would NOT recommend Nipple sheild for cracked nipples - however i find they are fantastic if your baby will NOT latch at all. They could actually slip throughout the feed and make the whole nipple a 100 times worse Nipple Shields . . . Friend or Foe?

You'd be best IMO to speak to a councellor to ensure your latch is perfect - which it obviously isn't due to the pain... and buy something useful that WILL DEFINATELY heal the nipples and QUICK rather than just soothe them.

Moosma, I feel for you I really do. I bf my son for 4 1/2 months and every feed was painful, some agonising- he was a proficient, lusty and prolific feeder.

Am now taking it one day at a time with dd (3 weeks tomorrow). First 2 weeks were hard but its calming down a wee bit now. I have been making sure I change positions for each feed, and taking a homeopathic remedy called phytolacca - it seems to be helping. And DH brought home a nipple cream from Avent which is soothing (unlike the much raved about lansinoh which never worked for me).

Hope you can find some support. Take care.

I think so, midwife told me to use Kamillosan last time and I managed for bf for 3 weeks. Since then, I discovered Lansinoh and I'm happily bfing at 6 weeks. It's much thicker and doesn't disappear so quickly.

Lansinoh saved my nipples! Can you go braless/topless for a bit between feeds? I found that my maternity bras sometimes made it worse. Cover your nips in lansinoh and get them out into the air.

Seriously, it will get easier. Call on all the support you can. Good luck.