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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

how long do nipples hurt for?

19 replies

bobblehead · 12/04/2007 21:13

dd2 is only 8 days old so I know its early days but my nipples are still soooo sore. I'm applying cream liberally after every feed and they don't look too cracked- just small spots of blood in the centre after feeding. I don't think I have thrush, but dd has a very powerful suck. She only feeds for around 5-10 mins per side evry 2-3 hours though so I would have thought they'd have a chance to heal a bit by now.
Am I expecting too much that they should be better by now? (I think I've done a very good job in forgetting the pain that came with dd1 when in came to labour and breastfeeding)

OP posts:
tinkerbellhadpiles · 12/04/2007 21:16

Have you fixed the cause of the cracked nipples? A powerful suck can sometimes be because they aren't quite on right. If it hurt with the last baby, perhaps you just need a bit of help getting a better position?

Which cream are you using too - some are better than others. I like the Kamillosan stuff and that sorted mine out in a day. But I guess it depends how sensitive they are.

Congratulations btw!

mamijacacalys · 12/04/2007 21:18

IIRC (DD now 9 mo and DS 4.5), it will get better after a few weeks!
Keep applying the cream![ouch emoticon]

Original poster
bobblehead · 12/04/2007 21:21

Thanks

Her latch is good and she tends to take herself off and relatch if it isn't. The only thing I can think is her mouth isn't open wide enough/big enough but I'm not sure she can get it wider!
It hurt with dd1 even with good latch but just can't remember for how long. Fed her for a year so I'm fairly confident in what I'm doing I'm just not sure how long I should give it to heal and get used to battering they are receiving!

OP posts:
Original poster
bobblehead · 12/04/2007 21:23

A few weeks!

Thats what I want to hear so I'm normal, but...ouch!!!! no wonder I've blocked it out from last time!

OP posts:
Olihan · 12/04/2007 21:23

Have you had your positioning checked by someone other than an ordinary mw, ie, one who has specific bf training or a bfc? It may be that her position is ever so slightly off, which is making you sore. You could phone one of the bf helplines and see if there's a bfc in your area who could come and check for you. From what I've read on here, it's not supposed to hurt, or make you bleed, which would suggest there's a little bit of a positioning problem. But I'm not an expert at all, hopefully tiktok or mears are around somewhere.

Manictigger · 13/04/2007 13:25

Now I am really interested in the answer to this question. I suffered from excruciating nipple pain for about 5 seconds after latch when I first started bf and the mws told me that a lot of women get this at the beginning and it doesn't necessarily mean the position etc is wrong. However, a lot of the info I've read says you should NEVER get pain if the latch is correct so I've remained quite confused about this. I did find that the pain went after a few weeks (until thrush kicked in, but that's a whole diff story...)but have no idea whether it was because lo's latch somehow improved or my nipples toughened up or became desensitised (nice). However I was lucky that although it hurt like hell, I never had any visual damage to the nipple, is that the crucial difference between pain and 'bad' pain or should there genuinely never be pain?

mamijacacalys · 13/04/2007 19:32

A friend told me recently that she was told to sunbathe topless, walk around the house with her boobs out etc, basically anything to expose and to 'toughen up' the nipples before she had her first baby.
Don't know if this actually works but my theory is that there is bound to be a certain amount of pain in the early weeks as the babes are usually feeding so much that your boobs are inevitably being hammered! I think it is normal as I had it with both of mine and both fed well. (BTW, both gained weight steadily and were fairly contented babies) [struggles to remember the tired hazy days of early babyhood emoticon]

treacletart · 13/04/2007 19:40

I remember mine hurt like hell at the latch for a good 2-3 months. It wasn't helped by a couple of bouts of breast thrush nor by the people who told me if it hurts you must be doing it wrong as I had my positioning checked over and over. I'm naturally very pale/sensitive skinned - don't know if this had anything to do with it. Eventually it just went and I was so glad I'd stuck it out. I thought Lansinoh - think you can get it in Mothercare and Waitrose - was really good.

kikidee · 13/04/2007 19:40

Hi Bobblehead. DD is now 4 weeks old and I am no longer sore. I would say it was a lot better by the end of the second week but had been really bad in the first week to the extent that I was crying while she fed and had to resort to nipple shields for about 24 hours. Everyone told me that the first couple of weeks were the worst and it would get better and they were right!

FluffyMummy123 · 13/04/2007 19:42

Message withdrawn

crimplene · 13/04/2007 20:14

For me it still hurt fairly seriously for about 12 weeks, but it was improving slowly, and then on and off for the first four months. DS wouldn't always open his mouth as wide as he should, but also I think for me that my having huge norks made it harder to get a really good latch until DS was a bit bigger. I got as much advice/ support as poss in case it was fixable, otherwise I just had to keep reminding myself why I really wanted to BF and that it would get better. I hope it gets easier for you faster than it did for me!

Original poster
bobblehead · 14/04/2007 14:07

Thanks everyone, this is so reassuring. My mum recons it should hurt for 2 weeks anyway, but everyone else keeps telling me the latch must be wrong as it should hurt no more than a few days. Thing is latch looks fine to me (and those who've looked) except maybe her moth isn't always that wide, though when she does open it more to latch on the pain is the same. I think maybe its worse this time as my breasts are so much bigger than with dd1 and dd2 has such a strong suck! I think I will try a bf drop in place next week (which will be the end of week 2) just to be sure there's nothing wrong.

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mears · 14/04/2007 14:14

bobblehead - have you tried feeding her in different positions? What you might find is that if she is not opening her mouth wide enough she is sucking herself onto the nipple and into the right positios IYSWIM?

Try holding her in the rugby ball position (body round to the back) so that you can control her better. Let her head lie on your hand (don't hold it firmly) and tease her with the nipple till her mouth is really gaping. Swiftly bring her onto the nreast - don't push the nipple into her mouth. It is baby to nipple, not nipple to baby.

By the time you count to 10 it should,t hurt anymore. If it is still really sore I would suspect she isn't on as well as she could be.

Alter her position at each feed so that she isn't always taking the same sore bit into her mouth. The only cream I would recommed is Lansinoh.

It will get better though. For me it was usually 2 weeks.

Original poster
bobblehead · 14/04/2007 15:17

Thanks Mears.
I've never really got on too well with the rugby ball hold, but will persevere. Some times it doesn't hurt much at all after the initial latch, just a tugging, but then other times its very painful. I suspect its to do with how hard she is sucking at the time!
If no improvement by next week I shall seek help.

OP posts:
mears · 14/04/2007 20:12

Have a look at the shape of your nipple when she comes off. It should be the same as before she goes on. Babies don't really suck when they are on like with a bottle. They roll their tongues along the bottom of the breast tisseu they have in their mouhths which ejects the milk. The only suction that is there is to keep the breast tissue in. That is why they need to be on properly. If your nipple looks like the top of a used lipstick then she is not on far enough.

Original poster
bobblehead · 15/04/2007 00:48

It does a little now that you mention it. I'm being much more careful about getting her to open her mouth as she's very lazy about it when she latches. It doesn't seem to make any difference to the final latch but it is a bit less painful. I also bought new bras today which I hope will help as I realised the ones I had from dd1 were way too small! (never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever need a D cup)

OP posts:
jabberwocky · 15/04/2007 02:15

It was about 6 weeks for me. But the time does come where it stops hurting

Of course, that's when you've lost practically all sensation...

sputnik · 15/04/2007 16:45

For me it was about 3 weeks. I found aloe vera gel very good and lots of people swear by lansinoh cream.
I always bf lying down btw

PinkTulips · 15/04/2007 16:48

2/3 weeks with both of mine

dd had a very powerful suck so took longer with her but ds's latch was (and still is) awful

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