My nipples!! Argh!

[Tyrionsbitch]

Help!
Is it normal for my nipples to be so sore? Baby is 3.5 weeks and now ebf. We have just moved on from using nipple shields and now latching onto the breast for every feed. Latch looks good and cheeks are full but my nipples are killing me!

Some pain but not too bad during feeding but afterwards they are agony. I don't really know how to describe the pain - nipples feel extremely sensitive - almost like freezer burn or like they have been sliced off by a razor blade. This lasts for an hour or so after feeding.

Help! What am I doing wrong? I am sat here dreading the next feed because they hurt so bad.

It will get better as they adjust.

The best thing I found was to air them out as much as possible. Put a little breastmilk on the end and have them out, healed much better

Totally normal but it improves quickly! I really liked the nipple shells at night as they keep some breast milk against your skin which helps your nips heal! Also slather yourself in lasinoh! Baby can feed through it. It's a lifesaver.

Have you considered thrush? Me and my baby had it at about 4 weeks. I had the 'razor blade in nipple' feeling for a good hour after feeding. Then noticed babies tongue had a white coating and it wasn't milk. Put 2 and 2 together and then got treatment from Dr. Drops for babies mouth and cream for my nipples.

X

Can you go to a BF drop in and get your babies latch checked? sometimes a very minimal tweak works wonders.
Check that you are doing “Tummy to Mummy, nose to nipple”. Babies body should be completely facing your body and not at an angle (no One told me this with #1 so I struggled for far longer than I needed to)

However, with both of mine I initially had quite painful let down and would have to bite on a muslin when baby first started feeding. But this slowly improved. I also had very sore, cracked nipples. I did as the others have suggested already.

Someone on here recommended soaking cotton wool balls in cold peppermint tea and putting them on the nipples after feeding. Amazing! It really worked for me! I found it very soothing. I always kept a bottle in the fridge.