Is a pain free start to bf possible?

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Long story but I wasn't able to directly bf with DD1. I got very damaged bloody nipples on about day two and ended up expressing for 3 months and topping up with formula. Obviously could have been a latch/tongue tie issue/both but I received little support with bf and after a highly traumatic birth was not in the head space to seek out support myself. Expressing I found pretty easy as had tons of milk.

Anyway I'm prepared to try again - am currently 7 months pg. I just wondered if anyone had managed to start bf without getting very sore nipples? I seem to be pretty sensitive so am wondering whether to try or whether to start with nipple shields as low chance of bf second time round being pain free.

Not worried about letdown/ sore boobs etc as I dealt with all of the usual boob issues while expressing - it's just the nipple pain I can't bear!

By day 2 I was feeding with tears streaming down my face because my nipples were so sore and cracked. This cream-along with nipple shields-helped my nipples heal and enabled me to go on to feed without them for several months.
www.boots.com/lansinoh-hpa-lanolin-nipple-cream-1-x-40ml-10153449

Hey! I think there’s always some adjustment but I found watching YouTube videos and making sure you get a good latch makes it go quite well - main tip - bring baby’s nose to nipple, wait for mouth to be wide open and shove as much in as you can. I have a 3 month old and this, coconut oil every night on my boobs in the beginning and the purple lanolin cream were all life savers.

I never had sore nipples. Bf 3 dc. I had decent support in latching in hospital with the first. I'd say that, plus luck, was why.

I couldn’t breastfeed my first two for very long as I was painful, however when I was having number 3 my midwife told me to squeeze milk often and let it dry on the nipple to toughen them up, also to be quite rough with a flannel on them when showering. It worked for me and I breastfed number 3 for a good while without pain.

I found it really difficult but lanisoh helped a lot. I ended up feeding for two and a half years and remember it fondly but it was very difficult to start.

With my third it was ok, but then she could do brilliant textbook latching on. My first two just wouldn't latch properly for love nor money nor weeks of stressed bloody nipples and tears.

Definately.
I never had a bad experience BF.
I exclusively BF my first son til 14 months.
18 months now and fully weaned off!
I had mastitis twice, but no sore nipples.
I was very lucky to have lovely midwifes post birth who helped me. Plus a baby who just took to it with no tongue tie or issues.

In short, yes it is! My DD2. Latched on straight after birth. Never hurt in the slightest! Fed like a champ and gained more than her birth weight by 5 day weigh in. Fed until she was 2.5 years old when I was pregnant again.

However my next baby, DS, hurt like hell. It was agony. I did use nipple shields for a bit and he got a (rather marginal) posterior tongue tie snipped. Within a couple of weeks he was feeding without shields and is still going strong now at 21 months. But I went to see an IBCLC (lactation consultant) IMMEDIATELY - like day 3 after birth. I knew it wasn’t normal to have pain like that. And we got it sorted quickly. If he had been my first baby I reckon it wouldn’t have been the same story at all!

So, my advice is get some support now. Do research, find local IBCLC / breastfeeding counsellors who you can speak to straight away if things don’t feel right. Some nipple sensitivity is normal in the first weeks but extreme pain is not normal and needs to be addressed and you deserve to have proper support so that you can have the breastfeeding journey you want to have!

The ABM is a good place to look for resources and support. abm.me.uk/breastfeeding-information/

Also see if you can find some local groups of breastfeeding mums. Many are on Facebook. Also, many IBCLC are doing video consultations at the moment.

Oh and finally, this is a free breastfeeding class for pregnant women. It’s highly recommended and the people who are running it really know what they are talking about.

www.blossomantenatal.com/

Good luck OP!

Sure I'll get flamed for bragging, but I never experienced any pain from bfing. No cracked nipples. No bleeding. Other than the initial let down and the occasional blanching when he was being lazy, ds and I had a great bf journey that lasted nearly 4 years. I had a great midwife who got him to latch literally minutes after ds was born, and we sailed on from there.

I'm not convinced there is a totally pain free start to the process, but it can be short lived if you get the right support. It was very difficult for 2 weeks and then I got good advice from a bf counsellor and it got loads better (not instantly - with perseverance). Ended up bf
happily for a year.

I never had pain, cracked nipples, bleeding or anything like mastitis. I’ve got big boobs and DD had a tiny head and mouth and was very sleepy after delivery by EMCS under GA so my main issues were getting and keeping her interested for the first few days and shoving enough boob in. For the first couple of weeks I had shoulder, neck and wrist pain from awkward two handed feeding as I had to support the boob and her head but as her neck got stronger that eased. I got great tips on latch from YouTube and used lansinoh after every feed from day 1 which probably helped a lot.

Happily feeding her at nearly 13 months and it’s been very straightforward and positive. These days I feed lying down handfree at night and she’ll feed sitting up on my knee, however she fancies. Impossible to imagine in the first awkward weeks as we both got to grips with it!

I’ve never had much luck expressing. I could get quite a bit around 2 months in but as my supply settled it was a struggle to get anything worth having and she feeds a lot so I don’t think I had much extra.

I didn't ever have any pain. Not sure what I did to make that happen though?

@marmitelover13 - I'm not convinced there is a totally pain free start to the process,

Plenty of women have a totally pain free start. I never knew why they were offering pain relief in hospital until afterwards when I discovered some women have pain.

I'm not sure why people are saying they aren't convinced it can be pain free how would you know what it's like for everyone?

Anyway, my DS is still feeding as a toddler and no problems, ever. He latched on himself and away he went. I planned to formula feed but he decided otherwise. It was luck, I didn't really know what to do beyond an instinctive latch that worked.

I never have painful nipples in general and never got sore boobs like non pregnant and childless women seem to complain of too. Never had it. So I think it may be something to do with nipples that never get sore

I had no pain at all feeding my DS. He was a bit lazy latching on and we had to work on his technique.

I really recommend finding where you can get support after the birth. We found an amazing lactation consultant.

I remember the toe curling pain at the beginning and my saviour was lashings and lashings of coconut oil on my nipples. That was the only way I could tolerate it for the first week. You don't need to wash it off before feeding either. Once past that initial stage I loved it.

No pain with DC2 and he had a tongue tie which with hindsight we should have had divided.

Mild pain with DC3 on one side, resolved by changing position, she had a significant tongue tie which we got divided on day 2. No more pain.

Could be luck though I think it is getting a good attachment that was the key. I’m a lactation consultant so knew what I was looking for and what to do when it didn’t work with DC3. Though I
also got lucky and had quick easy labours and that could have helped

Another one for the nipple to nose technique and then shove as much as you can in. I’ve noticed that the shallower the latch can hurt a bit and batter nipples but if they take in a whole lot of breast too it helps and someone I once worked with recommended cabbage leaves in your bra if your boobies get sore

Both my babies Bfed virtually pain free. The only pain was for the first second of the latch for a week or so but it wasn't awful. The only other time it hurt was when DD2 bit me ages 13 months.

There was never any blood or visible inflammation. I feel very lucky in that regard.

I didn’t manage with ds1 either expressed and tried but it didn’t happen. Ds2 was a struggle but I was on it with the lanolin, decent breast feeding pillows and making sure I was comfy (pillow under delicate bum too) and I used Sheilds when things got a wee bit much - didn’t affect latch but gave Nipples a break but was careful not to confuse baby and no bottles it’s hard going but we did succeed.

I think it’s important not to put too much pressure on yourself and try to relax and enjoy the closeness but accept it may not work but know you’ve tried - I managed as I said with ds2 but not with ds3 then managed again with ds4 So fed 2 myself and bottle fed 2, I just accepted that I tried and succeeded but I didn’t fail as my babies were fed, and we were happy. Congrats on baby, hope all works out when they arrive

@marmitelover13
I'm not convinced there is a totally pain free start to the process,

I must have imagined it then

Thanks for the responses - I did use Lansinoh last time but the damage was so quick and so severe that it was too little too late. I like the idea of trying to toughen up while still pregnant though.

Had found a selection of lactation consultants to research but not sure if life will be normal enough by the time I give birth to permit the contact!

@Bridgeofpies thanks for the online lactation consultant recommendations though - that might be worth a go.

Seems babies take to it differently so will try without nipple shields but take them to the hospital with me just in case.

Last time I had so much milk I could have fed DD and probably donated as well but unfortunately she just couldn't get it out!

I had sore nipples both times. We were checked over and over but latch was perfect. No tongue tie (but they did both have a lip tie)

My absolute recommendation is hydrogel breast pads. They're miraculous. They help everything to heal and stopped me from quitting with DD1.
If you can't get them (I got mine from amazon) then lanolin with cling film over works well.

I breastfed both mine. I had mastitis twice ( once with each of them) but as far as I remember I didn't have sore nipples at all.