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!

I had a terrible start. Baby had tongue tie and lip tie and struggled to put on weight.
I had zero pain.
I think there is a lot of luck (& maybe genes?) involves.
I certainly feel very lucky.

15 weeks in, breastfeeding is going amazingly. So glad I persevered!

I’m trying to prep for breastfeeding and have found the Positive Birth Company’s breastfeeding workshops on YouTube really helpful - maybe worth a look?

I breast fed my first born until he was two, and I'm not feeding a four week old. No pain with either. Obviously much more confident this time round,but the first time the midwife made sure the latch was good and that was that. Some of these stories sound so bad, I'm counting myself lucky which I've not done before with all the night time wakes!

I had an absolute nightmare feeding DS1. I dreaded every feed, it was agonisingly painful. Nipple shields, lansinoh etc didn’t help and I ended up mixed feeding, after consulting various lactation consultants, feeding midwives etc.
Second baby I was fully prepared for the same thing to happen - has stocked up on formula as wasn’t going to put myself through that again. But lo and behold BF has been relatively Pain free and I’m managing to exclusively BF which I am amazed by.
So it seems it’s as much down to the baby so I would say don’t assume it won’t work for you this time.

Me! Been EBF DS for 11 weeks now and not a single sore nipple or problem has occurred. I was preparing myself for pain amd possible infections etc...apparently my nipples are made of steel because he doesn't half tug them about sometimes i think its just down to luck at the end of the day but i do do a lot of massages with hot water in the shower so that could be a factor

I had fought soreness for a few weeks, but more just tender rather than agonising. I alternated with bottles at the beginning and my baby always free quickly (10 mins max) so they had a lot of time off duty, which I think helped.

Fed quickly. Argh autocorrect.

It is possible. Get help with latch asap if you have nipple pain. It's worth trying again.

Don't wear bras or use breast pads at all, too irritating. Have a load of pure cotton vests. Bf vests if you like and can find some that fit. I just had a bunch of primark ones though obv no primark now... try sainsburys or somewhere. I loosened off the straps so boob can be whipped out tight not loose fitting, so no rubbing on the nips. Wash tops daily and fresh one overnight too. Also use lasinoh after every feed, religiously. If they get really bad, go topless. Let them air. In lockdown so not like you are going to have visitors or trips out.. good luck!

Sleep on a towel
Use muslin to catch letdown from other side when feeding
Don't use body wash or soap on boobs just water

Me, no problems at all with DS1, we both just "got it" immediately and I had not a second of discomfort for 3 years. I did have a bout of thrush with DS2 but I knew the pain (I can only describe it like he was feeding with broken glass in his mouth) wasn't right and because I'd extended bf with DS1 I had a good bf network around me and I was able to identify the problem and sort it quickly.

I put on lots and lots of lanolin. Loads of the stuff! My nipples didn't crack (I EBF 4DC).

I always had the toe curling first few seconds when the baby latched on, but it only lasted for a couple of weeks and then we had minimum a year of happy feeding.

Good luck, I hope that you will find a way!