bfeeding - not sure what is for the best.

[empen]

I need some advice. My ds is 11 days old and is dong great. He lost 6oz and put 5.5 back on already so I know he is well fed but problem is my left nipple is really painful. It is not cracked, dry or anything - it looks fine but for the first 10 seconds when feeding it feels as though someone is trying to cut it off with a nail file.
It makes me dread doing it on that side. I have been alternating sides but wonder if it would be better to feed off the right and express off the left. I am not giving bottles yet but am freezing it for a later date. He is feeding every 3-4 hours so is this enough time to build up supply in my right boob? or shall I just persevere with lefty and hope it hardens to the pain???

I had problems with the left side feeding both mine - for some reason the latch was never quite as good, I assumed because I was right handed. Ds is 7 months now and I still prefer feeding him on the right. I'd try and get a BF counsellor to look at the latch as it may need a bit of tweaking.

deffo more horse pill shape. his head is near my armpit but i thought this may have more to with size of my boobs (they are around a G cup)
how do i get hold of a bf counsellor?
am right handed so will compare

go on hunkermunkers profile, the numbers for all 3 orgs are there. try them all, & don't give up till you get through to someone, cos they're all volunteers who are busy mums just like us ! But they're highly trained and should be able to help you correct the problem.

empen just wanted to say don't give up, keep going, it obviously means a lot to you to go for longer this time and it will get better - 11 days is v early days, you are doing really well. I am bf an 11 week old and I have had no pain whatsoever since 3 weeks - I think it takes a while for you both to get comfortable with it. I took ds to a clinic to have his tongue tie corrected in the second week and the HV there was also a trained breast feeding councellor. She watched me bf after the tongue tie snip to check all ok afterwards and she made what I thought was a slight adjustment to my positioning but it made such an improvement - no pain and baby much more contented.

Tr and find someone that knows their stuff to watch you bf and make any necessary adjustments - it really will help! It is hard to find someone I know, with ds1 I had the same problem with lack of support and mw/hv and even an NCT bf councillor who were useless. I think it has got better in recent years with more trained people, in my area there are now a lot of drop in bf sessions, bf cafes and bf clinics at the local hospitals, clinics etc. Perhaps there will be some near you - it is so reassuring to get someone to watch and see if position and latch are ok (I was also too close to the armpits!).

Does sound like the latch might need a bit off which can be quite easy to correct if you can get someone trained to help you.
DO try seeing a breastfeeding counsellor, it is so much easier to feed once the positioning is ok.
Good luck.

Just a quick note to say Thanks everyone for your advice - I listened and made some adjustments and now have pain free nipples and baby can continue to get bfed! Thanks all