Help! Cracked nip, 11 month old, excruciating pain. About to go cold turkey.

[Worriedwait]

Desperately seeking some urgent advice!

Whether through biting, bad latch or something else, I've wound up with a really painful cracked/cut nipple. My 11 month old has fed more than usual in the last week due to illness, so that's probably to blame as well.

It hurts so much when I feed him on that side that I just tasted blood. I'm crying in pain, it's fucking agony.

He's a bit of a boob monster (I hate that phrase) and he won't take a bottle but I'm in so much pain, I'm about to just stop breastfeeding altogether.

Wtf do I do?! I can't pump on that side either - my pump is shit and hurts even more than feeding. Pleeease, help me!

Have you got some lansinoh nipple cream, the one the purple tube? That was a god send to me in the early days of cracked nipples. You can put it on before and after a feed. Or try a nipple shield?

You need some jelonet, pronto. You can get it from the pharmacy or Amazon. Cut it to size and keep on your nipple at all times (take off for feeding). It will take a couple of days but it will help heal and start to feel less painful quickly. You can help the process with silver cups too, if you have any, but the jelonet is great stuff and combined with painkillers, should allow you to keep feeding. If there’s really no improvement after a couple of days, I’d see an IBCLC to help you figure out the next steps.

I know the pain, OP, I had a third degree crack and it was AGONY. It can heal though, remarkably quickly.

I've dusted off the lansinoh but hadn't considered shields - good idea!

I'm desperate enough to just stop feeding him on that side altogether, but I'm really prone to mastitis 😫

@NigellasMicrowave omg thank you SO much, I've never heard of this! Aaaah! I might try and make it the pharmacy before it closes.

I honestly had no idea how painful it could be. The last time I was huffing and crying this much I was in labour. Hideous!

How are you getting on @Worriedwait ?

Second vote for nipple shields, they saved me