When does EBF get easier?

[MamaaB]

Hi all, I've been exclusively breastfeeding DD2 for one month now. DD1 was combi fed, and when I bf her I used nipple shields as my nipples were inverted. After that my nipples became flat as opposed to inverted, as DD1 drew them out a little. Now with DD2, latching has been a big learning curve and I'm still in the breaking-in period where we're establishing things. Her latch looks good and has been assessed as good too, but we have thrush atm and it feels so painful when she latches on. Even throughout feeds it's still kind of painful on my nipples and I'm hoping it's due to the thrush and not the latch or anything (we are on treatment for thrush, still waiting for it to get better). I'm just glad that my nipples are not constantly sore the way they were in the first 2 weeks when they were super cracked and bleeding.

Please somebody tell me it gets easier and things got better when they persevered! I'm trying to be stubborn here lol I really want to continue exclusively breastfeeding, it's just so hard.

That does sound difficult @MamaaB. Have you tried paracetamol and are you getting any RL help?

Mine had a tongue tie which made early breastfeeding miserable. Cracked and bleeding nipples, awful pain. We got it snipped and I persevered and it probably was all healed and pain free around 8 weeks. I’m glad I persevered but gosh it was really hard!!!

It gets easier very soon.

You do need to work on why it’s hurting. I didn’t have pain after the first week.

@PritiPatelsMaker I haven't actually tried paracetamol no, good idea for pain relief! Thank you so much. I've just realised the reason latching hurts so much is because I have a long crack at the base of one nipple (the other nipple doesn't hurt at all when latching anymore!)

@CheeseAlways that sounds difficult, well done for persevering! It takes a different level of determination to establish breastfeeding doesn't it almost stubbornness!! Thank you for the reassurance!

@Ansumpasty thank you very much. I've realised the reason why it still hurts to latch her on is due to a long crack at the base of one nipple (as it no longer hurts when matching her on the other!). So even with a deep latch, it really hurts in the first minute and throughout the feed a little too because of how much she has to draw my flat cracked nipple out! Thanks so much for the reassurance!

Ouch! Have you tried different nipple creams? It won’t be long until they’re like leather rugby studs that feel no pain 😂 Honestly, though, it will get easier soon and then it will be a breeze

Lactation consultant here. Who told you that you have thrush? Even if baby has oral thrush, it is almost unheard of for it to transfer to the nipples. Thrush gets diagnosed because of pain but it's almost never the correct cause I'd let diagnosis.

Can you access some support from an LC or specialist feeding team? You need someone to do a thorough assessment as to the cause of the pain.

For me about 16 weeks it turned around completely. I hadn’t bf the older kids for long at all but my youngest I ended up feeding 2.5 years handiest ever. Holidays, night away even st heading out of the house a pair of boobs, cane of clothes and nappies and off you go.

It got better at 12 weeks and then became so amazingly easy. I ebf for a further 2.5 years and 2nd baby was much easier. In total I bf for nearly 5 years.

I am so glad I pushed through the extreme pain. I don't know really why I did but for me it was worth it.

@Ansumpasty i haven't tried any other apart from Lansinoh which seems to help! I'm just cautious of using too much right now due to the thrush. And haha that's so reassuring, thank you for that!! I can't wait to reach that stage!

EBF for just over 5 months here! 👋 it does get easier I promise! It's a breeze now, keep going.
I gave in with my first born because of the cluster feeding at night, but I've persevered this time & I'm glad I did.

@teezletangler thank you for your reply! Wow really? I always thought that thrush is easily passed back and forth from baby to breast/vice versa if breastfeeding. I had all the symptoms of thrush (itchy unusually bright red nipples, burning pain in both breasts after feeds, sudden new pain on latching on both breasts, very dry yet shiny areola. Baby had the typical curd-like white thrush on her tongue and was more fussy when feeding). I had swabs done, just waiting for the results.

And funnily enough my hospitals infant feeding team somehow forgot about me while I was still under midwife care for 28 days post birth so they didn't end up seeing me until around day 31 when my midwife contacted them and asked. The specialist assessed full feeds and said the latch looks great and the pain was likely due to the thrush. Also I just realised after my original post, I have a long crack at the base of my nipple on my left boob hence why latching has been super painful! I think the crack came from my nipples being VERY dry from thrush and/or the miconazole cream.

@Nicanabanana thank you for your reply, that's very reassuring. And yes! With DD1 and mixed feeding, I'd always have to bring bottles out with me and formula but omg EBF is great - just boobs needed!

@FruHagen that is amazing, well done for persevering! It really is strange how we go through the extreme pain haha, thank you for reassuring me that it gets easier x

@OooohAhhhh thank you so much for the reassurance! Honestly sometimes that's all I need to keep on going. Thank you ❤️and well done to you for persevering!

thank you for your reply! Wow really? I always thought that thrush is easily passed back and forth from baby to breast/vice versa if breastfeeding. I had all the symptoms of thrush (itchy unusually bright red nipples, burning pain in both breasts after feeds, sudden new pain on latching on both breasts, very dry yet shiny areola. Baby had the typical curd-like white thrush on her tongue and was more fussy when feeding). I had swabs done, just waiting for the results

I mean it could be, it does sound as if you have every symptom. It's just incredibly unusual as it doesnt pass easily (you don't treat the partner when a woman has vaginal thrush!). You can also get ductal thrush, which is harder to shift and requires the oral medication. The swabs will tell the story!

Bless you OP, that sounds so painful.

Would it be worth trying a nipple shield on the very sore nipple for now whilst it heals? I'm not sure but would hope that alternating between a shield on one and none on the other might avoid nipple confusion, and give it a chance to heal.

Really hope the thrush clears up for you both soon. DD had it at 3mo and used the drops for weeks but it just wouldn't budge. Finally at 4mo she was old enough for the gel which finally got rid.

How are you doing now op? Have things improved at all?

@teezletangler wow that's so interesting! I was going off what another lactation consultant told me and The Breastfeeding Networks advice about how thrush can easily spread and even to other family members hence the advice to hot wash everything lol! Yes I'm really hoping I don't have ductal thrush! And yes, will be interesting to know the results soon!

@mydudero

Thank you so much! We've finished the thrush treatment now so I'm sincerely hoping it's all gone! Also soon after my post I realised the intense pain on latching on my left boob was because of a long crack at the base of my nipple! Which I think came about from how dry my nipples got from the thrush.

Thank you for your suggestion! I find that with a nipple shield, it almost hurts the same/more? Because the shield is so big for her mouth that it's not really easy for her to get a deep latch, it's almost automatically shallow and then she is essentially just drawing the nipple alone inside the shield if that makes sense? Which wouldn't help the crack I have at the base right now!

@Nicanabanana hello lovely, yes things have improved actually!! Thank you so much for asking. Latching on my right boob (which is actually the much flatter nipple/inverted) has become much more comfortable. My left however is still painful due to the crack I have along the base of my nipple (even with a deep latch it hurts as she still has to ofc draw the nipple out, especially as it's a flat nipple!). But throughout the feed it's not as painful as it was when I made the original post. So there is progress! I just need to focus on healing the crack and I'm hoping the thrush is all gone (treatment is finished now) so I can have some nice pain free breastfeeding finally!

@MamaaB I am delighted to hear that for you and babs. Everything crossed that the thrush is gone. I had the inverted nipple tongue tie/lip toe combo. No fun at all.

If you find that the crack isn’t healing I eventually found medela nipple shields really helped, they were really really soft and light, barely there, and they gave my nipples the chance to heal fully. I used them on both sides so babs wouldn’t develop nipple preference. I’m sure there are loads more decent ones out now if you need them since my lo is 11 now eek.

Everything crossed you are turning a corner.

To be honest, I sometimes wonder how on earth I did carry on. The nipple soreness, the uterine spasms and the painful let down. It does get easier, but you have my sympathy

Thank you! And wow that doesn't sound fun at all! That must have been difficult.
And yes the medela ones are amazing! The reason I haven't really used them though is because of where this crack is, I feel like if I use a shield it might just hurt even more because she'll be drawing my nipple alone into the shield meaning the crack (which is along the base of my nipple) might feel more pulled on. Which sounds very ouch lol! Thanks so much for the suggestion though and for your support! ❤️