How can I give a sore nipple a break without losing my supply in that boob?

[llaethmam]

I have a sleepy newborn who I'm having to wake for feeds and he is small with a tiny mouth so it takes a few attempts to get him latched well sometimes, and I have to guide him and if he doesn't get it in one or two tries sometimes he just goes back to sleep and I really need him to feed, so in the night if he latches on and it's a sore I've sometimes just dealt with it just so he gets a good feed. Now my left nipple is in agony. Smothered in lanolin but I need to give it a break to get better. I don't know why the other nipple is absolutely fine! How can I feed from the right today and not affect supply from the left?!

Get your partner to nip to boots and get you a nipple shield and a pump if you don’t have one.

Pump while you feed from the right, and use the nipple shield if you feed from the left.

Also see if your midwife knows a feeding consultant to check for lip/tongue tie.

Sore nipples are the WORST. I really feel for you!

I think a couple of days of not feeding too often from the sore boob won't do too much harm. I had a really fast let down from my right boob and so would only feed from it twice a day and mainly fed from the left boob. I did this for weeks and I still have a healthy supply of milk in the right boob (baby is now 5 months)

Hope you feel better soon! It's so hard at the start but it does all get easier xx

Nipple shields will help. Protects the surface of the nipple to help it heal. Can also help baby with latch.
they’re a temporary measure but a big help for some

I used to feed on one side and pump the other, and when that side got sore I'd switch over. Get nipple cream it really helps, if you don't have any you can rub some breastmilk on the sore nipple this also helps but I found nipple cream better. The first few weeks are the worst it does get better

When I had this problem I used nipple shields (but only on the sore one so they don't get too used to it) and also used a pump to make sure the boob was completely emptied.

If your nipple is sore it's probably due to an incorrect latch. If it's only on one side, try holding your baby the other way- so a rugby ball hold (use cushion support). This is what I did as DD seemed to latch better that way round plus nipple pressure was in a slightly different place so less sore.

Is there a breastfeeding support group near you? They are usually really good at helping out with this sort of thing. Good luck

I used a nipple cream that helped a lot and was like a miracle to me lanolin stuff (lanoshil? Cannot spell it lol)

If baby is healthy and not hungry you can't force him if he wants to sleep. That's why pumps are available to releive you and also keep milk back for baby if you need it in a bottle or whatever

Multimam compresses!
They aren't cheap (boots sells them) but you can cut in half and put on for an hour or 2 they really help!

Also putting some bm on it and letting them air as much as possible. If you don't want to be topless then a loose fitting shirt works well.

If really bad then pump that side whilst feeding on the other but keep it on gentle!

I found silver nipple cups healed sore nipples much more quickly than nipple cream. I had a really sore , cracked bleeding nipple when DS was a few days old and thought I'd have to abandon bf completely, after using the cups I was ready to feed from that side again the next day

I cracked a nipple before we left the hospital! The midwife told me to hand express from that side for a few days to give it a rest and it was fine.

I found the Multi Mam balm and compresses better for me than the lanolin.

Oh also I would look on YouTube for videos on how to get a good latch. I had a small baby too and watching these videos really helped me.

I had blistered nipples & one more sore than the other. My midwife suggested giving the sore side a 24 hour break, saying that wouldn't damage my milk supply in the early days &/or to try feeding my baby in a different position on that side to mimic the position he was feeding from the good side ie cradle hold on one side & rugby ball hold on the other so he was always lying on his same side while feeding so it was familiar and easier for him.

My boy also had a small mouth & couldn't latch properly due to tongue tie so make sure that's checked & checked again as that's what caused our issues. It can be missed by professionals so keep asking if you keep having problems. It was magic for us both once that was snipped.

This stuff? Absolute life saver. Try nipple shields too. Good luck!

@Highjinks01 That's it!! Was brilliant

Seconding the suggestion for silver nipple cups: you wear them between feeds to heal your boobs.

A nipple shield really helped DS to latch when he was tiny and sleepy, then he was easily weaned off using it once he got a bit bigger and slightly more awake.

I also have one side where his latch is better, it’s quite common I think – boobs aren’t symmetrical. You just need to find the right position for each boob. Which will change as your baby grows!

I second the combo of silver cups and multi mam compresses! Really helped heal up the damage quickly. Having a bit of a rough patch with feeding at the moment with 5 week old squashing my nipple but using the silver cups and compresses means I've got no scabbing like I did in the early days