Sore nipples

[newmummie24]

My baby has just turned 6 weeks. I have been primarily breastfeeding. I had some patching issues at the start and became sore. Things have gotten better but my nipples are constantly hard and sensitive. For example, when I get out the shower I have to be careful with the towel when drying due to how sensitive they are. Is this normal? Or do I need to seek further breastfeeding advice?

Try silver cups, they helped me with soreness. Or good old Lansinoh. It will get better in a few weeks

One of my nipples was really sore for a long time. The latch on the right side wasn't very good in the beginning because of a tension in baby's neck. We sorted that quickly but it took months for that nipple to not hurt anymore.

Silver cups can be good but don't wear them too much. If the nipples can't breathe, you can get thrush.

And actually, now I think about it more, my nipples were sensitive for a long time. I didn't wear a proper bra when going out for like 4 months. I was in crop tops or soft nursing bras when out and about. No bra in the house at all.

Do you rub a little bit of milk into your nipples after each feed? My dch are adults now but I was told to do this and never had problems. I don't know if it's so obvious that no one mentions it, or if mothers just aren't told to do it these days.

Thanks so much everyone! Seems normal then for them to still be sore/sensitive! I just keep getting paranoid about my latching!

Oh yes rubbing a bit of milk on them really helped!

Everyone tells you BF shouldn't hurt and it shouldn't be painful. But logically, you have a little thing sucking on them night and day, I think there is some adjustment time needed. So there shouldn't be proper pain when he's feeding but I think some discomfort/sensitivity goes with the territory.

Do be vigilant about the latch. I know it's annoying but you want to keep good habits. As baby grows, the latch will get better as well, as baby can open her mouth more. But then they get teeth so you want to make sure baby has learnt a good latch by then so they don't start scratching your nipples 😂I say this as someone who got lazy and then realized ok, I need to pay more attention here. My baby is 7 months and has 4 teeth now. Ouch.

My bra squashes my nipples so that the latch is extra painful while the baby sucks them back into shape. Topless is much more comfortable but not very practical for going out!

Yes! This happened to me from using silver cups. I think where I went wrong is not washing them between each feed. But I really did find more relief from them than Lansinoh.

Maybe use Lansinoh in the night when you can't be bothered to get up and wash them after feeding and use silver cups in the day.