FTM breastfeeding

[SRH]

FTM here, babe is 1 week old. Breastfeeding is going “OK” I think - baby only lost 60g from birth weight by day 5 and he’s very settled. However my left breast/nipple is incredibly sore. It was cracked and bleeding by day 2 in hospital although the midwives didn’t think this was due to a bad patch - just the fact it’s a new sensation and action for me. I’ve been using Lansinoh nipple cream but not sure it’s improved anything. Last night I pumped some milk and tried to feed by bottle but then had a panic attack that I was doing it wrong and was causing the baby wind. What is normal with breast pain and what isn’t? Thank you xx

A cracked and bleeding nipple isn't normal and there shouldn't really be significant pain either. I'm so sorry this is how it has started for you. The cracks can be excruciatingly painful.

You should be able to request a feeding assessment from your health visitors.

Sorry it's hard. Bf isn't always easy. Are your nipples 'lipstick shaped' after feeding as this can be a sign of tongue tie in the baby?

There may well be local NHS or volunteer lead breastfeeding clinics near you, I know it feels like a really big deal to get out of the house but they can be very supportive and knowledgeable (and kind).

Lots of sympathy as it can be so difficult, I hope there is good face to face help for you close by x

Have you got any silver cups? I whole heartedly recommend some. I used those, alongside multimam breastfeeding compresses (on Amazon). At your stage, I would basically feed, put the compress on, silver cups over the top and back in my bra until the next feed. Wore it nearly all the time! Lansinoh is ok, but these compresses are phenomenal. Breastmilk squirted into the silver cups can also help heal cracks quickly if they're minor.

I think the whole "pain isn't normal when breastfeeding" rhetoric when you're starting breastfeeding isn't necessarily helpful. You're both still learning and your nipple is potentially larger than ideal for baby's mouth at this age (mine was). But keep working on latch (no lipstick nipple etc) and it'll click.

If you want someone to observe/ help with positioning I found there was a volunteer at my local NCT baby group who was fab. I've also heard good things about la leche league if you have one nearby.

It sounds like you're doing really well though. It's tough now, and will be for a few weeks (cluster feeding was tough for me). But so worth getting through

My nipples were soo painful the first two weeks that I very nearly had to stop, then suddenly it’s like baby’s mouth grew very slightly or my nipples hardened up and by week 3 I could barely feel it. Still breastfeeding 16 months on( although now trying to stop because of his teeth !)

In all honesty I was in pain for a long time with breastfeeding. I think it was about 3 months before my nips got used to it and I shouldn’t have let it go that long. I’d call the La Leche League if you don’t get any help from health visitor. Congratulations on your baby as well!!

if you’re thinking I’m a BF martyr you’d be wrong though. I was just too exhausted to make a change. I had severe pelvic girdle pain which meant I couldn’t walk in the last few months of pregnancy so the first few months of being a mum I was struggling to walk and carry my baby (who was huge). I was also single so those all nighters were just me and the baby. It was simply easier to feed him from my boobs than get up and make formula. Once I hit my stride at 3 months though it was the easiest thing in the world to continue and I loved it. Good luck!

I hate people who say best feeding shouldn't hurt. Maybe you were lucky but most aren't and when it's trotted out by health visitors it's just another way to tell you you're doing it wrong. Even if latch is perfect, there always seems to be something that hurts.

Regular paracetamol and cold compresses got me through the first weeks. Strength!

I bf both mine. First one great latch no pain no bleeding. Second child horribly cracked bleeding nipples. Said child had a rubbish latch which didn’t improve until week 4 and they had grown enough.
Lots of lansinoh, like every half hour which sorted the cracks and bleeding within a week.

Thank you all for your replies. I’m also finding it a very anxious time so when things aren’t going “perfectly” my mind starts to spiral… especially at night. The doctor in the hospital checked baby over and said there was no tongue tie - I didn’t even know what that was until I googled it. The midwife is coming today to check things over so hopefully she’ll be able to advise. Tough times! xxo

How are you getting on @SRH ? Hope things are better x

OP I really feel for you. It's such a tough time. In my case my first child breast fed like a dream. Second time round, DC2 drew blood on the first feed. The midwives checked for tongue tie and couldn't find any issues so said it must be down to my positioning.
I developed mastitis by week two. During this time my DC was checked by several other medical professionals who told me there was no tongue tie.
I was on the verge of giving up when I booked an appointment with a breastfeeding counsellor who diagnosed a posterior tongue tie. This was confirmed by a breastfeeding specialist at the hospital. Rather than wait eight weeks to have it snipped on the NHS I booked an appointment with a private midwife who snipped it the following day. This solved our problems and we had no more feeding issues.
As for pain whilst breastfeeding, well I guess we're all different but when able to feed properly the only discomfort I felt was from my milk letting down.
Good luck OP.

Thank you so much for checking in. My mood is so low, I phoned the GP and thankfully they’ve booked me in to see someone in two weeks time and will keep an eye on me over the phone until then. I also spoke with a neighbour who is a midwife and she told me not to worry about little person drinking faster from a bottle, apparently this is normal. Unfortunately I don’t think I can keep up with the breastfeeding which is contributing to my low moods I think. I was so chuffed in the beginning when it worked well and now I feel brokenhearted to have to quit only 9 days in.

I found the beginning of my breastfeeding journey incredibly painful, my baby left my nipples raw, blood blistered, and welted/bruised. I was in tears and toe curling due to the pain and feared every feed. My boyfriend amazon primed nipple silver cups to arrive quickly and they were a god send. My nipples improved almost overnight, it was also discovered that my baby had a tongue tie but it wasn't a major tie so they couldn't explain why my nipples experienced so much trauma. But with time it has improved, i'm almost 7 months into EBF now and at the beginning I didnt think i'd make it this far. But I did personally find that stopping the lansinoh has also helped, I was lathering it on as it gave me temporary relief but not for long and my lactation consultant advised that lanolin can cause sensitivities and irritation in some people and I found further improvement when I stopped using it. Just lots of breastmilk expressed into the silver cups is what got me through it and helped my nipples to recover. No one warned me how hard it would be to start breastfeeding, but you are doing amazing. It really does get easier but those first couple of weeks are tough, but don't feel guilty if you feel you need to stop. Do what's right for you, a healthy and happy mom creates a healthy and happy baby whether that's bottle or breast x

My nipples were cracked and scabbed - I used nipple shields and sterilised them each night.

I'm sorry you feel awful. Hormone crashes, exhaustion from birth and no sleep, and bf problems are a horrible cocktail.

It's fine to quit. The midwives etc aren't really allowed to tell you that. But it is fine.

If you want to carry on trying, and you don't have to, nipple shields are marvellous in my experience so maybe get some of those on next day delivery and see if they help. I don't think the silver cups were a thing when I was trying but probably worth a try too

Good luck x

I might give them a try - which ones did you go for? I saw some Philips Avent in Tesco today but just didn’t know if they’d be worthwhile. Do they affect latch?

Thanks for caring, really appreciate it. I’m pumping for now which is a bit less painful and means I don’t have to give up completely - have messaged a few lactation consultants/tongue tie specialists to try and get the help I need so that I can continue BF x

Congrats on your baby OP and sorry you're having a hard time. Bf can be so hard in the early days. The national bf helpline is available by phone and DM 24/7 - it might be worth talking through with them. They can help you with continuing, transition to FF or combi feeding. It's also worth knowing it's possible to feed on just one side if that's working for you. It sounds like bf is important to you, and you can continue partially bf if that's an option for you. If you do decide to stop gradually is best. Best wishes to you both whatever you decide.

I used the Medela ones which did the job. Used to call them my little silicone booby sombreros :) Not sure if they did affect latch but it meant that the baby got just milk rather than a mix of blood and milk so that seemed like a good trade to me. They're only a few quid

I did mixed feeding for 8m in the end, never got to EBF, but that was ok with me and baby did well. It's not worth sacrificing your mental health. You're important too.

Sometimes it’s dodgy latch, sometimes it’s just baby learning and you learning. I had cracked nipples at this point too but after a few weeks they toughened up and DD got the hang of latching correctly. La Leche League directed me to a breastfeeding group where a counsellor checked and corrected the latch and things got better. Once we were both used to it there was no more pain. But it does take a while and a lot of people give up early as a result. Get good advice and specialist guidance (unlikely from HV I’m afraid) via LLL or local BF counsellor/group. It will get better with the right help.

I had this with my second (i failed to breastfeed the first, neither me nor him had read the books, and he had cmpa, severe reflux, tongue and lip ties - not diagnosed for months).

Scabby bloody nipples, toe curling pain with my second. She was diagnosed with a tongue tie on day 3 (was feeding 22 hours in every 24) and had it snipped day 4 (cancellation at my hospital). It was still painful while I healed. What helped was nipple shields (order medium if you're not sure), and wet healing - keep them moist (sorry) with your own milk, vaseline, nipple cream. They heal faster and very suddenly after a few days compared with keeping them dry and aired. Do not put them directly under the shower!

Im still breastfeeding dd at 3.5. She won't take any other milk source, and after a full day at nursery, just wants me... i barely feel it now. I am trying to wean her off though!

Good luck @SRH

I know a lot of people will say any pain is not normal etc however from my experience with 2 (DS is currently 8weeks old) it’s happened with them both, no issues re latch tongue tie etc just one of them things that happened. Both times my nipples were cracked sore bleeding it was honestly awful I was in excruciating pain and convinced something must be wrong but nope. The pain/ cracks started I think day 2 and it started to subside around day 10. It took a bit longer for the cracks to heal completely and even once they healed it was still a painful weird sensation very hard to describe! At probably 3 and a bit weeks all pain was gone. Nipple cream didn’t work for me, I put breast milk on my nipples and let them air as much as possible also pumped sometimes to try and give them a break. I really feel for you, my DH thinks I’m crazy when I say I’d rather go through labour again than the pain of breastfeeding at the start.