Day 3 breast feeding - the pain

[jmrpinkie]

Help! Baby is almost 3 days old. I want to breast feed her but from the first few tries my nipples were already so red and sore. I got great support at the hospital and she now seems to have a very good latch. Not perfect but good but the first 20!seconds of her on are horrendous and it still is quite uncomfortable. I’m thinking it’s because they were already sore and damaged. Anyone got any advice ?

I’ve got lanolin and regular application. I’ve ordered the silver cups and today and I think I’ll have to hand express and syringe freed to give a break.

I really sympathise with you having been there myself! As she is so little you won’t have been discharged yet, can you speak to the midwife team and ask for support?

No real advice - but I did want to say that I’ve been right there with the excruciating first 20 seconds and it does get better. I think part of that is your body adjusting. Had no pain at all with my second. Lansinoh helped a bit, nipple shields did not. At the end of the day, it was sheer determination that got us through, and it was worth it.

It took me a good few weeks to get through the discomfort with my first. It will get easier.

But cabbage leaves in the freezer and when they are frozen pop them over your boob, its a bit smelly when they start to defrost
but its used to help me!

Or I suppose you could just use a regular ice pack 🤣 It does get better though!

It's 45 years since I breast fed but can still remember those excruciating first few seconds! If you can bear it I would persevere for a bit longer as it did get better with both of my babies.

As for hand expressing - I tried this but next to nothing came out! So that's why I carried on then it was fine after a few days.

I hope all goes well and you are enjoying your new baby 😊

^ this
even though all the advice often says it should only be ‘mild discomfort’ when I BF my first DD it was agony, like razors every time, for weeks. My nipples were cracked, sore, bleeding. No issue with latch, no tongue tie, no thrush. Just painful as I had flat nipples so she had to break the skin/muscle bonds - I no longer have flat nipples! (Pleased as I was always self conscious about that).

anyway, after the first few weeks, it started to heal and not hurt at all. I BF for 2 years! But if you’d told me that in those first few weeks no way I would have believed it.

make sure you get everything checked by different different midwives/docs/lactation consultants.

And to mention, I tried everything, nipple shields, silver cups, different feeding positions, cabbage leaves etc etc
the only thing that worked was giving my nipples some air time to heal each day and just time! And making sure there were no other issues going on

Quite often first few seconds are really painful when milk comes in. Really horrid sharp pain. This does get better.
Or is it just the sore nipples?
Lansinoh all the time, with my first the first 6 weeks were horrendous as he had a tongue tie also. Took a while to get diagnosed.
With my second it was easier.
It does take a bit though for your nipples to get used to it and it isnt pleasant.
For me it was worth it in the end. But breast feeding definitely is hard at first!
You are doing a grat job! Hopefully if you can bear it for another week or so it will get better!
I was pig headed and determined as both of us have asthma and allergies so it is highly recommended for a year ( or was when i had mine)

Do you have a lactation consultant local to you? Mine was amazing! I also had a friend I would message when the pain got really bad and she would talk me down! Breast fed for a year and it did get so much better, so stick with it if you can.

I had a game on my phone that I played to distract myself from the pain. After a week or two it was so much better, but I considered throwing in the towel. Still BF (painlessly!) At 18 months.

I only experienced this for the first time with my second as with my first we used nipple shields from the off for various reasons. I just slathered in lansinoh and now at 11 weeks it hasn't hurt for a long time. I can't quite remember exactly when the pain went but it was within the first couple of weeks! Obviously if latch isn't right or pain persists, seek extra support but otherwise I think some pain is normal as your nipples adjust.

Definitely air dry the nipples after feeding and use savoy cabbage leaves as a PP mentioned. This WILL completely disappear in a few days, so my advice is keep on feeding through and it will become a breeze soon, especially if she has a great latch! Well done OP and congratulations.

Congratulations!

OMG I remember those days, it felt like someone was sticking pins into my nipples every time dc latched on. It does get better if you can get over these first few weeks.

All of your responses have actually made me a bit emotional. Is there anything like a bunch of mums supporting another mum. Thank you thank you.

so we are home so unfortunately no more on demand support but I’m feeling confident in positioning to get a good latch and she is definitely getting the colostrum.

shes my second and I struggled with BF first baby. I’m so determined to get through this and I know it will be hard but I want to do it.

the nipples themselves don’t actually look too red/cracked and @BigOldBlobsy i also have quite flat nipples so I think this is making it a bit more challenging.

thanks everyone I will try cold compress/cabbage along with the lanolin and air dry. I’m going to read and re read these when things get tough in the next week or so.

It was so excruciating for me the first 10 days. I would cry at the thought of little one waking up and wanting to feed.

I went to see an IBCLC who was trained in tongue tie. I'm not saying it is tongue tie, but it is really worth getting support in positioning and a latch assessment.

My little one fell off quite easily and I had lipstick shaped nipples after feeding.
I got mastitis after a week.

Had support twice from the IBCLC as well as a tongue tie release and after the release the pain was mostly gone. By 4 weeks it was completely gone.

I did pay privately, but the wait was 2 months for my NHS Appointment so I knew I just had to find the money. And £150 up front saved me a lot more than that if I hadn't been able to continue and had to go to formula.

Still feeding my 2 year, 3 months old now. I just don't know how I would have survived the last 2 years without feeding him. It helps me sleep, helps him sleep, helps him feel better when he's unwell, etc. I am so glad I pushed through those early days. But you need support from all those around you supplemented with professional support too if needed.

https://lcgb.org/find-an-ibclc/

Lansinoh cream and silver cups saved my nipples! Breastfeeding was sore for the first couple of weeks while me and my baby both learned what we were doing. Have a look online and see if you can find a lactation consultant or breastfeeding group near you. I went to a drop in clinic in the first week and the lovely ladies there gave great advice about positioning and latch

Have you had baby checked for tongue tie? After 3 months of painful breastfeeding and being constantly told it was positioning and latch, a wonderful midwife at a free BF’ing drop in sent us to get checked for tongue tie and it turned out he had a posterior one. We got it sorted (snipped) and have never looked back. He’s almost 2 and I’m still BF’ing. Some hospitals have someone that checks right from birth, but my hospital didn’t have anyone. That piece of information was a game changer and saved my BF’ing journey and my sanity! Good luck.

Thank you. The midwife yesterday did have a look in her mouth and kind of said oh no tongue tie but I wouldn’t say it was thoroughly checked. I’ll def keep an eye on it.

@HillbillyBackstroke I got the silver cups. Did you apply lasinoh and then the cups on top or chop and change ??

breastfed two babies for min 1 year each, this happened the first week with both - you are just going through the pain barrier. soon nipples will scab over ( sounds gross but it helps the pain) then once scabs will fall off and voila new tough pain free nipples!! 😅

God I remember this so well! I don’t remember exactly when it stopped feeling like razor blades but I ended up breastfeeding for a year with each of my 3 in the end! 3 days in, everything is so tender - I really feel for you! I know it doesn’t always settle down but it did for me. Hope it improves OP

Just to add I alternated the nipple cream and the sliver cups. Good luck, I found it was painful for 2 weeks then absolutely fine and I never looked back. If you have any breastfeeding support groups near you, they may have someone trained to check latch/tongue tie if you are concerned. Plus they are great places to go to get out of house with like-minded mum's.

I’ve recently been through this, except my nipples were cracked and bleeding. It was fucking horrendous. I was crying my eyes out after breastfeeding for 7 ish days.

I ordered the silver cups. Squeezed my milk in them after every feed and put them on. Absolutely life changing. Within a few days, my nipples had completely healed. I’ve now somehow managed to feed for 5 weeks (nearly gave up several times in the first 2 weeks). I used the nipple cups for weeks and still occasionally put them on if they feel a bit sore.

I didn’t find the Lansinoh worked well at all.

good luck and hopefully the cups work for you x

I put lansinoh on after every feed and wore the cups pretty much constantly until the pain went away. I also tried to air out my nipples whenever possible which seemed to help.

I remember biting my lip in pain for the first 10 seconds of every feed! I promise you it does get better. Once you get through this bit then breastfeeding becomes so easy and convenient.

It’s the let-down reflex, can feel like needles for the first half minute. Many women get it even if they haven’t got sore nipples. It does disappear eventually, sorry can’t recall how long..weeks rather than months I think.
If your breasts feel over full and hard, cabbage leaves in your bra help, or you could use breast shells, which encourage milk to leak out, thus reducing pressure.

My second was born with a 100% tongue tie and the first week of feeds were painful. He had it cut t 8 days and there was a difference immediately. He now feeds much much better than my first ever did. He is now 18 weeks and feeding isn't painful but the first few minutes of a feed can feel a bit like someone lightly pressing a needle against the base of my nipple. My eldest probably had a tie and her tongue wasn't very mobile up and down until 3 and she struggled to maintain a good latch through feeding.
Do you have an infant feeding team? It might be worth giving them a call and to get a tongue tie review