best thing for sore, painful nipples!

[starlover]

ok, so having been desperate for ds to b/f, I am now in agony every time he latches on!
it does ease off after the first few sucks, but my nipples are KILLING me...
i THINK he is latching on correctly, the midwife said I had a good position with him... i think the problem was that he was so reluctant to start with that as long as he was on and sucking I didn't worry too much.
now i am paying the price though!
will it get better? should i express and give him a bottle for a bit to let my nipples heal for a while?
what is the best nipple cream, or any other solution for painful boobs???? they are all dry and cracked and horrible, and it's making me just dread the next feed because I know it's going to hurt.

lansinoh

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lanisoh , its fab . it really helps. youn can get it from mothercare it sa bout ten quid but worht every penny

I vote for lansinoh too. And it might be worth trying to express a bit to give your nipples chance to heal. How old is ds?

Oh, I had really bad pain with latch early on with DS2. I had to work really hard not to teach DS1 new interesting words, every bloody time.

No damage to the nipples, though.

I highly recommend just smearing hind milk on the nipples and letting them air if you can.

I used Gel-a-net (pronounced JellNet) which you can get from the Pharmacy. I have heard a Pharmicist say you shouldn't use if for b/fding but my midwives and my bfc said it was fine so I used it and found it fab. It is about 50p a sheet. It is a sheet of gauze soaked in something like vaseline. Buy a few sheets, cut it into quarters and put it over your nipple, put a breastpad over that. I used to put it on after what I hoped was the last feed of the evening because then I knew it would have four hours to work before I had to feed again.

It is horrid with cracked nipples but they do heal. If they don't heal get a bfc to check your positioning, even if your mw says it ok.

After they've healed, put a bit of milk on them at the end of every feed, like someone else suggsted. I found that was good too.

hth and congratulations on getting going with the breastfeeding. I gave up after 2 wks with my first dc because it was all so hideous - but wish now I'd persevered. Things worked out ok with dc2 and dc3 tho', so have faith, you are doing really well to have come this far and it will get better.

Lansinoh, lots of air, and checking the position. Ring the NCT helpline 0870 444 8708, they sorted out a problem I had over the phone.

Also how old is ds? I found it did take a while for things to settle down as dd2 was just soooooooo hungry!

Another vote for Lanisoh. It really does get better too.

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ok, well definitely going to go and get some lansinoh tomorrow.
ds is just 11 days old, and he has only been b/fing properly for the last 3/4ish days... before that i was expressing and bottle feeding him.
i couldn't bear it if it's going to stay this painful! i have to really bite my tongue every time and keep looking at him and telling myself it's worthwhile continuing!
I could do with a decent nights sleep though, so might express and get dp to do some of the night feeds!
If it goes on for too long I will track down a breast feeding counsellor too though, just to make sure i am doing it right.

Congratulations on ds and well done for getting this far, starlover!

Poor you it is horrible at first and when you dread the next feed. I used the gelonet and it was great as a quick fix. Also used Lansinoh which is great stuff. Midwife also told me about grated carrot being really soothing and healing. Good luck.

I found Kamillosan was good (and it works magic on all sorts of sore skin problems!). Idid exactly the same as you - DS2 was reluctant to feed at the start so I let him feed however he latched on. big mistake. It did all heal up nicely and fairly quickly though and was plain sailing from then on.

ahh, the wonders of mumsnet! am feeling a bit more positive now.
we have lots of mothercare and boots vouchers to spend, so have a good reaason to go shopping (other than for stuff to make my boobs better!)
thank you all for your wise words!

just walk round topless starlover, am sure the air helps healing.

yeah i might try that. will have to remember to close the curtains though!
another question... if i go topless, what do i do about the milk that i keep leaking all over the place?

didn't realise you could lansinoh on prescription - wish I had. It was really good but very expensive

Hi, starlover, I was topless most of the time when dd2 was small and I found muslins or towels really useful for holding against my boobs to mop up leaks. Also, I ignored all advice to wear a bra even when dressed as I found it made things worse.