Help ! Nips are sooooo sore and not sure why ??

[redsally]

DS is only a few days old and has been feeding vigourously since birth. First couple of days were fine, MWs checked latch and all seemed well, but over last couple of days my nips have become agony... latching on makes me literally scream every time and I am getting reluctant to let him feed (which he wants ALL THE TIME)because it is so so painful.

I've read some threads here and I can't decide if I'm looking at tongue tie, thrush, just bad positioning or what. What should I look for in each of these ? And what can I do to help my poor nips recover ? And how long will it take for this to get better ? I'm just about reasy to crack and give him formula because I can't stand the pain.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi Redsally Sorry to hear you are in pain. Do explore the options before Formula if you can bear to.

Am no expert but i had some bf issues at the start so had these things looked at for me. I'd probabably suggest getting a MW or bf counsellor to come and observe the whole feed, staart to end. They probaby spot a problem immediately. A few thoughts though.

Does it only hurt when feeding? It could be a painful let down reflex, that you are feeling now the milk is in. If its that, it does get better with time, I remember that agony being unbearable, someone suggested counting to ten at each latch and if it hurt after that then to try latching again.
Now 5wks in i feel it but its not agony unless nipples are cold.

thrush- your nipple turns white, babies tongue is whiter than usual, whit spots in mouth

tongue tie, think babies tongue doesnt protrude well and mouth doesnt open wide, though i believethere are different depths of TT.

poor positioning, may give you cracked, bleeding nipples. What shape is nipple when it comes out? it should be round if position is correct. Mine was chisel shaped for ages til i got latch right.

Hope this helps til some experts like Tiktok come along

Thank you GYo. Pain is very sharp when latching, but breasts are both sore all the time, and one of them is all swollen round the nipple. I am really getting to the point where I can hardly bear to let DS near them, and even the slightest touch from fabric or anything is v v painful. I really want to do this, but I can't take much more of the searing pain.

Awww much sympathy, I remember this. I would really advise ringing NCT or BFN and seeing what they say.

I used breast shells to keep fabric away from my nipples whilst the were cracked, sore and bleeding! This also allows a small amount of milk to express itself which takes the pressure off too.

It does sound like a positioning problem. You could try asking your local La Leche League for help too. There's loads of useful info here...

www.laleche.org.uk/pages/about/breastfeedinginfo.htm

I found Lansinoh cream helped heal my nips. Apparently the skin is similar to the lips and should be protected in the same way if sore (really stick stuff but I wouldn't have been without it). Boots amongst others stock it.

I found the breast shells good too, but didnt use them for too long as my nipples tended to stay moist and not dry out in them. They were great for collecting milk in early days when a lot came out of other boob when feeding. Got to get the ones wihtout holes though

Someone suggested something called Deep Duct Thrush to me when I had pain. I never got as far as looking into it but it might worth looking up. THink it gives pain without obvious white nipple symptoms.

Hope you are ok today- I really know the pain of those early days.

Keep chatting here if you need to, and it really does get easier.

Take care

If you use the Lansinoh then the nips don't get soggy with the shells. They just feel like lips with chapstick on them. This helps rather than hinders healing.

The other option is to go naked but I know that nips without Lansinoh on them, when exposed to the air, start to really hurt as they dry out and scabs being sucked off are agonising.

Take heart though, that even in my case, everything was healed eventually and I went on to feed for 18 months!

GYo lol at your comment re the shells with holes in - I am using them while feeding in bed, last night I managed to carefully save three feeds worth, only to then put it on, still full (I know, I know, I am a slattern who should have emptied it each time but the bathroom is too far away) upside down so the carefully caught milk poured out anyway, all over me and lo.

Think I had the Deep Duct Thrush too as my nipples didn't go white.Red I would try to sort this sooner rather than later as its agony and if it is thrush its a bugger to get rid of...Good luck!

I sympathise lots- for me the pain of bf was worse than labour! Your symptoms sound like positioning/attachment related problems, and most bf pain stems from these rather than tongue tie or thrush. Not sure about the swelling though, this could be engorgement (which can be very uncomfortable and tender) or more seriously a blocked duct.

Having said that, my pain turned out to be both poor latch and thrush combined. Really you need some good quality real life help, someone who can see you feed your baby and look at your breasts and nipples. MWs are not experts in bf the same way bf counsellers are, try and see one of them. The NCT, LLL or BfN helplines should provide you with details for your nearest one.

When things were tough I had to decide every day to continue to breastfeed. I sobbed before, during and after every feed and couldn't dry myself with a towel after a shower- even the water hurt! If I wasn't feeding in pain I was thinking about it and it was all-consuming.

But things got better. With the right help and support from a bfc and my DH I am still bf 6 months later and it is pain free, something I thought I would never ever achieve. You can do it. As someone wrote here recently every breastfeed makes a difference. What you have given your little baby is the best possible. He is lucky to have a mum like you!

When I reached the "can I carry on" stage (at every feed) I asked myself whether I could tell my DS that I wasn't going to do it anymore. The combined emotions of having recently given birth and having to say out loud such a thing to my DS kept me feeding for just one more feed. Then one more, and one more. It did get better and after getting his positioning sorted out I fed for as long as we wanted to (18 months in our case).

I agree with the advice to find a RL advisor. You wouldn't believe how much it can help to have an expert to take a look at what's going on!

Good luck, do what's right for you.

Thank you to everyone for their help and encouragement. I have a BF counsellor coming out to see me, and been using lots and lots of lansinoh, so hopefully things will get better soon.

oh well done for getting help
just something to look for - when your baby comes off the breast, is the nipple misshapen or blanched at all - ie, does it look exactly like it did when it went in? If it looks like it has been squished, there may be an attachment issue whereby the nipple isnt going far back enough into the mouth, so it is being crushed by the tongue onto the hard palate.

I really hope your BFC can help you. If she cant, then ask somewhere else - get someone to drive you to a babycafe or le leche league meeting. Good luck.