Should cluster BF of a 3 wk old in the evening be this painful?

[Tummum]

I have a lovely DS who is 3 wks old tomorrow. I am Bfing him (and previously BF DD2)

I am feeding DS fine during the day - he is feeding every 3-4 hours with practically no pain apart from the letdown which lasts a couple of seconds.

My problem is in the evenings when he is cluster feeding about every 45 minutes. Tonight this was 5pm til 11pm. I am finding this period increasingly painful as my nipples get really sore and the letdown pain gets far worse. I am not convinced he is actually drinking and more suckling. It is getting so painful I am considering giving him a bottle at night, which I would prefer not to do if I can help it. Tonight I gave him a bottle, he guzzled 2 oz and is now fast asleep!

Does anyone have any experience of this? Any top tips? Should it be this painful, as the latch must be OK because it doesn't hurt in the day.

Any help or words of wisdom would be appreciated as I am getting to the end of my tether on this one ! FF is seeming like a more convienient option, especially as I have 2 other DC to juggle in the day also.

Thanks.

Hello

After an hour's suckling it tends to be nipple bashing. If you can persuade him to, slip him off with your pinky (iykwim) after an hour, and smear a little breastmilk over your nipple and leave it exposed to the air for a bit.

When nursing is sore there is usually a problem of sorts, so check your position is comfortable for you both, support his wee bum etc. And check his mouth fully covers your nip and a decent are under it... sorry this all seems basic but ya never know...

imo it is better to take baby off the boob and placate for ten mins with a dummy, rather than tolerate painful nipple trauma which results in less bf.

Have someone else nearby hush him over to sleep if you can, if he's been on boob for, say, 75 mins...

HI Tummum

My DD used to cluster feed at night - very painful, very frustrating! I got round it by feeding her more often during the day - it could be as often as every 2 hours, but by 6 or 7 weeks, she was sleeping from 7pm to 7am every night.

I used to just offer her a feed and more often than not she'd go for it. Might be worth a try? I suppose it just shifts the problem to the day time, but at least you might get a bit of a rest overnight.