If breastfeeding hurt a lot for dc1...

[sheeplikessleep]

... am I likely to have to go through the same thing with dc2?

It took about 10 weeks of pain, before things settled down for me (but he cluster fed every evening, for about 6 hours a time). If it wasn't for sheer bloodymindedness, I would have given up. I know everyone is different and every baby is different, I just wondered whether I need to prepare for the same again or just hope for the best? My younger sister just took to feeding, no pain, other than an initial latch on 10 second thing until her milk flowed. I wonder if some mums are born with more of a 'nack' for it.

I know there's no guarantees, just interested in others experiences really. Thanks

[sheeplikessleep]

thank you for posting, they are so reassuring. last time was a combination of latch (which similar to suiledonn, i wasn't proactive enough to correct at the time), me gradually becoming more and more fearful of the pain and the fact ds1 was jaundice and very difficult to keep awake. i feel a lot more prepared this time around (god, the hours spent with various midwives and breastfeeding counsellors!) and will hopefully be more relaxed. worst case is that even if the pain is as bad and for as long, i know it does eventually go and becomes lovely.

ds1 (now 22 months old) reached over, mouth open to feed from my sister the other day when she was unlatching her lo , so i may find that i have a jealous toddler in a few months, but that's another thread! why didn't he open his mouth that wide when he was breastfeeding ??

thanks for posting.

[missorinoco]

Much, much less painful with DC2. I get a painful letdown when my milk comes in for the first week or two. With DC1, a combination of this and cracked nipples made bf tough, and I persisted through similar bloodymindedness. With DC2 letdown hurt a little, but more in a "grit your teeth it'll be gone in 30 seconds" kind of a way. The pain also settled faster.

I did slap on the lasinoh for day 2 though, to prevent any cracks. (Worked a treat!)

Good luck.

[Caro1302]

First time was awful- pain and latch issues until about 10 weeks.

Second time was still painful (my nipples are flat and I struggle to feed newborns with tiny mouths) but I sorted the latch out and was pain free by 2 weeks this time. Unfortunately I then got hit by thrush and now have a painful milk blister but I did have a short blissfully pain-free period and I'm working to get that back again.

[blowninonabreeze]

first time sounds identical to yours, bleeding, the works for 5-6 weeks.

2nd time much easier. slight discomfort around day 5-6 but nothing like dd1

[MyCatIsAFleaBagNoMore]

1st time for me was pretty sore for about 6 wks, then got better (bf for 15mths)
2nd time I was waiting for the same again and it didn't happen. Little bit sore for a couple of weeks but nothing kamillosan didn't sort out and all find and well now (DS 6mths old and still bf)

I put it down to DD making them so sore that they lost all sense of feeling by the time DD came around.

I had a friend whose nipple was hanging off after her first DD. She managed to get it sorted using a nipple sheild and went on to feed for 12mths and her 2 other DDs for the same amount of time with no problems.

[suiledonn]

Hi sheep, it took me 7 weeks of agony to get it right with dd1. She was a small, sleepy baby which didn't help.

With dd2 it was a lot easier. I felt much more relaxed and confident and within a few days everything was fine.

I found with dd1 that I was so desperate for her to latch on I let her feed even if I knew the latch wasn't quite right and that caused me a lot of trouble.

I was much more particular about getting it right the second time round.

HTH Best of luck.

[kingfix]

first time round painful bloody and tearful, just stuck at it through bloody mindedness as you said. 2nd time round totally pain free and lovely. So good luck

[warthog]

differences with each one. can't say one was better than the other, but knowing how it all works makes second time round a lot easier.

easier all round with dd2 but got a bout of mastitis which i never had with dd1. dd2 was a strong feeder, whereas dd1 was more gentle.

[spicemonster]

I have a friend who gave up with her first baby after failure to thrive and her drinking more blood than milk (sorry if TMI). Second baby fed like a dream until he was 11 months so this one may be fine. Did you get your latch checked last time? I'd get that sorted really early if I were you in case it was to do with that last time.

[sheeplikessleep]

I'm just off to eat my tea - I'll check again later, thanks.

PS we did get there in the end - fed for 11 months all in

Might also help to paint a picture - ds had jaundice when he was first born, so a very sleepy feeder. We also saw a few bfing counsellors to improve positioning and latch too.