TikTok or anyone who can help with painfuk nipples- please come and help!

[SuiGeneris]

Hi, not sure what the etiquette of asking for help is, but I hope I have not breached it. Would be extremely grateful for any advice that will help me continue BF without crying out in pain at every feed.

Baby is 10 days old and the problem is that nipples are sore at feeds and now also in between them, to the extent that a soft fleece nightgown brushing over the nipples makes me wince. Have seen BF counsellor at the hospital, who helped me fix the latch and I expressed from the sorest side for 24 hours to allow it to heal. All seemed to be going well for about 3 feeds but now the other side is sore. Not only the skin is sore, but I also get a sort of pulsating pain inside the breast, behind the nipple, at random times (not when feeding). I am currently feeding from the less sore breast and expressing the other, but not sure I am doing it right: at the moment I feed from breast A and express breast B at almost every feed time and DH gives the expressed milk and a formula top up at midnight or so, so I get a longer stretch of sleep (and rest for the nipples) before the 4/5am feed (not feeding by the clock, this is just the way babySG likes things at the moment).

We are keen to move to BF+EBM or sole BF with no top-ups, but breasts are too painful to do that now. Also, delivery was complicated and I lost over 2 pints of blood, so I am not in the best health, which may affect things. Any advice would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

sorry you are having such a bad time.
To be honest, the best help for this is in real life. You can ask the bf counsellor at the hospital again for help - it often takes more than one session for a painful latch to get fixed.

I really think that getting someone who knows what to look for to observe a whole feed is your main option, now.

Of course getting help from a BFC is most urgent but can you also take painkillers just to help you through?
It never occurred to me to take them until I was weeks in and it did really help.
Check for yourself which ones are compatible with BF but I was taking paracetamol and ibuprofen fairly regularly.
Huge sympathy. It will get easier.

Oooh I remember this bit and I felt your pain (including soft fleecy PJ's feeling like sandpaper ). Definitely have the latch checked again - in those early days it's so hard to get them latched on correctly 100% of the time, and I always found just 1 dodgy feed could set me back days wrt being sore. I'd lie there and think oh she'll be done in a minute - it ain't worth taking her off and putting her back on again, but boy did I pay each time I did that.
For the soreness I found getting plenty of air to the breasts was helpful. When out and about obviously this isn't practical so breast shells are worth trying - they just serve to keep the fabric of your bra away from the tender bits. Lansinoh & Mothercare nipple balm were both good for helping make me more comfortable. At our local BF drop-in they recommended whisky! Not drinking it, but applying to the nipples after each feed. I did it after each feed with a clean cotton wool ball, then before the next feed I rinsed it off with warm water. TBH this was my holy grail, last resort soreness treatment and I was significantly more comfortable within 24 hours of doing it.
It does get better

Hi!! i suffered really badly with cracked bleeding nipples with bits of nipple just coming off in chunks!! i used medula nipple shields at every feed for 4 weeks from when little man was 2 and 1/2 weeks old and they worked wonders!! he didnt get any nipple confusion and i wish someone had told me about them earlier before it got so bad!! he is 5 and 1/2 months now and i havent looked back!!BF is a joy now and i couldnt have said that in the beginning!!!! its a pain having to put shields on at every feed and not very descrete but it ment that i could carry on breast feeding which was what i wanted to do!! hope this helps

Sounds like me when DD3 was 10 days old, midwife took a swab of nipple and turned out I had an infection. I hired an electric breast pump and expressed fro
sore boob for a week and DH gave it in bottle. I then started using Avent nipple shields. I used these permanently with DD1and DD2 and did not affect my milk, like wmff difficult to be discreet! Try using them until your boob gets better it will make such a difference. Good luck.

Yes the memories of this stage will not fade for a little while shudders Regardless of the MW assuring me that I had the latch correctly and everything, it hurt like HELL, my nipples cracked and bled, and I remember very clearly being in floods of tears whilst feeding, and curling up in a ball to continue to cry in between.

Get good nipple cream. And coat it on.

Make sure your nipples are dried properly before you cover them back up.

Get nice soft breast pads (the Johnson's ones are a bit more expensive, but are the best I've used).

Finally, and the most difficult one - keep going. Feed through this bit. It really does get better, and within a few days you will be okay again.

(I found biting into a marshmellow whenever I first latched DS on helpful. Strange, but it helped slightly!)

The pain inside the nipple at random times sounds a bit like 'blanching' when the blood supply to the nipple gets cut off during the feed. I posted on here a couple of weeks ago as I was at the end of my tether with it. Mainly due to poor latch. Glad to report that it is lots better now - I did seek 'real life' help though, and it was very much 'one feed at a time'.

Hope you find some answers.