any other new breastfeeding mums out there?

[sprite25]

Hi! I had my gorgeous baby girl on Saturday morning and very happy but finding it all abit difficult with the breastfeeding. Midwife says she's latching on great but ALL she does is feed or cry. They say to sleep when the baby sleeps but the only time she sleeps is when she's feeding and wakes up as soon as she's put down anywhere and the only thing that stops her crying is feeding her again last night I had 2 hours sleep and hate feeling so exhausted when I have to look after her so much. Any advice on getting her settled somewhere other then on my boob???

Getting the tt snipped might help with pain. My dd had this and feeding was agony, it felt like my boobs were being stabbed with hot pokers when she initially latched on! The snip was painless, she stayed asleep through it so don't worry about that at all. Don't expect a massive improvement straight away, it improved gradually until about a week later I realised that feeding didn't hurt anymore! Would also recommend lots of lansinoh whilst you're waiting for the pain to go, it helps massively (it's also great for dry hands from also the hand washing after nappy changes!)

See if you can get hold of some breast shells - they keep clothing off your nipples while they heal.

Hi, I'm up feeding now - welcome to breast feeding - it's great btw - once it's working!

DS2 was born 2.12.13 and had tt- I fed DS1 till 2yo no worries and was really surprised with the difference in DS1. I think HCPs are dismal on this topic and I'd urge you to follow this up. It causes pain as the baby nipple feeds even if the latch looks OK but also they cannot empty the breast hence get hungry very quickly as not getting any hind milk and hence are unsettled and won't sleep.
Then also knock on effect of not building supply as insufficient stimulation plus risk of mastitis.
Very simple to sort but FWIW I'd say sort early before you're sore/miserable/exhausted and ready to give up- pm me if you like.
Congratulations and keep the faith!!

Lots of good advice here, not least of which it does get better as they get older-although having been up half the night with my 11 week old perhaps not as quickly as I'd like!!

With regards to your emotions, it's totally normal to feel overwhelmed in the first weeks. Your hormones are all over the place. For reassurance you may wish to read about baby blues here

Lastly, congratulations on your newborn and well done on getting this far! Sounds like you're doing a fab job.

Again thanks to everyone for the posts, am currently feeding DD again, been having to use the nipple shield all night as its so so sore. I'm just waiting for the doctors to open so I can call up and won't take no for an answer. I'm not expecting to have her tt sorted and instantly be a pro at breast feeding but am hoping it helps to improve things for both me and DD as the thought that she is getting upset over being constantly hungry is horrible.

I thought I'd better clarify that I'm not normally up half the night!! We have been getting quite a good night's sleep since the six week growth spurt.