Breast feeding day 4

[Sweetpea86]

Hi, my little girl is 4 days old. I gave up on breast feeding with my little boy before now coz the pain was too much.
This time in a better frames of mind and it's going well.

Last night she cluster fed all night s so my left breast has cracked and is very sore.

My latch is fine I had c section so being doing football hold.

Every advice page is saying it shouldn't hurt and even tho my latch is okay still can be painful. Is this normal because I'm starting to feel like I'm failing again.
I thought maybe coz my milk is coming in and there becoming a bit swollen this is also why they are getting sore.

Any advice tips I desperately want to stick to this

Congratulations!

I found it painful for a good few weeks to be honest. I know that everyone says it shouldn't be, but for me it was. Latch was OK, we had a feeding consultant visit a few times to check. I just bought loads of Lansinoh and powered through. By about 3 or 4 weeks it was much, much better.

Don't believe anyone that says if the latch is fine it doesn't hurt. Dd and I had perfect latch and it was still horribly painful for 6 weeks. Lansinoh nipple cream and warm showers to help with engorgement, and I promise you this - if you stick it out it gets incredible. By the time she was 2 months we were old hands at feeding, and now at 4 months I couldn't imagine having to make bottles up. Stick at if you can, you're doing so well!

Congratulations on your new LO Sweetpea

Yiu are right to say that it shouldn't hurt. Yiu say your latch is ok, just wondering how you know? Has someone checked? Has LO been checked for Tongue Tie too?

Hace a read of this on healing nipples. You might also find Biological Nurturing helps, there are some videos on YouTube.

Is there a BFC locally to you or have you called one of the Bfing Helplines?

It hurts because it is a brand new and unusual sensation in a very tender part of your body. If you can be as stubborn as you can, it DOES pass very soon and it will be fantastic and very special 🙂 Spend a lot of bonding time together, preferrably lounging around in bed, to get through the painful time.

I have three dc and each and every time it was very painful to start with, but it soon passed and was worth it. You can do it! 👍👍

Congratulations on your baby! I was lucky that I had a midwife who admitted that it did hurt! Anyone who says it doesn't either had nipples of leather, or is lying. My little one had an excellent latch from the get go and it hurt like fuck. Around day 7 I was able to feed without holding my breath and biting my top through the feed. By 2 weeks it wasn't painful anymore just a touch uncomfortable. By week 3 it was painless! You're doing amazingly. It really is incredibly painful at the beginning. Lansinoh lanolin cream is the only thing that got me through it. And also knowing that I could shop at any point and that was ok too. I formula fed my first who is now a very advanced 3 year old so I know it isn't poison!

Thanks ladies. Yeah since being in hospital I've asked midwives to watch me late on and visits at home and they all have said latch is fine. I had the latch ok last time.

Even right after theatre after section I breast feed straight away.

I can't understand how it can be completely pain free not every day you have a baby drinking milk from breasts. I'm being realistic and i know it's going to be a tough few weeks. I just needed reassurance that I'm not the only one who it's painful for. Think it's all the cluster feeding early hours. She's been feeding every 3 hours through day and I've had to get her too. Yet night she's constantly feeding. I just remember last time sat watching the clock and dreading next feed this time I'm trying not to do it and stay calm lol x

Thanks for your help and support xx

You know you can take paracetamol OP? Might help a little bit

Have you tried lansinoh nipple cream? I couldn't have survived without it.

Yup, my ds had a good latch but the first few weeks were still very very painful and I wasn't having to contend with also healing from a c section! Well done OP, keep going, it is painful and exhausting at first but I promise it gets so much easier and becomes easier than bottle feeding. Like you, I gave up bf with my first because it was painful, difficult and I was given bad advice but persisted with ds and it has been so worth it. Also recommend lansinoh nipple balm, it helps ease the pain.

Thanks yes taking paracetamol as well as codine ibrophfen thanks to section. I'd take section pain over nipple pain lol

Yes I've got cream. I'm determined to stick with it thank you

Took at least 3-4 weeks for pain to subside here and bf consultant checked latch and it was fine. Their jaws are very strong and our nipples are very soft and it hurts. I used lansinoh cream, frozen peas, paracetamol and bit down on a tube of cream to get me through. Then one day it was suddenly ok. I also expressed and gave milk in a bottle to help nipples heal in between.

You're doing fab and for her to be going 3 hours during the day is great too.

It's crazy but midwives aren't the best source of advice on breastfeeding, they're not well trained. None of the midwives I saw even mentioned tongue tie, and DS's was diagnosed by a breastfeeding counsellor at a drop-in.

Definitely go to a few breastfeeding clinics / drop-ins, there will be breastfeeding counsellors and/or lactation consultants who can observe a feed, assess for tongue tie and give you plenty of help and advice.

The drop-ins were a lifesaver for me, not just because of the tongue tie diagnosis - it would still have been helpful because I got advice on latch, positions etc. They were all lovely, too, which is so valuable in the exhausted, overwhelmed, tearful early days.

Both mine had good latches, gained weight in the first 5 days and continued to successfully end for 5m and now 12m and still going. It hurt like hell for the first few weeks at every latch. Literally toe curling. Also my nipples cracked and bled both times. The skin just isn't used to being constantly wet and sucked on. Lots of lansinoh, grit your teeth, get support if you feel you need it. You will get there. It takes determination and perseverance.

Ebf not end.

C section mum here: best pieces of advice I got were to feed in biological nursing position (basically reclining enough that baby doesn't need to be firmly held), learn to feed lying down, and to remember that the nipple is 360 degrees so it's possible to feed baby lying down with their feet towards your head. I know that sounds bizarre but it cleared my blocked ducts beautifully!

Yep it hurts. I don't know why people insist on saying it doesn't, that puts people off continuing - it took a couple of weeks both times for the pain to go away. For me It was a combination of my nipples getting used to it and my babies managing to open their mouths better to take in more of the nipple. I had my latch checked lots of times and I was always told it was fine.

Lots of lanisoh cream, breastmilk on the nipple and airing them helped me, but it took time

Have you tried breast shells? They were a life saver for me as they stop rubbing on bra. Honestly stopped my soreness within 24hrs

My advice is layers and layers of nipple cream and nipple shields! Without Nipple shields I would have given up breastfeeding, some ppl on here slate them but I had no problem latching on without them after I'd done with them, good luck!