Day 4 breastfeeding hell please help

[upsydoosy]

I feel like I've tired absolutely everything and I'm still in agonising pain whenever I breastfeed. Childbirth honestly feels like a doddle in comparison. I have to clamp something between my teeth every time I get baby to latch on so I don't scream out in pain and frighten her.

Is it really going to be worth it in the end?

You're probably going through the worst bit now. Has your milk come in? I promise it does get better.

Firstly - congratulations!

Secondly - has anyone helped you with getting a good latch? Youtube videos can be good if there is nobody. Try lots of different positions too. I could only manage lying down at the height of nipple agony.

Thirdly - Lansinoh cream. Loads of it, as soon as possible after unlatching.

I remember the searing agony and sobbing with every feed. Once I had the Lansinoh and latch routine sorted it improved very quickly (2-3days) and stopped being even the tiniest bit sore after a couple of weeks.

I didn't try a shield but lots of women have had success with them.

It takes a few weeks. I was in absolute agony but honestly it does get better and it's so worth it for both of you in the long run. Xxx

Is it the nipple that's painful? It may well be the latch isn't great. Can you get some face to face support from a breastfeeding advisor and get them to check the latch? In the meantime slather on lanisoh after every feed and use multi mam compresses, they really helped with the pain. It does get better, hang in there

I found feeding my baby (now 8 weeks) incredibly painful at the start; we went to our local breastfeeding support to check his latch and they spotted he had a tongue tie, so perhaps worth getting that looked at too? I used nipple shields (suggested at breastfeeding support) until it was snipped, which helped massively (no problems stopping using them either). Think someone already mentioned the multimam compresses, they were excellent too!

I could’ve written your post 4 days after my little boy was born, OP. He’s now 11 weeks old and I’m still EBF. The agony is now, thankfully, a distant memory. I didn’t change anything; I had the latch checked by several people and all agreed it was good. DS was putting on weight at a decent rate, so I wasn’t worried on that front.

Assuming your latch is OK then you may just need to give it time.

My nipples were so sore that i found it too painful to apply Lansinoh (which I find quite thick). Instead I used coconut oil (LOADS of it!) One day the pain was absolutely intolerable on one side, so I used a nipple shield - just for one day - which really helped.

Good luck, and enormous congratulations!

Coconut oil, Calendula and St. John's wart tincture might help them too. ❤️

I found it extremely painful for the first 2-3 weeks with both children. Then it becomes absurdly easy and pain free. My kids were born small so had tiny mouths, no amount of latch practice could resolve that until they got a bit bigger.

Look up Silverettes - they are expensive but WORTH IT. Had them for baby two and it made a world of difference.

If the latch is good and your nipples are intact (not cracked/raw etc)...that pain when baby first latches is normal. It should just last a few seconds. It's a hormonal thing to do with let down. I remember it was toe curling and I would cringe if baby came off and I had to latch her again. I breastfed 2 babies both fed well with good latches and no issues such as tongue tie etc. also nipples themselves were always fine. Good news is it only lasts about 2 weeks then completely painless. Bear with it if you can. It gets much easier x

Definitely get latch checked. Midwives can have a look, but if you can get yourself to a bf group or call and see if a peer supporter can come to you, that’s ideal. Like others have said, if latch is fine and nipples aren’t cracked/damaged, it’s just one of those things that happens to start at letdown. It isn’t anything you’re doing wrong, just your body getting used to things and it will get better. I found the pain mostly was gone by 2 weeks and completely by 3. I could not have believed it would ever happen to start but it’s truly easy now (my first was mostly ff after a lot of early struggles and it’s definitely easier than bottle feeding once you get through the first couple weeks). If you do have some cracks, I expressed milk after a feed, rubbed it in and let dry, then covered in lansinoh, then more lansinoh before the next feed. Oh I popped ibuprofen and paracetamol like sweets around the clock for the first three weeks, which helped.

Please please seek help, there must be breastfeeding support groups in your area which will be free to attend. Also, yes agree with PPs on the lansinoh cream (the one in a purple tube). It is like magic mending cream for nipples. There are also helplines you can ring. You are probably at the hardest part of having a newborn, it will get better.

I felt like this and decided not to continue bf in the end. It was just too sore. I’d had the latch checked umpteen times by different folk, saw bf support worker etc. I expressed and mix fed for a while then dc went on to formula.

I felt like this at day 4, it was incredibly painful. I had lots of people check the latch, and it was good, let down was just really painful. It does get better, that's the only thing I can say. I went through many tubes of lansinoh until we got to about 6 weeks and it stopped being painful. Day 4 is probably the closest I came to giving up though, cluster feeding and lack of sleep.

Another one to echo what the others have said - it gets so much easier! Stick with it!

That sounds excruitiating poor you! Have you tried the flipple technique? Often pain is causes by a shallow latch.

You’ll get lots of help, and that’s fine. However if you don’t want to go through this and want to switch to bottles, that’s absolutely fine too. You’ve given it a try so no guilt and your baby will thrive

I found it excruciating for the first week then eased up over next couple. DD was small at first and I couldn't use creams. Try breast milk on them if cracked and what everyone else said... ask for help and persevere; can't tell you how much it helped me bond (not that it's the only way) and far outweighs in health benefits.
If you feel you can't continue; get on formula. There's no shame in that and massive congrats for trying!!! As long as baby's loved

I highly recommend Dr Jack Newman's videos regarding latching. No substitute for actual help and advice but for help in the middle of the night!

I promise you it does get easier. I found it excruciating at first - ended up with a staphylococcus infection where my nipple went black and raw and part of it came off. Saw a Lactation counsellor at local children's centre and she told me what to ask for at the doctor surgery and said I needed to feed through it as trying anything else (even the hand expressing as recommended by midwife) would really affect my supply. I ended up with thrush as well which DS caught and all in all it wasn't pleasant at all!!
We got through it though - took around 6 weeks to start feeling better and by 8 all was fine and I was feeding pain free. Hang on in there - it really is worth it. Oh and buy tubes and tubes of lasinoh cream - really does help! Congratulations and good luck

It is painful while your nipples get used to it. I was taking paracetamol to deal at the start. Ensurenlatch is oerfevt every time. Use Lanolin and milk on them. Speak to mws and / or hv. Ask for bf support. Drink plenty of water. Rest when baby rests and whenever else you can.

At 6 weeks pain and difficulties were a distant memory and breastfeeding was easy. I could leave the house with just a spare nappy. No getting up in the night to make bottles. No crying baby as milk was instant. No added cost of formula every week.

I had this too - unbearable but honestly it gets better

I had this with all 3 of mine. A tweak to the latch solved it. Still feeding DC3 and he's 3! Get some lansinoh cream for your nipples, and get your midwife to she k your latch. Worth seeing if there's an infant feeding team specialist/breastfeedingspecialist in your area. I thought I'd never be able to do it but Bf dc1 until 15 months, dc2 until 3.5 and as said earlier dc3 is still going strong.

My DD is 12 weeks old now and after the first few days it was so painful, perhaps take a break from BF and express to bottle fed. I did this as BF should be enjoyable for both of you, at one point i dreaded my DD waking up and wanting a feed. It will keep your milk production up and give your nipples a chance to heal. I felt like such a failure when we had to switch and then moved to a mixture as my milk production didn't keep up (this was after several weeks of expressing). We are now back to BF after over a month of bottle feeding and it only took a couple of days for her to get used to the breast again, she now only has a bottle if she goes out without me and getting hungry. Just because people tell you BF is natural doesn't mean its easy, talk to your breast feeding support team if you have one in your area and remember its ok not to BF, its your choice.

Day 4 is tough. You're tired, sore, realising baby is there to stay, milk on its way or already in, leaking water, milk and blood and then they leave you with a newborn baby to look after!

Can you describe the pain more accurately. Is it on or in the breast? Short-lived or longer, sharp or dull?

Do you have anyone near to you who has BF? Right now you need to surround yourself with people who will help you.

My kids are older, but I clicked on this because the photo on the MN top page is so beautiful. Breastfeeding my children in bed is such a treasured memory.