Did you breastfeed? Did it hurt?

[Rachell1]

Hi ladies,

I am preparing for baby number 2 and really really want some advice re breastfeeding.

I pathetically attempted to breastfeed my first for about 2/3 days and gave up because…

1. After just a few feeds on day 1 my nippples were stinging and extremely painful
2. It took one midwife in particular to help get him to latch, me alone and the other midwives could not do it.. he just was not having it at all…
3. I was too exhausted to keep crying and stressing about it (hence why this time I want to go into breastfeeding with some knowledge!)

I was very very upset that I had to stop so soon and really want to try this time round.

So my main 3 questions are…

1. Should I hand express colostrum prior to giving birth so that I at least have some syringes ready in case of latching issues
2. What do I do if baby has the same latching issues as the first, where even midwives aren’t much help?
3. Is it meant to hurt THAT much? If not, what do I do to prevent this?

Any further tips and advice are very much welcome!

Thank you

Hi op hand express some syringes. They were very important for me in the 1st few days as I struggled ds had a tongue tie. Now he's 5 month old and still being breastfed. It hurt to start with as your both getting used to it but after couple of weeks it's OK. If you have a breastfeeding team at your local hospital they were very helpful to me. Congratulations.

Similarly to you I tried to breastfeed my first but I stopped after about 2 weeks. We couldn't get the latch right and my nipples ended up raw and bleeding and it was just too painful.
I've been luckier with my second. Although he was born with cleft lip, he took to breastfeeding straightaway and apart from some slight issues with the latch on my left side, he's been fantastic. We used the rugby hold and a feeding pillow at first to help with this but he quickly got the hang of it and latched well inncradle hold.
It can be painful at first but it shouldn't be unbearable. Use lanolin cream and your own milk to help sooth your nipples. Families and Babies (FAB) are nationwide so may be in your area and offer peer support with feeding. Or ask to speak to the infant feeding team at your hospital.
I hand expressed colostrum from 36 weeks and gave it to him in his first couple of days. I think it helped to fill his tummy and settle him.
Other advice would be the ride out the cluster feeding. You feel like it's never going to end but it does so try to make the most of the cuddles.
Congratulations ❤❤❤

Definitely express colostrum beforehand -- it takes so much of the pressure off once baby is born. Sometimes they need a little bit to get their blood sugar up to have the energy to nurse. Ask your midwife for some sterile syringes or you can buy on Amazon. Freeze 1ml syringes and then defrost in a mug of warm water - easy!

If baby isn't latching after birth, keep expressing colostrum into syringes -- get them from the hospital after giving birth. The hand expression will help your milk come in.

If baby doesn't latch or it's painful, insist on a tongue tie assessment. My son got a very small almost imperceptible tie divided at 8 weeks and it made a big difference.

Use Lansinoh Lanolin cream on your nipples (you can even start now) to avoid them drying out and getting cracked. It's safe for babies to ingest.

It may hurt a bit at first as your nipples aren't used to it, especially if baby is cluster feeding, but it shouldn't be excruciating.

If all else fails, get nipple shields (can order from Amazon if you need them quickly).

Good luck!

I breastfed all three and yes it hurt. The first one was the hardest because I honestly didn’t realise breastfeeding could be so painful. I think it took a couple of weeks before it felt completely natural and easy. After that it was a breeze.

The next two I understood more about proper latching so didn’t get cracked or bleeding nipples but it was still painful while getting used to it again as you do have to ‘toughen them up’ a bit. 1st - 21 months, 2nd - 9 months (he self weaned) and 3rd - 13 months.

I’m pregnant with my 4th and will hopefully breastfeed again.

It did and I switched to nipple shields (not just because of the pain, I have very flat nipples and we were struggling with latch too), they were a godsend and I breastfed with them for the whole 15 months until I stopped. There are downsides, they are a bit of a faff and you have to remember to take them everywhere, but they enabled me to breastfeed when I just wouldn't have been able to otherwise.

Yes express if you can

The latch. That's the key. Look up nct etc YouTube videos on the latch.

Yes it can sting at the beginning. But if it is still hurting by 1 minute then delatch & reposition and try the latch again.

Delatch- your little finger stick in side of baby's mouth & lever the gums open. Remove nipple. No more damage done.

I wasn’t able to express colostrum beforehand but it didn’t affect my ability to breastfeed. So give it a go, but don’t worry if you can’t.

I had to have a lot of help to get a good latch and still struggle with it. DD (now 4 weeks old) had tongue tie and had the snip but still slips down my nipple a lot. I keep persevering anyway - start with breastfeeding, pump and give formula when the other options are exhausted.

Good luck with it.

After a long labour and emergency C section (had planned a peaceful and natural birth!) with my first I was determined to breast feed but really struggled. it wasn't until one midwife sat with me for well over and hour and guided baby("he's a lazy one - doesn't want to do any work himself!") and me through the process that we began to progress. She also grabbed a couple of bottle teats for me to use as nipple shields whilst I was in hospital until I got some of my own. They were a life saver! Didn't magically cure the sore nipples (I think there was a cream called Kamillosan in 1996 which did that!) but definitely prevented the bleeding bit. I used nipple shields in the early days with baby # 2 but by the time #3 came along my nipples were permanently perky and had hardened off nicely and I didn't need them.

I breastfed both for years. It hurt a bit at the start while both baby and I figured things out, yes. But then it stopped.

Yes to harvesting colostrum, did it both times.
If you really want to breastfeed it's worth getting the contact details for a local IBCLC who has much better knowledge than the average midwife.

Definitely try expressing some colostrum before hand, it’ll make you more relaxed to have it on hand.
I think it’s fairly normal for it to be uncomfortable whilst your nipples get used to it but it shouldn’t be painful for long periods of time iyswim?
If it’s painful try and get help with the latch asap because once your nips are injured it’s harder to tell a god latch from a bad one as it’ll hurt because they’re damaged.

Do your research now on what a god latch looks like, watch videos if you can. You want a good amount of breast in their mouth (Not just nipple) and their chin is what helps bring the milk out so it needs to be sort of pressed into your boob.

If you have problems / pain shout early and loudly for help. Get checked for tongue tie (more than once if you need as sometimes it becomes more obvious when a baby grows a bit)

The first few weeks of breastfeeding are intense but after that it gets much easier.

If you can express colostrum then go for it but don’t get stressed about it! I wasn’t able to express any but it didn’t effect breastfeeding at all. My DD is nearly 8 months and still feeding.

Look up videos on how to latch and different positions before hand.

Find and join any local breastfeeding support groups now so you know where to go for support if you need it. I’ve found these types of groups are much more useful than midwives/health visitors.

Its not supposed to hurt, so if you get pain try to reposition ect and seek help if it gets too much. There’s usually a tip or trick that helps immensely.

Hopefully you will get lucky and have a baby that is a natural pro at latching 🤞🤞

Thank you SO much for all of your replies, they have all been incredibly helpful. I will definitely try hand expressing colostrum beforehand, I will never forget last time it took me an hour to fill one of those tiny syringes and keeping in mind baby wanted to feed every 2ish hours, it was so stressful! All I was doing was hand expressing non stop!

Expressing colostrum really helped us as we had latch issues for a few days and it took the pressure off a bit! Not as full feeds obviously but just an extra calorie boost to help settle baby.
For me, being as informed as possible about breastfeeding really helped. I read a couple of books and every page on the kellymom website which is great!
There was definitely pain at the start but I just really tried to focus on feeding through it and making adjustments until it became comfortable. After a few weeks it was second nature! Do not be afraid to ask for help!

Contact a lactation consultant and/or local breastfeeding support before you have the baby, that will be incredibly helpful.

Breastfed all 3 and no it didn't hurt at all. I never understood how lucky I was until reading threads like this on here!
I don't know if having huge nipples helped, but it certainly didn't hinder.
The only discomfort was when I didn't feed for too long and then the feeling of boobs nearly exploding was horrendous.

I hope it goes better for you this time round.

I second everyone saying to contact a lactation consultant! For the first couple of weeks I had to grip DH's hand when baby latched as it was so sore (until I discovered nipple shields, absolute lifesaver - MAM are the brand I got on best with). At about 3 weeks I had help from the lactation consultant and she helped me get him to latch without the shields and with no pain at all, I never even needed Lansinoh after her visit. DS is now 14 months and I'm just starting to think about weaning him - would never have happened without proper support (more specialist than the midwives in hospital could provide).

Yep it hurts at first. You have to grit your teeth for a couple of weeks and they'll toughen up. Also get industrial strength nipple cream.

Yes a few things hurt. The actual suction was pretty intense, the let down was painful, and the rock hard swollen tissue wasn't fun either.

It got a lot better a few weeks in. Let down wasn't so painful, got used to the suction. Still painful if I missed a feeding but I got to know when I needed to sort it.

It was also extremely stressful and upsetting. I vividly remember sobbing about it a few days in and things went fairly smoothly for me. I can only imagine how distressing it would have been if it hadn't.

I couldn’t breastfeed my first for a number of reasons (I tried and tired and it was so upsetting), expressed for 3 months which I found miserable so moved to formula. I felt horrendously guilty for a good year or so! With my second he latched on practically straight away and has hardly come up for air since (he’s now 2yrs old and we’re still breastfeeding!). I had no pain whatsoever and as he was born during the pandemic, no support with feeding. I didn’t get chance to express colostrum as he was born at 36 weeks but I wouldn’t have needed it anyway. Good luck @Rachell1 don't put any unnecessary pressure on yourself

Yes. It hurt. And by day 3 I had DP out at the crack of dawn to get nipple shields for me.

The nipple shields really helped to take the edge off, and gave my nips a bit of a break to heal while I watched endless YouTube about getting the best latch. Eventually I used the shields to start the feed and managed to slip them off part way through and then stopped using them entirely.

We learnt that it can be uncomfortable but shouldn't be painful. If painful, unlatch baby and try again.

I exclusively breastfed and continued until DS was 20 months. I only stopped because I fell pregnant with number 2 and wanted a break.

My advice is to have baby checked for tongue tie as soon as they're born.

Stick at it, it gets much easier - and then it's free, convenient, no sterilising or midnight bottle making at all. Plus it's the best option for your baby.

Following! I could have written your post myself

Exactly the same here. I used nipple shields with DD until she was 2. With my second baby I ditched the shields after about 4 months. I wouldn't have been able to breastfeed either child without them.

Yes I did and no, no pain at all.

I breastfed twice and it was a struggle at the start both times.
DS struggled to latch and I was on the verge of giving up until a midwife suggested lying on my side to feed him with him lying facing me. It was a game changer. Tbh it meant we couldn't go far from home for a few months, but it got easier as his head control improved and then we fed sitting up until he was 1.
DD had tongue tie, so I definitely agree about getting an assessment if you do find you struggle again. Once it was snipped we were absolutely fine.
Beat piece of advice I got was nose to nipple - point your nipple at baby's nose as it makes them open their mouth wide and then quickly push in as much nipple as you can to get a good latch. Worked for us!
Good luck 😊