In my experience (bf DS for 10 months, now bf DD who is 7 months) it can be painful even if you are doing everything right. My lovely midwife, when I said to her that I had to grit my teeth and curl my toes every time DS latched, said, 'well yes, no-one tells you that some women just find it excruciatingly painful. But it gets better.' She was right on all counts.
For the first few weeks, be prepared not to do much else. For me both times it was a relentless cycle of feed, nappy, cuddle, snooze, feed again. The hardest things were the lack of sleep, and lack of time to myself. If you can get your head around that and relax into it, that will help a lot.
Lansinoh cream is good, put it on every single time. I used to pop a blob on my breast pad before I put the pad in my bra and that helped. Also letting my nipples air dry after a shower. And soft bras, nothing with wires, and nothing too tight.
Cluster feeding is tough, your baby is putting in their milk order for the future, and getting to know how this whole feeding thing works. They also have a very tiny stomach. My experience of cluster feeding is that baby fed for 30 mins or so, dozes for between 10 and 40 mins, then fed again, repeat several times, for me this went on from 11pm until 3am with DD, but from 6pm until midnight with DS. It lasted about the first 2 weeks with both of them, which doesn't seem that long. But at the time it felt relentless and overwhelming. There is a reason that sleep deprivation is torture. It might seem like they are not getting enough milk, or that they won't settle. Keep going, keep feeding, it will get better. I used to say to myself 'just keep feeding' like Dory from Finding Nemo. For the first two weeks I would strongly recommend you sleep whenever you can. Read up on co sleeping guidelines, and consider it. Make sure you have plenty of pillows, and support, in case you do need to sit up to feed. (My DS would not feed lying down at all, but DD took to it like a champ). Snacks, and entertainment to keep you awake, and if it gets too much, get the baby's dad to take baby and cuddle/wind/change/walk around with for an hour or two while you get some sleep. You can take paracetamol for the pain too. DH can do everything else in the house. You will be in recovery as well as establishing breastfeeding, you need to rest.
Watch out for mastitis. If you get shivers, aches and feel fluey, or get a red spot on your breast, or hard painful lump inside it anywhere, call your midwife immediately. It can sometimes be shifted with feeding, massage and/or pumping but in my case I needed antibiotics.
Get an insulated cup with a lid. Whether you want hot or cold drinks, make sure you have a drink with you always, and drink lots and lots of water. Keep a stash of snacks, and a phone charger close to where you will be spending most of your day. I also set up a little basket of changing stuff so I didn't have to move far to change baby, especially important if you're recovering from a c section.
Good luck op, I hope it goes well for you.