Does breastfeeding always hurt?

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No judgement about no BF please.

I am considering trying for the benefit of the baby but not pushing myself because I read lots about it being painful and quite frankly I think pregnancy and birth is enough. It would be great to share the responsibility of feeding with DH and have the tiniest bit of freedom by not being the feeding machine.

Not sure if formula is an alternative or if I have scared myself about breastfeeding.

It was very hard for me in the early weeks - and exhausting- but for me personally it was worth it for all the benefits (practical and health related).

Can't lie that it was very sore the first 3 months, but we were probably unlucky dealing with a few things like jaundice that made it hard for her to feed initially. A lactation consultant really helped. After that it's been great because it's so convenient and still going at 21 months.

First baby yes it hurt so much I would start crying when he started crying for a feed. I got through it though and then it was great and we continued until 15 months.

Second baby didn't hurt at all, his latch was perfect from the get go.

I had my DS in the dark ages - 28 years ago!!! No Social Media stuff to concern me! I wasn't in a group of other young mums for support as we had just moved areas.
I just assumed breast feeding was what you did - I didn't worry about latching on or pain as I had no idea about any problems.
It was fine. No pain. No problems. Easy peasy.
Maybe it's a mind set?
Good luck.

It didn't hurt me at all until he went through a biting phase at around 6 months but even then it didn't hurt that much

For the first couple of weeks I had a pins and needles type feeling when my milk “let down” but after that it was only painful on the odd occasion where she’d be feeding all night and then nipple cream helped

Currently bf my 4 month old. I would say it took us up to about 10 weeks before it felt easier. We didn’t have the best start due to jaundice and phototherapy so I didn’t get established until after discharge at 4 days old. The support networks also aren’t available as usual due to Covid. I had major latch problems and it was only due to sheer perseverance and guilt from failure to feed my first that kept me going this time. It used to make me take a sharp breath in due to the pain of latching on but it did ease after a couple of minutes. Now, it’s so easy especially at night when I don’t have to move out of bed. But I do have a very clingy baby who won’t nap during the day and I find myself having to feed all the time as he gets very grumpy and that takes its toll as I’m the only one that can do it. Bf is a very emotional journey. I would also ignore the advice of not introducing bottles etc because of nipple confusion. I’ve always given a bottle of formula in the evening just to have a break and know that he will take a bottle and we’ve had no issues.

You've definitely scared yourself. Of course it's peculiar, sometimes uncomfortable and sometimes painful to start with because it's something you, your baby and your boobs haven't done before despite being designed to do so!

You have to remember it takes time to get used to it, getting the position right and used to the feeling took me from 'uncomfortable to utterly comfortable' and a combined total of 6 years of breastfeeding (3 DC)...I'd go for dog walks, baby in carrier suckling away as I walked! Try not to worry about it before you've even had chance to get try it, let alone get used to it and don't put pressure on yourself to be a natural from the word go. Xx

3 children all breastfed and never had sore nipples once. No cracks no bleeding and never faffed with nipple creams. Last one had a tongue tie and shallow latch but even that was fine!
Did have very fast let down and babies spluttering/sprayed with milk in early weeks which was comical and distressing in equal measure.

@IamMaz

I had my DS in the dark ages - 28 years ago!!! No Social Media stuff to concern me! I wasn't in a group of other young mums for support as we had just moved areas. I just assumed breast feeding was what you did - I didn't worry about latching on or pain as I had no idea about any problems. It was fine. No pain. No problems. Easy peasy. Maybe it's a mind set? Good luck.

Not sure about that. I’m a midwife with additional infant feeding training. I assumed t would be easy for me. I still found it a bit unpleasant. But we got through it and I’m very pleased we did.

I didn’t feel any pain whatsoever.

Beware the breastfeeding horror stories! The internet seems full of them - motivated by spite in many cases*

I’ve fed 3 babies for extended periods (ie past 2 years) and breastfeeding isn’t painful. It’s lovely - and makes life easier. I also found it gave me a good chance to relax.

The only time I can think of any discomfort is right at the very beginning with my first baby when my milk first came in so it was harder for her to latch on. After that, we learned together. Breastfeeding gets established by 12 wks and then make veg through stages as baby grows.

If you want your partner or someone else to ‘have a turn’ then you can pump off some milk but I really couldn’t be arsed to do that (did it once) and my DH helped by fetching baby for night feeds and doing the night-time nappy changes.

(*Yes, I know a few women do have problems but that’s not the norm. Most don’t but we don’t hear so much from them because everything went ok. )

For me it was agony for 5 days and suddenly it just stopped hurting and was absolutely fine, even pleasant!

Make veg?? Wtf! 🤣 I wrote “moves”

Thanks predictive text - not 😅

It has never hurt for me but getting started was tricky as DS wasn’t very well and too weak to latch. But once we got going it was fine and I was glad I always had my boobs to hand!

For my first child, it was excruciating at times in the first few weeks. But I’ve now been breastfeeding for five years and, like labour, can barely remember the early pain (although the initial matches of the first two did make me think - yup, ouch, that stings, I remember that)

It doesn’t work for everyone, I have NO judgement about how you feed your baby, but if you give it a try and then switch it’s fine.

There are plenty of ways for dads to bond with their children too.

With my first baby it was incredibly painful. But I am so pleased I stuck with it, because it gets so much easier.
We did formula top ups, which helped give my nips a rest.
Good for you for wanting to try. Everyone’s bf experience seems so different xx

I actually couldn't BF due to low supply (yes it is actually a thing) but experienced no pain whatsoever. There's no harm in trying. With my second I suspected I'd have the same issue (and I did) but I still BF just for as long as I could/baby wanted to and supplemented with formula from the beginning. You don't have to do one or the other.

It hurts emotionally when you find out your have insufficient glandular tissue causing extremely low supply - like @letmetakeyoudancing it is a thing and needs to be addressed!
But no, I never had any physical pain.

I breast feed my 3 children first too very easy latch great no pain.
My last baby I was scared every time he was hungry. I would cry sometimes as it was very painful. Cracked nipples etc but I bought some shields and that helped. On bad days I expressed the milk and gave him a bottle. I was determined. After a few weeks things started to get comfortable and I managed for 9 months.
The only way is to try. It helps a great deal with digestion, babies suffer very little or no colic, they gain weight fast, it's free and helps you lose weight or return to shape.
It is a lovely experience but not for everyone.

Remember that people come onto forums when they want to ask for advice - you'll get a slanted view of things that way as all you'll hear about it problems.

I had some pain with DD for the first 2 weeks - she was small at birth and struggled with latching. But they grow quickly, and it eased off after 2 weeks and wasn't at all uncomfortable after a month as her mouth had grown and she could latch comfortably. Even at it's worst, it wasn't agony, just sore when getting her on, and I considered that a small price to pay for not having to sterilise and make up formula! It's the ultimate convenience - always ready when you want it, you can't forget it, costs nothing....

It's not all or nothing either. I'm expecting twins, and hope to combination feed once I've got things established. I never really bothered with that with DD1 (like I said, its so convenient if it's working well!), but she was quite happy taking a bottle from my DMum, or my DH when she was a bit older. So maybe give combination feeding a try - you can either express or use formula, your choice. It means your DH can have a turn, you're not just a feeding machine, but you have the convenience of breastfeeding if you can't be arsed to make up a bottle!

I think you may have scared yourself a bit. If you're imagining agony, that's pretty unlikely. You can always give it a go, and if you don't like it, just stop!

I have breastfed my 5 and have had nipple pain for the first week after each. Also, they’ve been engorged initially which can be sore but I’m not sure if this is a thing even if you don’t breastfeed anyway?

I find the BF itself fine, the occasional sharp almost stabbing pain when she isn't latched properly, but by the end of some days (when she's feeding for eternity) my nipples feel as though they're on fire.

We also pump twice a day & baby has a bottle of expressed in the evening (nice break for the nip) from dad so they have some time together and she can have her vitamin D (she won't take it off the syringe without spitting it out so this kills two birds).

I did also have help from the feeding team due to her looking like she was feeding but actually just there for comfort so I think that helped our latch. In the first few weeks we combination fed between boob, expressed and formula just to get her weight to but we're all happy now!

I found it sore but tolerable, and it didn't last long. About two weeks of being uncomfortable I think and then it suddenly stopped hurting. My best advice is lots of lansinoh (hope I've spelled that right) nipple cream between feeds and if it's really painful, try unlatching and relatching.

The first two weeks it hurt quite a lot for the first minute after she latched, no issues with the latch, no tongue tie, she was just a milk monster. I never had cracked or bleeding nipples, and never had mastitis thankfully, but once my supply calmed down (over supply) and her feeding calmed down at around 2-3 weeks it was absolutely fine. My DH would take her after feeds to burp, change etc, and I work or go back to sleep. Fed until 8 months old, we did a mix of expressed milk and breast initially, but then I got lazy and just did breast because it was easier for me.