How long can this last?

[Tigerlily01]

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[luna_19]

Hang I'm there it will get better! Are your nipples damaged or.just sore? Mine were very red and raw feeling for a few weeks, expressing some milk onto them and letting them air dry really helped. I also had severe pain for a few seconds right when he latched for about two weeks. If your nipples are damaged I would look into whether you are dealing with a lip/tongue tie just to rule it out. If you can see an IBCLC they are much more educated than a regular LC. As for the latch just keep working on it. Stick to the basics, tummy to mummy, nose to nipple. It helps when they are so tiny to kind of point the nipple to their nose then drag it down to make them open their mouth nice and wide. Also a nipple sandwich can help (hold your boob to make it flatter). You may need to try 10, 20 or more timest o get a good latch but keep at it. Baby will learn, you will learn, before you know it you will both be pros.

I would keep offering the right side every other feed, maybe work on a latch for 15 minutes or however long you have the patience for then pump if baby isn't latching. One day you will get it and never look back

 

[mara16jade]

I also do the nipple sandwich and bring my nipple from his nose down to his mouth when his mouth is open.

The beginning is so hard, and painful.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. In the first few weeks I actually had to wait for him to cry (which didnt take more than about 30 seconds) to get him to make a nice big mouth and then get my boob in there fast. I felt horrible doing that, but even his pediatrician said to do whatever works, he'll learn. And he did. He cried since he wasn't latched, and obviously stopped crying and was content once he got a hold of the boobie.

 

[CupcakeBaby]

Feeding my DD was super painful for a few weeks but her latch looked good and she fed well.

I dreaded every feed and would sometimes go to latch her on then get scared and pull back! I had to just curl my toes and grit my teeth to get through the pain at the start.

It hurt for a few weeks. Until my bleeding stopped.

Looking back now I think it's your hormones that make them so sensitive as I get the same pain now when I ovulate. (Have gone on a mini pill which means I don't ovulate which is great as each month it was painful enough to make me hate BFing for a few days)

Hang in there mama.

Maybe when you're feeling brave see if you can feed on the right. Baby will get milk out much better than the pump can and you might find some relieved from the engorgement. Xxx

 

[noon_child]

Are your nipples a healthy 'nipple' shape when they leave his mouth or do they look flattened, pinched or angled? My LO did not have a tongue tie (so she could do what she was supposed to with her tongue) but still clamped on with her gums anyway and the pain was horrible and my nipples came out funny shapes. I dreaded every feed and this made it worse because like pp said I'd be flinching at the exact moment where I needed to be shoving her right on and I'd get a worse latch because of it. I think part of it was that she was a very small baby and so got easily swamped by milk so she clamped down to slow the flow. One breast was much more painful and difficult but as she got bigger and wanted more milk faster this became her preferred side - so I diagnosed a faster flow that side and her clamping on started to make sense. Annoyingly clamping on meant she didn't use her tongue properly and got tired at the boob very quickly and frustrated when milk didn't come fast enough later in to the feed!!!!

What helped was
1) Painkillers - there are types you can take
2) Lansinoh - or other lanolin creams
3) Don't panic to latch him ASAP - make sure you are ready, have prepared yourself for the pain and made the decision that you will latch him on and this lessens the flinch reaction
4) Time - when LO got bigger (10 weeks ish) the pain went and she started latching properly.
5) LLL and NCT volunteers. Just having them nearby helped. One cuddled LO while I cooked and ate food, as it was 3pm and I'd eaten nothing all day!

 

[Tigerlily01]

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[Tigerlily01]

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[Tigerlily01]

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[Tigerlily01]

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[Shandelion]

It really does get better. I despaired of it, too...I cracked and bled for two weeks. The scabs caused blocked ducts. I always held my breath and ground my teeth while he latched on, and he has always nursed hourly.

Then one day, around two weeks old, they were suddenly healed and never hurt again. Breastfeeding has been wonderful and brings more laughs than any other part of his infancy.

Seriously though, you'd think nature would come with a better design than cracking, bleeding and engorgement to feed our offspring.

 

[noon_child]

Are your nipples a healthy 'nipple' shape when they leave his mouth or do they look flattened, pinched or angled?

I do notice they sometimes look a tiny bit angled, but the LCs have all commented that my nipples look just right after they observe a feed (without my asking about it), so I guess I'm not really sure. They don't look pinched, white, or angled as severely as lipstick, but they do have a tiny angle to them, which I assume is from his tiny mouth? There's just not much room in there, I'd imagine.

That angle, although tiny, could be the source of the pain. You are right, when the whole nipple doesn't go in to the highest part of the palette it gets flattened in one spot and this is esacially hard to correct when their mouths are so small. As I say, for me I just had to wait till she grew big enough to feed comfortably. I hope for you his happens soon!