How long will my nipples be sore?

[Ecoden]

My daughter is 10 days old and has been exclusively breastfed. No paci, No bottles yet. Since day 1 she's been a champ at latching and sucking which is nice but it's always hurt, especially at the beginning of a feed. My latch has been checked and rechecked and it's apparently fine. It was so painful on left side that a few days ago I just pumped left and only fed her from right side. That did help but now I'm getting back to that pain level again. It's so intense I have to labor breathe for a few seconds.

So it's a sharp stinging sensation then it gets comfortable after she settles in and between feelings my nipples are ultra sensitive. Like it,hurts to brush them against clothing. Is this normal? With some googling I got worried it could be thrush but I and baby have no other symptoms. Help! Will this go away?

 

[noon_child]

What you experience in between feeds with ultra sensitivity is more hormone related that latch related. Very normal to not be able to dry yourself after a shower or even want to wear any clothes at all! Many mums just go bare from the waist up to avoid having to put anything against their nipples. It does settle down as hormones settle down.

The pain on immediate latch that gets better as milk flows is very common and usually resolves as you and LO get more experienced however if it is lasting more than the first 30seconds or so I'd say you might want to try a few things to improve your experience and don't get tempted to stop bf.

1) slow letdown of milk can cause baby to chew and clamp on to the breast to stimulate milk and this hurts. As milk flows baby will release this and pain stops. Massaging your breasts prior to feeding her can improve the speed of letdown (use the same massage you would for hand expression) and baby won't clamp down.
2) no matter how great a latch looks from the outside, if it hurts it could be improved. Is there a support group you can access where they could show you the nipple sandwich or the flipple? Sometimes these tricks cause more stress and discomfort than they are worth because rather than relaxing you are trying to learn a new technique and get it right while any is hungry, however they can for some women make a real difference in comfort level.

 

[MrsKChicago]

If you're having that much pain, there may still be a latch issue that just isn't obvious. Has baby been checked for tongue and lip ties? Who's been checking your latch? International Board Certified Lactation Consultants are usually better trained and more thorough than hospital lactation consultants. I've heard great things about chiropractic and craniosacral therapy for nursing pain, too, if you find a reputable practitioner with baby experience. Apparently a lot of babies just need some kinks worked out from birth.

Some women just have a rough time at first, though. From what I've heard, the hormonally based pain and sensitivity usually passes in 3-6 weeks.

If it helps between feedings, Medela makes little protective cups you can put in your bra. https://www.amazon.com/Medela-SoftS...=1429388666&sr=1-1&keywords=medela+softshells

 

[Ecoden]

Thanks ladies this is helpful. I think you've both convinced me to go back to a Lactation consultant. The ones I've seen were certified but now I have some specific things to ask about that you guys brought up. What's weird is that my let down is too fast if anything and today I feel engorgrd again. Sigh. Also the pain is lessening now today and it's always been less than 30 sec. Fingers crossed it's just hormonal and will pass and in the meantime I think I could be more careful about latch. I do use the sandwich by the way.

 

[mrsclt]

Just a thought everyone seems to miss - when you see the consultant, get her to check your nipples to see if they can actually get to the soft palate of bubs mouth. I didn't think I had flat nipples, and google never gave me relevant info for what to look for, but mine dont pull out far enough to reach my sons soft palate, and his little mouth can only take in so much boob. Essentially he was squashing my nipple into the hard palate of his mouth causing vasospasm. This was discovered 2 weeks into feeding and I had similar pain. Pain doesn't always equal thrush. If you do have short/flat nipples, nipple shields will allow you to breastfeed painlessly.

 

[luna_19]

I had severe pain for about 10 seconds or so when lo first latched for the first 2 weeks or so, there was nothing wrong other than I did have an overactive letdown on one side and that side hurt way more than the other. The super sensitivity lasted maybe a month I think, that is very normal in the beginning

 

[noon_child]

Tongue tie and vasospasm would usually present with pain throughout the whole feed. So I think if it is less than 30seconds then it is unlikely to be these. However you mention you are very engorged and this can prevent enough breast tissue going in to the mouth. Then as baby feeds and your nipple changes shape and engorgement lessens a bit baby will get a better attachment.

Like a pp said, letdown itself if often excruciating for the first week or so (but this often presents as breast and nipple pain, not just nipple pain). But happens all at one at the start of a feed then slackens off. You may feel a second or third let down during long feeds. After a week of excruciating letdown, I never even felt my letdown again, didn't know when it was happening!

 

[redneckhippy]

I had so much pain in the beginning I thought it would never get better. I used to cry through feedings. It does eventually become pain free. Mine was more a latch issue but one thing that helped me was changing up holds each time so he wasn't pressing the same area every time.

 

[Ecoden]

Update: after noon_child's second point I realized I was getting lazy about latching her during night feedings. I was basically letting her latch herself and she wasn't doing it right. Now I'm making sure I have a light on and really Get her on and keep her on correctly. I also noticed she was moving so the latch would change mid feed. So half asleep feeding when we weren't ready for it seems to be a huge part of the problem. It's already helping a ton now that I'm paying attention. My right nipple is pain free and lefty is close behind. I'm still going to see a LC to make sure I didn't miss anything else.

 

[MrsKChicago]

I'm glad you're making progress! It's hard to be responsible in the middle of the night, isn't it?

 

[Ecoden]

I'm glad you're making progress! It's hard to be responsible in the middle of the night, isn't it?

Yes it is!

I saw a LC and a few more things came up. Apparently DD had a small mouth and a heart shaped tongue but isn't tongue tied. I was also not holding her hard enough on her upper back so she was moving the latch. I changed holds on the left nipple (the sorest one) to football from cradle and that also helped me a ton. LC also said warm compresses and lanolin after every feed to help the soreness. Anyway I hope this helps others!

 

[cjwn]

My nipples were cracked and sore from a poor latch with both my boys (big boobs, small mouths with slight tongue ties) which was corrected a few days in. Once the latch was good and the feeding properly established it took another 10-14 days for my nipples to heal up and the two seconds of toe curling pain to stop happening. Like you I had to use football hold on one of my boobs (the sorest one) with lots of lansinoh and air time inbetween feeds. The let down pains didn't go away for about four weeks the first time round but I don't even remember them being an issue this time round.

It's amazing when there aren't any pains anymore and everything is going fine and you see them growing and developing all because of what your own body provides for them. Allowing yourself an "I did that" moment is pretty cool.