How much discomfort is normal?

[MindUtopia]

Everyone always said to me when I was learning about breastfeeding that it should never be painful, and if it is, it means something isn't right. Well, I've been BF my nearly 2 week old and I find that the first minute of every feed hurts, but after that, it's painless. I have pretty shy flat nipples that don't grow until a few minutes into a feed and so I've been mostly using a nipple shield. Is it a bad thing that it hurts for that first minute or so? Or is that normal as long as the entire feed isn't painful?

Also, how long did your baby spend at the boob in the first few weeks? She was spending anywhere from 20-60 minutes feeding every 2-3 hours this past week, but now it's becoming more like 15-35 minutes every 2-3 hours. She seems very content and sleeps in between, so I'm assuming she is just feeding for a shorter duration because she's getting more in that shorter period of time, but I do worry she isn't eating enough. She gained weight slowly and we have another weigh-in tomorrow, so I guess I'll know how much weight she's put on then but still I worry she's not getting enough. I should add she isn't sucking the whole time, she sucks vigorously sometimes, just seems to lap at the breast other times, and then will nap for a few minutes here and there too, so it's not like 20 minutes straight.

 

[Skittleblue]

My LO is 4 weeks old, and I still have the pain right at the beginning for about 10 seconds or so, and then it's gone. I don't think I ever had it for more than 10-15 seconds except for that first week. I asked my mom, who bf 3 babies for a year or so each, and she always had that right at the beginning of a feeding.

As for the time, not sure, but I've noticed the same thing. I've decided that either there's more milk, and she isn't having to wait OR she's just gotten more efficient at getting it out.