Only 2 days in and SOOO sore... discouraged.

[wamommy]

I'm trying hard to succeed at breastfeeding baby #4 (1-3 were fails ) and he's only 2 days old and I want to cry when I even think about feeding him. My nipples are raw, bleeding, so SORE and send cold shivers down my spine when the slightest fabric touches them, much less when LO latches on! I REALLY want to succeed this time...

Any tricks to helping nipple pain? I had 2 lactation consultants help me with my latch, and I think it's poor, but as good as it's going to get due to large, flat nipples. Ugh.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[sheldonsmommy]

I feel for you

My son had a good latch and I still got raw nipples. I used Lansinoh religiously and lots of air time. Basically I played through the pain until they started to heal. Maybe 2 weeks in and I didn't have pain anymore.

I have heard good things about nipple shields, but I've never tried them. Maybe something to consider?

 

[lorenare]

For me it was really painful for a couple of days and i was also discouraged like you..i would cry while breastfeeding cos it was a nightmare but i held on...i tried the nipple shields but baby did not like them so decided to continue without them....after maybe 5 days, the pain was gone and now there is nothing i like more than breastfeeding...you could just do it for a couple more days, use a lot of the nipple cream and if the pain continues, you can decide to continue or not...

 

[bcos21]

I swear by nipple Shields. My nipple is flatter and my baby would get so frustrated trying to latch. We have been breastfeeding for 7 months now and he just stopped using it and latching on his own. I was about to switch to formula until I tried it, I was so sore and frustrated.

 

[momofone08]

I have flat nipples and to be honest a nipple shield has been my savior. It gave my nipples a chance to heal while allowing baby to latch without any issues. I tried the tommy tippy ones and the medela and have to say the medela one is the absolute best. I wasn't able to make it more than a week maybe 2 weeks with my other two kids and today I hit my one month BF milestone with baby #3. Don't feel discouraged, it does get better.

 

[angela98661]

Nipple shield work wonders for me i HAD to use them!

 

[Leids]

Congrats on your LO. I was wondering where you went!

Nipple shields are useful but be careful not to rely on them too heavily. I had a lot of pain with my first for a couple of weeks, it sucks really bad but it does get better. If you use a nipple shield then I would rotate between using the shield and not using it.

Here's some good info about nipple shields: https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/wean-shield/

I used a lot of lanolin, warm compresses before nursing and cold compresses afterwards, and let my boobs hang free because clothing killed.

Are you having a lot of pain the entire time you're nursing or just for the first minute or so?

 

[ButterCup17]

Nipple shields def help!! I was raw and bleeding too,it was horrible! I pumped for a few days to let them heal then started using the shields. I use it nearly every time now for the past month

 

[Popples1]

I used nipple shields for a couple of days. I'd have given up otherwise - I was crying through his feeds!

 

[Sarah lo]

Hi hun, congratulations!

I'm 4 days in and pretty sore too. I've been applying lansinoh generously and just pushing through the pain really. I find that its really painful when he first latches on but once he gets going it doesn't hurt so much so I just curl my toes and swear under my breath till the pain stops

The thing that's keeping me going is knowing it doesn't last, with DD I was way worse than this time with scabs opening up every feed and blisters everywhere but i was fine after a couple of weeks once my nipples had toughened up so its just a case of getting to that stage.

I've no experience of the flat nipples thing but I'd definitely give the nipple shields a go x

 

[angelandbump]

Hi, like most the ladies above, I used nipple shields for a couple of days to give my nipples a break. I actually one morning at 2am sent my partner to ASDA to buy a breast pump as I was in so much pain and fed baby with a spoon.
I also swear by the latch assist by lansinoh and their nipple cream (more like wax). I looked online to see if they sell the latch assist in USA and if you have a Walmart near you, they sell them for under $7. All it does is pulls the nipple out to the perfect feeling position and was my life savour as I too have flat nipples.
Just try and keep in there, I know how tough these first few days are but it really does get better. Xxx

 

[Squiggle08]

I feel for you as that was me a few weeks ago. A tip I was given was to express a few drops of milk after a feed and rub into nipples and let dry then apply lansinol, really helped me heal, was quite surprised.