Please help, i'm so sore :(

[mspotter]

So dd is now 2 days old and she started bf'ing like a total champ straight away.
Today tho my nipples are so sore im really struggling to feed her. Its worse when she first latches on and i was really worried that she wasnt latching properly but i cant see any nipple at all and her cheeks are puffed out and dont look like she's pinching them in or anything.
How about nipple shields would they help while i heal a bit? I'v got some lansinoh cream on at the mo to try and heal them up.

 

[holdontohope]

I use nipple shields because my preemie won't bf or latch without them. It hurts for the first couple minutes as my milk lets down, then its pain free. My baby will only latch on the nipple of the shield though, not the areola at all. We are still a work in progress.

If your baby is latching the whole areola, I wouldn't use the shields because it might confuse her and cause more of a down fall then help.

I use that cream too, it helps. But I am noticing more and more that it is hurting less. I think nipples just need to toughen up a bit for bf.

Good luck!!

 

[Pielette]

I agree, my nipples needed to toughen up too.

If she's latching well I would probably not want to introduce nipple shields - they're great in certain circumstances but it sounds like you're doing well and I wouldn't want to confuse the issue. That said some people swear by them! Personal choice I think.

I remember yowling in pain every time my LO latched on to start with, it was awful, and again I knew the latch was good. It was just a case of toughening up. I think it got measurably better around 2 weeks and just kept improving. Now I barely feel it.

Keep smothering your nipples in lanolin, a little bit of breast milk also helps and walk around topless. I couldn't stand to have anything touching my nipples in the early days.

Just think to yourself, one feed at a time.

 

[VGibs]

Try switching positions. Like, if baby has been latching well in a cross cradle then give the football hold a try. Are your nipples cracked? Have they been pinched or come away from babies mouth looking flattened or creased? Do you have any blisters? Cold compress may relieve some of the pain but I would try getting a deeper latch first. Your latch may be excellent but your nipple may be hitting the hard palate in babies mouth instead of the soft.

 

[noon_child]

I think if it only hurts for first 30 secs or so you don't have a latch issue, but using shields could cause one. If pain is throughout feed or gets worse then could be poor latch or thrush.

 

[luz]

I know it hurts so bad! I used to cry when my lo would wake up because I knew it meant he wanted to eat. Hang in there though! It will get better I promise. However, it will probably get worse before it gets better. My nipples looked like they were falling apart and would bleed. Keep using lanishoh after every feeding. My pain went away around day 10

 

[sue_88]

It does hurt !! I've been there too, in fact day 2 was also the day I broke down and said I can't do it because it hurts and stings so much...

IT GETS BETTER!!! So much better.

That stinging pain goes within a few days, then the initial latch pain went after 3 weeks. I know that length of time seems daunting but it will fly....trust me.

Try not to introduce shields, you could just be causing more issues. I just bit my tongue through it, and SO MUCH lansinoh, warm water too!

Persevere hun, it gets better X

 

[sue_88]

Oh, and cold savoy cabbage leaves in your bra - stuff the breast pads!!! Don't know why the work but they do!

 

[Squiggy]

For some reason my 8-day old still can't latch so we use the shields.
However, I have to agree that the first few days of breastfeeding are the worst, then it does indeed get better. Baby has different sucks, he usually starts out sucking really hard then once comfortable he gets much more gentle.

 

[counting]

Here are my favorite 2 links for latching a newborn painlessly. The animation at the top of the page on the first link is a good visual, and the second link is a detailed step by step with pictures on how to achieve it. My big question is always do your nipples look like a tube of lipstick after LO nurses? If so you could benefit from working on her latch some as this will gradually cause more pain and damage as time goes on. The other is have someone take a look when she nurses to see if they can see the inside pink of her bottom lip. Babies do nurse frequently and vigorously in the beginning, but you are doing great momma keep it up.

https://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-...tch-resources/
https://www.lalecheleague.org.nz/temp...escription.pdf