Please help! Very sore!!

[LittleNugget]

My LO is 4 weeks old. I have been EBF since birth and have an abundance of milk (too much sometimes). Since the beginning, I've had very sore nipples that crack and bleed. Everyone said it would get better after 2 weeks, but it has not. They are still extremely painful and my whole breast seems to ache at times. What can I do to relieve the pain? I've used lansinoh religiously after each feed. I'm at my wits end. I don't want to give up because of sore nipples, especially when I've been blessed with tons of milk, but I'm tired of gritting my teeth through each feeding!

 

[missk1989]

Why dont you try expressing and give lo a bottle just the once a day to give a bit more time to heal? Usually I would say you need to express whilst lo feeds but if you have a really good supply then i would say maybe hand express for a few minutes so your body knows you still want the milk and then just keep applying the lansinoh as often as possible whilst lo isnt on the breast. Have you had los latch checked? This is often the cause of sore nips. Really if he is latching correctly you shouldnt still be hurting. I would head to a support group to see if they can help.

 

[leigh5tom]

Has your little one been checked for tongue tie? My nipples looked like they had been rubbed against a cheese grater until my sons tongue tie was snipped. Immediate relief then. Is it painful while your are feeding or just afterwards/between feeds?
Try rubbing some breast milk on them and allowing to air dry, then apply your Lansinoh. I actually used too much Lansinoh when my nipples were sore and ended up with soggy scabby nips. I held off it for a few days and used breast milk & air drying which helped dry the scabs up a bit.

Good luck x x x

 

[hardd2011]

try a nipple shield. my nipples just started getting sore and it helps loads after a few feedings. i use the medela nipple shields which is what they give in the hospital

 

[LittleNugget]

Thank you everyone. I do pump once a day and give her a bottle at night. (I need her to be used to it for when I go back to work.) I went to a lactation class 2 weeks ago. Her latch was perfect. They told me I just needed my nips to "toughen up" and blamed it on my very fair, sensitive skin. If that was the case, how long should that take? There's got to be something I can do in the mean time to help with pain! I haven't tried nipple shields. Definitely might be headed that way though.

 

[Rachel_C]

It's worth getting her latch checked again as babies can get lazy and things always change as they grow and develop. Different BF advisers will spot different things or consider different things acceptable so maybe try a different group. I don't think being fair is a reason for having sore nips - I have very fair and sensitive skin but I didn't really suffer from sore nips much at all so unless I'm just freaky (actually that's quite possible), I don't think it's a given.

Maybe try a different cream. I know everybody recommends Lansinoh but I'm sure there are people it doesn't work for. I just used whatever Tesco's own brand was at the time and it was great for me. Perhaps try using less of it too - as a PP said, sometimes you need them to dry out a bit more than lots of cream will allow.

Something you could try to ease the pain a little is to apply a little bit of baby teething gel to your nips a while before you expect LO to want to feed. It might numb you a bit. Make sure to wipe off any excess before feeding though, you don't want LO with a numb mouth

 

[hardd2011]

Thank you everyone. I do pump once a day and give her a bottle at night. (I need her to be used to it for when I go back to work.) I went to a lactation class 2 weeks ago. Her latch was perfect. They told me I just needed my nips to "toughen up" and blamed it on my very fair, sensitive skin. If that was the case, how long should that take? There's got to be something I can do in the mean time to help with pain! I haven't tried nipple shields. Definitely might be headed that way though.

They work wonders. Depending how you feel you can switch back fast. I took me a day to let them heal a little. I tried today and it feels better. But I have them on hand for if I do get really sore again.

 

[MnMommy]

I would agree and say try the nipple shields. I never had to use them, but I have friends who say they worked wonders. The problem I had with my daughter was I would let her stay latched even after she wasn't eating. If LO is done eating, make sure to unlatch by using your finger to break the suction (don't just pull the nipple out!). If LO still needs to suck, use a paci or your finger. I found that made a difference for me. (I nursed 1 year with my son and am at almost 8 months with my daughter. Just my 2 cents.)

 

[LittleNugget]

She does tend to stay on a long time after she's done eating. That could be causing some of the pain. When I've broken the latch before, she cries like she's not done even though she was obviously asleep. I'll keep trying though. In the end, the pain is worth it to know she's getting good nutrition. Already gained almost 2 lbs since birth!

 

[angelandbump]

I used my lansinoh before and after every feed so maybe give that a try?
Using a shield is great to give your nipple a rest while still being able to feed but try not to let your baby get dependant on it.
I was advised by mums from the BF group a go to that if they have tried giving their baby a bottle, it makes their baby's have a lazy latch for the next couple of feeds after. My son refuses a bottle so I cant say I have personal experience in it.

I hope things improve soon for you xx