# Talk to me about initial breastfeeding pain



## Partaria (Sep 7, 2010)

Hi Mamas,

Hoping to get some feedback on your experiences with the early days of breastfeeding so I can make some decisions on my breastfeeding relationship with DS.

Here's the 411--

DS is 2.5 weeks old. We've breastfeed exclusively, and it has always hurt pretty badly.

I've had lactation consultants and counselors check the latch and evaluate us. They cannot find any evidence of a bad latch, of tongue tie, nor of thrush. I've also been told I don't have mastitis, another thing that might cause bf'ing pain.

Everytime he latches on, I scream out it pain. It is excruciating. It gets a little better as he sucks, but typically, I'm gritting my teeth or crying through the whole feeding. Afterward, the breast sometimes still hurts for a little while.

We've tried all the holds- cluth, cross cradle, cradle, and biological (laid back) nursing. The latter was successful with no pain for about a day, and after that, it just, for some reason, didn't seem to *work* anymore. We had as much pain with that as with other positions.

I rub breastmilk on my nipples after each feeding, let them air dry, then slather with lanisoh. I've also tried soothies, although they stick to my nipples too much and hurt when I try to take them off.

I've had no bleeding so far.

I am getting really frustrated because I'm not sure what to do. I've read that on the one hand, bfing should never hurt, and if it does, it means we're doing something wrong. BUT, the same people who tell me that also say that it can hurt a lot in the beginning.

I'm having a lot of trouble, at this point, reconciling those two statements. How long should I put up with this pain and chalk it up to just beginning adjustment pain? At what point do I say, 'no, this still hurts and there is something wrong. i need a third and fourth opinion on things like tongue tie and thrush.'

What was your experience in the beginning? How long did it hurt? Does it get better as babe's mouth grows larger? How long would you gut it out through the pain before starting to insist that there is indeed something else wrong, even if the doctors, midwives, and LC's you've seen already say there isn't?


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## katelove (Apr 28, 2009)

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time. I would say, based on my experience as both a midwife and a breastfeeding mother that breastfeeding should not be *excruciatingly* painful. But that the pain is not always caused by something obvious. I do think that it can still be mildly (to moderately) painful in the early weeks even if there is nothing wrong.

If you're experiencing excruciating pain then I would say there is something wrong. Is your nipple deformed at the end of a feed? Does it look like the end of a lipstick? I'm wondering if your babe may be bunching his tongue at the back of his mouth rather than pushing it forward over his bottom gum. Another possibility is an unusually shaped palate. I would suggest an evaluation by a speech pathologist experienced in assessing breastfeeding babies. With either of these problems the latch may look perfect from the outside.

If your nipple isn't deformed then dermatitis of the nipple is another possibility. This can be caused by something you've previously applied to the nipple or just irritation from the baby's mouth and saliva. A week of steroid cream will often clear it up.

I would definitely keep looking for answers. It took me several months to get my daughter's tongue bunching diagnosed but, once we knew what it was things just kept improving.

Also, how long are you planning to breastfeed for? Something which really helped me was to keep reminding myself that I was going to do child-led weaning so even 1, 2, 6 months (as it turned out) of pain was still a short term problem in relation to the full duration of breastfeeding.

All the best. I hope you can find an answer soon.


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## savithny (Oct 23, 2005)

I really wish the intro breastfeeding material didn't say "If it hurts for more than the first few days, you're doing something wrong."

I have talked to far too many people who were successful breastfeeders who strongly disagree with that statement to believe it is true. I think it is lying to expecting mothers, and I think it probably ultimately causes women to stop nursing in the first few weeks because they think they're "doin' it rong!"

For me, I had toe-curling pain at latch for at least 3 weeks with my first, and it may have been longer. It was like a sharp jolt, that faded as the nursing session progressed. And I worried and worried that this was some awful sign that all was not well. And then I found other people saying that yeah, it hurt for several weeks, at least. And they recommended things that helped -- Lansinoh, rubbing milk in after baby unlatched, letting skin dry completely before closing up the bra, etc. And with time, things toughened up until I was no longer in pain, and then with more time, I wasn't even uncomfortable.

ALL THAT SAID: Serious pain that persists does make me wonder if something else is going on. Are you using any creams? Everyone recommends Lansinoh, but lanolin is a fairly common allergen. Have you asked about/looked into Renaud's Syndrome? When you say "your breasts hurt" afterwards, are you saying your *nipples* hurt, or the *whole breast* hurts? Might you have a plugged duct?


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## lach (Apr 17, 2009)

Every single person I know in real life had a lot of pain the first 4-6 weeks. On the two other parenting message boards I frequent (one cruchy lite, one very mainstream but still with a very pro-BFing culture), almost everyone agrees that the first few weeks are extremely painful. The ONLY place I've come across people who swear they had no pain was here on MDC. And, yes, I (and most of my friends IRL, I can't vouch for people online) had superb lactation advice.

I think it's great that there are people out there who experienced no pain, but given that this does not seem to be in any way usual or common, I really wish that people would stop saying that breastfeeding doesn't hurt initially. I think it causes a lot of unnecessary stress, and probably encourages a lot of women to give up breastfeeding, assuming that they're doing it wrong.

If you're getting the lactation support you need, and everything seems to be checking out, all I can say is that, yes, the pain is normal and all you can really do is plug through it. It stops, like magic, one day: you grit your teeth and stick your boob in baby's mouth, and suddenly realize that it no longer hurts. FWIW it hurts for additional children, but not nearly so much or for so long.

If you're still experiencing a lot of pain at 6 weeks, I'd say that's unusual and you should seek out more support. Until then, just slather on that lanolin like your life depended on it.


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## babynatasha (Sep 25, 2008)

For me, it hurt a lot for the first few weeks. My daughter had a bad latch and I would come away with blisters and bleeding. It hurt so bad, I would also get the first jolt of pain that would slowly dwindle away. I don't know how long it went on for, but I stuck it out. After a while, 2,3,4,5 weeks??? it stopped hurting. On the plus side with child #2 I had no pain at all. Not one single bit


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## Bena (Jan 26, 2008)

True, true, sooo true!!!

I could've written that post myself! (the one below, since I'm so good at this quoting thing!!)

DH joked that I need a epidural for breastfeeding! I had a completely medication free (not even a glass of wine or an advil), fast and furious birth with tearing and all the gore, and honestly, breastfeeding was the most painful thing I ever went through in my life.

But you know what, it doesn't last. No kidding....it got better and better, and DD was exclusively BF'd for 6 months, and 19 months later, we're still going strong.

Your post even made me a little teary eyed, I am empatising with you so much right now! So please, please know that you are not alone!!

Hugs

xoxo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *savithny*
> 
> I really wish the intro breastfeeding material didn't say "If it hurts for more than the first few days, you're doing something wrong."
> 
> ...


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## foreignerforlife (Aug 6, 2010)

I had excruciating pain for the first five weeks, even after multiple midwives told me everything looks fine. I took ibuprofen in the evenings to survive the nights, and started a two-hour feeding routine, using only one breast per session, so each got a four-hour break in between. Then one day I realized I wasn't in pain anymore. Good luck and hang in there!


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## konayossie (Jul 29, 2010)

Since I don't think anyone has suggested it, I'll throw out a couple of possibilities that I think contributed to my own experience of awful, toe-curling pain for the first several months of BFing. This assuming that you're not having cracked, bleeding nipples and that they don't look deformed after a session (which would indicate latch problems)....

1. Small mouth--apparently some babies have really small mouths, which can be quite painful for mama. I have read this online from several mamas of small babes; have not heard it from an LC or "professional," so I don't know if it's scientifically proven....

2. Reynaud's/vaspospams. Check out this link on kellymom and see if it sounds like it might relate to you (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/nipple-blanching.html). If this is your problem, unfortunately there's not much you can do but keep your chest warm. Mine did not really seem related to temp so much and got better over time.

My experience with early breastfeeding was excruciating once I was no longer taking major pain killers (I had a c/s). Mine sounds like yours--excruciating at latch on (I wanted to cry), got better as the session went on. Some residual pain just afterwards. I hunted on the internet so hard trying to figure out what was going on, but all the pros said our latch was good, I didn't have symptoms of thrust, etc. It was so frustrating. I just toughed it out, and then around 5 months or so, I realized that it didn't hurt anymore. On one hand, it was maddening b/c we kept hitting those milestones that everyone says, "Oh, it'll be better after 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, etc." and it just wasn't happening, but it did eventually. I think we had both small mouth (which is only going to get better as the baby gets bigger) and Raynaud's. I know some people continue having problems with Reynaud's, but mine stopped bothering me and has only started acting up now that I'm pregnant. I have had some of that same awful, excruciating nipple pain since being pregnant only with no nursing at all! On the other hand, at least it DID eventually get better, and DS and I have gone on to have a happy 26-month-and-counting BFing relationship.


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## ein328 (Jan 10, 2009)

Has anyone checked his palate?


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## Intoit (Jul 8, 2010)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lach*
> 
> ...
> 
> ...


This. I had excruciating nipple pain for nearly 6 weeks, it was so bad I wanted to yell every time DS latched on. He had a great latch, but I think his mouth was just small, my nipple always looked normal after a feed. On one side my nipple actually cracked open, but I had no other symptoms aside from the pain and a couple trips into the MW said there was no yeast. I religiously used Lansinoh and remained topless for weeks, then it just got better. Hang in there.


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## hbog (Jun 24, 2009)

My first five weeks of breastfeeding were excruciating as well. Everything looked fine, the latch was perfect and my baby was thriving.

The public health nurse thought that I had yeast based on the pain I described and suggested I ask my doctor to treat for it. The doctor didn't think that was it (no physical signs) but let me try anyway. Things started to improve shortly after. I also stopped wearing my nursing bras that were a little too small. It may have been either or those things or just the timing, but after a few weeks the pain was gone and my baby is now almost 15 months old and we still are nursing and loving it.

I second the previous poster - I wish people wouldn't say "If it hurts, you're doing something wrong." I think that is absolutely untrue. I have since had many people tell me about their painful first weeks.

All the best to you!


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## belltree (Mar 10, 2009)

How are your nipples? Do you thing you might have Reynaulds syndrome? Are they cracked?

You can take ibuprofen for the pain while nursing. There are people that nurse painfree from the beginning. For me, I had 12 weeks of pain that brought tears to my eyes.If you've checked that there are no other reasons, besides your nipples adjusting to breastfeeding. Breath through it. Try to remember the techniques you learned for your labor. After 12 weeks, nursing become the most wonderful and easy thing to do. But I really really really had to put my mind to it.


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## Partaria (Sep 7, 2010)

Mamas...

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me!

We have been checked for it all- thrush, mastitis, tongue-tie, he's had his palate checked, we've been to cranio-sacral therapy, the works. The latch is also pronounced "good" by every expert we've seen, including two IBCLC's.

I think that it comes down to what many of you have said (which, incidentally, isn't in any books I've read on the subject). That baby's mouths are small, and sometimes, they have to grow a bit before it doesn't hurt anymore.

I'm really glad to have heard that feedback from you all. I've been so frustrated with bf'ing because all I read was that it was going to be this wonderful bonding experience with my little one. That it would be serene and beautiful and painless. Not so for all of us! At least not at first. This helps me know that what I really need to do is just relax and stick it out until he gets bigger.

Thank you!!


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## CrunchyGranolaMom (Feb 5, 2002)

Putting an gel ice pack on your breasts before nursing can also help since it numbs the area.

Good luck!


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## MegBoz (Jul 8, 2008)

I am YET ANOTHER mama who had horrible pain the first 6 weeks or so with my DS (my first.) He had a small mouth as well - it was actually my DH who suggested the small mouth could cause some problem.

Although in my case, my nipples cracked early on & took a while to heal, so I just figured that was the source of my pain.

I wore these: Medela soft shells in my bra as well as getting a perscription for Dr. Newman's "all purpose nipple ointment" & I think that helped tremendously.

http://www.birthandbaby.com/shop/products/270

My DD was even smaller than DS - only 6#4oz, but my nipples didn't crack this time!  I started to have the smallest flap of skin look like it was sliced off, so I promptly got the APNO prescription & wore the 'soft shells'. I had some soreness the first couple weeks & it hurt a BIT when I first latched her on, but NOTHING Like the first time - so so so much better....

Of course, now that I think about it, she also gained weight MUCH more slowly. She was over 9# at about 12 weeks... whereas DS was born 7#4oz & made it up 2# to 9#4oz at 2 WEEKS OLD!!!!!!!! So he had a majorly strong suck too.


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## eelownes (May 19, 2011)

The first week that I breastfed, I was on a high that I could do it, I never really noticed the pain. Then the second and third weeks set in. I would get up in the middle of the night to nurse my daughter and just grind my teeth during the process. Then around the fourth week, I really did not feel any pain. I think that a lot of women stop breastfeeding during the second and third week because it is really painful.

Pain is awful and you did just give birth, so it is even more awful. You are tired and then on top of it all, you end up having all these guilty feelings because you want your body back, but also want what is best for your baby. I really suggest working through the pain, because IT WILL get better, I promise! And if you have had a lactation consultant come by and check out your feeding process and everything looks good, you really should be fine in a week or so.

Keep your breasts moisturized, take deep long breaths and try not to tense up. Tension can exasperate the pain. If it is still painful after the fourth week, I would call back the lactation consultant.

Hope this helps.


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## artekah (Apr 26, 2009)

Stick it out--it WILL get better! I had the same experience as you--excruciating pain at the beginning, that was bad enough to make me scream, cry, and tense up. The pain was worse than labor & birth. After the first 6 weeks or so it just got better and better, and eventually there was no pain at all and nursing became a sweet and pleasant thing. I know how stressful it is to be going through it right now, but it will go by so quickly and everything will get better. You're doing everything right, just keep doing it!


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## kattryna923 (Mar 18, 2011)

Wow! As I am reading all of these comments, I am once again so grateful for this community of women! I remember when the first week that my daughter was born, I thought "I got this - no big deal!" ... then a few days later and the chaffing began and it was def uncomfortable! A few tips that I did was apply lasinoh lanolin after every feeding from the moment she was born. Also, the gel pads that you can keep in the fridge- put them on before and after every feeding (especially after - immediate relief). As I told another girlfriend of mine - just be prepared for around 3-4 weeks of some pain and it will subside! Also, my daughter had a difficult time latching at first, consequently I began nursing her in the most uncomfortable positions (for me) - I started to have the mentality as long as she's eating, it didn't matter if I was uncomfortable. All this to say - take a breath and be encouraged that you both are learning each other and it takes a bit of time to master this new skill!


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## bluekangaroo2 (May 26, 2011)

Don't give up. Take it from me--I've been nursing my son now for 1 1/2 years and I still have a bit of pain. I had excruciating pain like you for nearly 3 months. Same thing--lactation consultants, etc, and they said we had a good latch as well. Nothing helped except the passage of time. I hope your pain doesn't last as long--it's just miserable. I can say now that every minute of pain was worth it. My son has had 3 fevers in his life, 2 small, short colds, no croup, no allergies, etc. He is healthy, happy, and we love to spend time together nursing now. The benefits for mom and baby far outweigh the pain you are feeling. I feel for you!


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## LadyJade (Jul 20, 2010)

I relate to this. I had horrible horrible excruciating pain, no latch problems per at least 4 LCs... Since no one had any helpful advice for me and I didn't know what else to do, I just started pumping and moved to exclusively pumping by about 3 months. I even had the pain with the pump, but it was bearable.

The pain disappeared after about 4 months when I figured out (through nearly dead batteries in the pump) that I was using too much pressure and I needed to dial it down. Theh ahhhh.... no more pain at all.

My theory is this : some babies just suck harder than others. Those lucky women who have no pain, no problems must have babies with a gentler suck. My little hoover was traumatizing all my breast tissue, and since I didn't know any better when I moved to the pump, I put it on full force and it did the same. Once I dialed down the intensity of the suck, the pain disappeared over 2 or 3 days. Now, you can't do that with a baby. You CAN do that with a good breastpump tho.

PS I too want to scream and slap whoever tells women it doesn't hurt as long as you're doing it right. I read enough sources that said that while I was pregnant that I was completely unprepared for the horrors that are breastfeeding. I just figured - get the latch right and its no problem! Like Dr Phil says - its the EXPECTATION that really bums you out, more than anything. I was sooo prepared for an easy time of it and it was hellish. Just absolutely hellish. At 7 months I am now packing away my pump and am soooo soo relieved to do so. Yet still sad at how different breastfeeding turned out from what I was expecting and hoping for. Same for birth. I was a homebirth transfer emergency csection. Needless to say, nearly everything I read on here has been WRONG WRONG WRONG.


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## Fynns Mommy (Jun 1, 2011)

I also had excruciating pain for a long time. I cried through many feedings, too. My son had troube latching in the beginning and I used a nipple sheild to help that for a bit. With and without the sheild I had pain for at least a month, maybe longer, I cant remember. I remember the good things about nursing much more clearly







. Just stick it out, use ice if needed (I did after every feeding for a while). The pain is worth it.


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## teraze (Apr 6, 2011)

I, too am in the initial pain camp. For about two and a half weeks I experienced terrible nipple pain for the first ten or so seconds after my son's initial latch. I would scrunch up my face and wince while my husband looked on with total concern. And then, like so many others here, the pain just went away. Seven and half months later and we're still going strong!

Hang in there!  (And sorry the going's been so tough.)


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## 1love4ever (Jan 5, 2011)

The first 2 weeks of BFing, my nipples hurt very badly, they cracked and peeled but never bled. Then after 2 weeks it just stopped. Then came back for a few days at 1 month, then gone for good. I exclusively BF for 6 months, and now DD is 16 months and we are just starting to wean.

Those first 2 weeks, I had to pull DDs bottom lip down every time she would latch on. It felt a little better that way, and eventually that became her normal latch. The bottom lip should be pointed down, and you should be able to see the whole bottom lip at the bottom of your nipple. Lactation consultants and Drs said to me that everything looked fine and when I told them it hurt, they said that was NOT normal and something MUST be wrong. BFing should NEVER hurt they said. That is BS!!! It hurts in the beginning til your nipples get used to it! Dont let anyone discourage you. I was even told that maybe I just shouldnt BF and just switch to formula if it hurt to BF. That was the dumbest advice I ever got, especially since it went away after 2 weeks. Just think if I would have listened! All the beautiful and wonderful bonding I had with my DD I would have missed.

Anyway, Dont give up, it will get better.

BTW, I switched off between Motherlove nipple cream and Lansinoh every other feeding, and I have always only fed off of one breast at a time. That gives one nipple the chance to rest at each feeding. I was always told to feed from both boobs at each feeding but for 16 and a half months I never have. I think that allows the baby to get the complete amount of hindmilk(the nutrient rich stuff), instead of mostly formilk(the watery stuff that comes out first when nursing from each breast)

Good luck!


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## 1love4ever (Jan 5, 2011)

The first 2 weeks of BFing, my nipples hurt very badly, they cracked and peeled but never bled. Then after 2 weeks it just stopped. Then came back for a few days at 1 month, then gone for good. I exclusively BF for 6 months, and now DD is 16 months and we are just starting to wean.

Those first 2 weeks, I had to pull DDs bottom lip down every time she would latch on. It felt a little better that way, and eventually that became her normal latch. The bottom lip should be pointed down, and you should be able to see the whole bottom lip at the bottom of your nipple. Lactation consultants and Drs said to me that everything looked fine and when I told them it hurt, they said that was NOT normal and something MUST be wrong. BFing should NEVER hurt they said. That is BS!!! It hurts in the beginning til your nipples get used to it! Dont let anyone discourage you. I was even told that maybe I just shouldnt BF and just switch to formula if it hurt to BF. That was the dumbest advice I ever got, especially since it went away after 2 weeks. Just think if I would have listened! All the beautiful and wonderful bonding I had with my DD I would have missed.

Anyway, Dont give up, it will get better.

BTW, I switched off between Motherlove nipple cream and Lansinoh every other feeding, and I have always only fed off of one breast at a time. That gives one nipple the chance to rest at each feeding. I was always told to feed from both boobs at each feeding but for 16 and a half months I never have. I think that allows the baby to get the complete amount of hindmilk(the nutrient rich stuff), instead of mostly formilk(the watery stuff that comes out first when nursing from each breast)

Good luck!


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## Milagro685 (Nov 1, 2010)

I just had my first baby, and he is now one month old. We have had pain since the beginning, but as time goes on it has hurt less and less. It could be that this is just the way it is for some of us, especially since you have had everything checked out. I still do sometimes feel the sharp pain when he latches that goes away as he continues to suck, but in the beginning, I was also crying through feedings. After checking that he was latching correctly with others, I just concluded that it can take some times for the nipple to adjust! I hope your pain is slowly (or quickly) going away as mine is! Good luck!


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## clutterbug (Apr 6, 2007)

Count me in as another mom with unexplained lingering nipple pain. It isn't excruciating anymore, but I expect it to stick around for another few weeks (DD is almost 7 weeks now) based on what happened with the previous two. We did have small mouth and latch issues (misshapen nipples) from her (and her brothers before her) not opening up enough, but now that's taken care of and I'm still sore. I know how frustrating it is to feel pain and have everyone saying "well, it looks fine".

My midwife this time said to me "You know what? I think it's just going to hurt for you for a while, no matter what you do." We turned over every stone and there's no answer, so I think she's right. Thankfully, it's not unbearable and most feedings are enjoyable after the initial letdown. But the painful feedings lasted a lot longer with my first.

Hang in there. In my experience, the extra pains at the beginning make the eventual lovely, pain-free nursing sessions all the more wonderful. I hope that pain-free day comes for you very, very soon *hug*

Oh and Jack Newman's nipple ointment has a wee bit of painkiller in it, it can be very soothing. You need a prescription for it, and you could ask the doc to include the ibuprofen component (although I find it soothing without, too - there is a bit of steriod in it to help healing) http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12:candida-protocol&catid=5:information&Itemid=17


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## LeslieintheKeys (Dec 4, 2007)

First, I feel your pain, mama! You have my sympathy.

When my son was born 3 1/2 yrs ago, I went through 9 week (NINE WEEKS!) of pain. It hurt more than labor and delivery. He threw up blood (from my cracked and bleeding nipples) which freaked me out as a first-time mom. I tried everything I could think of too - lactation consultants, breast shields, different creams, pumping, etc. In the end, it just took time for him (and his little mouth) to get bigger. I swore that if I could get through it, I would breastfeed him until college. Ha! I did breastfeed him until he was 2 1/2 and I was pregnant with his sister. One of my reasons for wanting to continue breastfeeding was that I thought I could avoid the whole pain situation the second time around if I was still breastfeeding him. Pop him off and pop on his little sister. It didn't work because I had to stop breastfeeding because it hurt too bad.

When my daughter was born 7 months ago, I was super anxious about breastfeeding. Luckily, she latched on much better than her brother. However, the pain started ALL over again. Only this time, it lasted for 2 weeks, not 9. Again, I tried everything including nipple shields that hurt like hell. I found a great breast cream online - Maternacare. LOVED it. Put that on, along with the Medela breast shells (different from nipple shields), which gave my nipples a chance to air dry and have cream on it without anything touching it. I think Maternacare really helped. In my opinion, lansinoh is horrible.

My lactation consultant thinks both of my children have bubble palettes (high arches in their mouths) which resulted in my nipples getting crushed more than normal. As the weeks passed, their mouths got bigger and so it got better.

I so wish someone had warned me that breastfeeding was not the idyllic picture I had in my mind. Instead, I wish I had rubbed sand paper on my nipples during my pregnancy to prepare me for nursing.

Take some hot showers. Don't beat yourself up for cringing when you get ready to breastfeed your child. Know that many other women are right there with you with this issue. This too shall pass, even though it doesn't feel like it right now.


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## Partaria (Sep 7, 2010)

Thank you for all the lovely feedback. I am so so relieved to hear I am not alone.

I too, thought BFing would be this magical soft-focus experience, and it totally hasn't been. Plus, we had a long labour (right around 70 hours) before I had to have a homebirth transfer and a c-section. I wasn't prepared for a long labour, I wasn't prepared to recover from a major surgery, and I wasn't prepared to be in pain for all this time.

I guess for some of us, it's just a harder road. I identify with what a previous poster said about expectation. Nothing about this birth and babe went the way I envisioned or planned. And it's been really hard to regroup.

Love that someone on these boards called their babe their "little hoover." DS is exactly that. Every LC we've seen comments on what a strong suck he has!

I'll continue to hang in there. I'm kind of approaching this like I did quitting smoking years ago. It is too much to think of goals that are six months or a year out. So instead, I tell myself, make it through this day. And tomorrow, if you want to throw in the towel, you can. Then tomorrow arrives, and I end up saying the same thing to myself. Just finish today, then tomorrow, you can give it up. Helps me get through it all one day at a time.

I'm hoping by six weeks (he's four weeks and change now), his mouth will get bigger and we can finally be comfortable. He's nearly 12 lbs now...youd think he'd finally be big enough, but I guess not yet.

Anyway, I know I'll keep coming back to this thread for encouragement. Thank you for sharing your experiences, mamas!


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## Baby Blast (Jun 19, 2011)

Pumping for a few minutes intially has always helped me get my nipples opened up and stretched out so it wasn't so difficult for my babies to latch on...plus it helped get my milk flowing a little and just loosened things up, especially with my first child...One of my nipples seemed to be harder to latch on the other so I occasionally had to pump that side for a minute to get it in the groove and make it easier to latch on! Lots of pain and almost gave up several times! ouch...hurts just talking about it good luck!


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## sunshinemum (Feb 6, 2007)

I too had excruciating pain with my 2nd and 3rd babies. Time was really the only cure, as so many others have said. Hang in there, you're doing great!


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## babylego (Feb 16, 2011)

I had pain for about 6 weeks just like you are describing. I actually bled and now have scared nipples, but I didn't give up because I new I would never use formula. I'm glad I didn't and the pain eventually went away and I was able to nurse for 3 1/2 yrs. Now my daughter is almost 5 and we are expecting a new one in Oct and worried I will go through the same thing. I'm hoping my nipples are so callused that it won't be painful this time! LOL Hope it works out, just hang in there and keep telling yourself it is all worth it!


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## ElliesMomma (Sep 21, 2006)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *radicaleel*
> 
> Stick it out--it WILL get better! I had the same experience as you--excruciating pain at the beginning, that was bad enough to make me scream, cry, and tense up. The pain was worse than labor & birth. After the first 6 weeks or so it just got better and better, and eventually there was no pain at all and nursing became a sweet and pleasant thing. I know how stressful it is to be going through it right now, but it will go by so quickly and everything will get better. You're doing everything right, just keep doing it!


all this, but my pain breastfeeding baby #1 lasted for TEN WEEKS. stick it out. it will pass. one day, you will just notice, "hey, it doesn't hurt so much anymore." and then the pain is gone.

ps: i nursed through it, and went on to nurse through my next pregnancy, and then tandem nurse. for baby #2, i had NO (nipple) PAIN whatsoever. and it was super duper easy.


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## lovelylisa (Jan 23, 2009)

You guys are making me feel better as I am in the awful pain camp. I still have called the LC to see what she says. I have weird nipples anyway so I think that has something to do with it.

Thanks


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## PaintedMama (Jun 30, 2012)

My daughter is now 11 days old, and breastfeeding is still a big, dramatic, excrutiating dread...

I got literally forced into a pitocin birth due to a "too slow" dilation progression, and after a complete disconnect of my mind, body and soul and the intuition that if I didn't get something to help ease the pain, I'd pass out and end up c-sectioned, I caved into the personal defeat/guilt and got an epidural. I've heard that epidural births make for lazy newborns who tend to have feeding issues, but for some reason I felt my baby would be "above" that :/ haha.

I nursed with a bad latch for quite a few days until my nipples bled, cracked, scabbed, oozed, got mastitis on BOTH breasts, had a fever of 101.4, went off next to zero sleep, the whole nine yards....I tried pumping exclusively, but all the guilt, talk of "nipple confusion" and stress of not being able to keep pace with baby's appetite (and the looming opinions of my worried, stressed out husband) led me to a night of exhausted delirium where I finally just beared down over my screaming baby, straddled over her, my engorged, chewed up breasts dangling over her face like sickly udders, and just shoved the nipple into her mouth...to my surprise, she got such a perfect latch that the LACK of pain actually made me cry.

And...it hasn't worked since.

Now I'm back to painful feedings, Lansinoh'd grease nipples, and hiding from the world so that I can stay bra-less and frumpy at home until we get the hang of this. Im determined to not give my baby formula, even though I came sooooo close to it on sickly udder night.

I'm so grateful to have found this forum, because being a woman who respects nature, being able to breastfeed my baby is an absolute necessity for me and my motherhood experience. There have been moments where I actually imagined throwing my baby across the room after gettIng that initial jolt of terrifying pain, angrily hearing the "it doesn't hurt if you're doing it right" record spinning repeatedly in my head. Now I don't feel like such a failure. Good luck and strength vibes to all women goin through this rough time...my nipples and I feel for you! I truly hope this subsides sooner than later!


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## LilMomma83 (Jan 20, 2007)

I'm sorry, I disagree. Pain is normal...nipple trauma and excruciating pain is not.

I nursed DS1 for 4 years. It hurt for 6 months...I saw every specialist imaginable and everything wad "ok" - I called him a "little shark"

I nursed DS2 for 6 months (milk dried up) - he had a weak suck and it didn't hurt at all

I'm still nursing DD1 (7 months) but the first 7 weeks I had passion so bad I had to scream in a pillow when I latched her, she, too, wad checked for everything and all was "fine" luckily she kept losing more and more weight so it forced me to continue looking into options. I looked up posterior tongue ties and we had every single symptom. We clipped it at 7 weeks and within a free days my nipples were no longer cracked and bleeding, however, they were still flat, we got out clipped a seconds time by world expert Dr Kotlow (had to travel out of state) when she was 5 months (turned out the first doctor didn't get it all) and that gave us as much improvement in 5 days as we had had in 5 months...not kidding! Since we didn't get this taken care of early we are still working through done things, but, nursing is so much better and more enjoyable...and my nipples look normal. I've gone out of my way to learn about this topic, I can see now that my his are tongue and lip tied add well...perfectly explains both the severe pain and the weak suck.

I get so sad now when moms nurse in pain..it doesn't have to be that way...not to mention there are so many other lasting effects of untreated tongue tie, that it trekker needs to beer taken care of, in opinion.

i'm so glad I didn't take no for an answer this time. Its changed my life, my baby's life, and my while entire family's life....and hopefully others as well.

If you think something is wrong follow your gut. My only regret this time is that I didn't go straight to Dr Kotlow from the first instant I thought it *might* be a tongue tie.

Good luck with whatever you do mama!


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## LilMomma83 (Jan 20, 2007)

Adding that coconut or olive oil worked best on my sore nipples..everything else caused more pain


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## womenswisdom (Jan 5, 2008)

I agree that posterior tongue tie is VERY underdiagnosed. You might ask in your tribal area for a knowledgeable ENT, dentist or ped that is willing to be aggressive enough with a posterior tongue tie and get their opinion on it. Find an IBCLC who is familiar with the Hazelbaker Tongue Tie Assessment and have the baby evaluated. Posterior tongue ties can be tricky to find.


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## Partaria (Sep 7, 2010)

The OP here checking in.

I have to say that the pain didn't subside for us for months. And now, my DS is a little over a year old. I don't think I would ever call our nursing relationship super-comfortable, though it doesn't actually HURT anymore.

We went to LCs and had the latch checked, I took him to a chiropractor, I took him for Craniosacral therapy, I got him checked for tongue-tie. None of it really helped with the nursing. It was simply time. Time time time.

It took months for us to get to a point where I wasn't in pain anymore with every feeding. I think I just might have very sensitive nipples, and maybe they needed to adjust to DS. But I will say that it does get better. And we are still nursing, and I'm glad I stuck with it. He is in daycare and has never once had an ear infection, and I think BFing had a lot to do with that.

You might call me crazy, but honestly, I think a lot of this has to do with DS's personality too. I know, that sounds nuts. But, everything he does, he does 110% or not at all. My dad says he is a toggle switch, not a dimmer switch. He eats food with gusto until he's not hungry, then he screams and throws everything on the floor. He giggles and coos and flirts until suddenly he's tired and he starts wailing. There is very little grey area with him. He does not ease into things. I think nursing is the same way. When he nurses he nurses with all his might, and he does not give a thought to how rough or how 'hard' he's nursing. In that moment he wants milk and boy oh boy will he GET IT. 

I really feel for the moms out there dealing with pain. I will say that going to chiropractors and IBLCs wasn't ultimately a silver bullet, but it was really important to me that I feel like I was doing something, anything, to find an end to the pain, and that going through the list of what-might-alleviate-this was good for me, psychologically. And who knows, one of those things might actually BE a silver bullet for a mama out there, so don't give up. Exhaust all your avenues for relief. And you might find that in the course of doing so, you either solve the problem, or the problem resolves itself over the time it took for you to seek out an answer.


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## RStelle (Jul 12, 2011)

BF hurt so much at first, I remember pouring sweat and my body shaking uncontrollably because of the pain. Every one said DD's latch was good, there were no problems that anyone could see. I was so unprepared for it, I don't know why but I just never thought bf would be a problem. I think part of what got us off on the wrong foot was that the night after she was born I fell asleep with her at my breast and she sucked without latching correctly for a few hours. After that it was just imposable to heal with her nursing again every 2 hours or more. What helped a lot was that I began to pump gently and feed her with a supplemental feeder while she sucked on my finger. I would pump for 2 feedings and bf for one. That gave my nipples time to heal but still toughen up at the same time. After a week of that it was much, much better and I went back to bf with every feeding. It did stay uncomfortable for about a month and a half, though. Now she has been bf for 15 months and I am so glad I stuck with it. I do hate how people who didn't have a problem don't understand how much it can hurt. If you think about what your poor nipples are going through, I think it really makes sense that it can be so painful. I wish people would be more open/realistic about it, because I had no idea it would hurt.


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## MrsGregory (Dec 21, 2011)

I had toe-curling white-hot pain shoot through me for the first few weeks during let-down. I also had an AWESOME nurse who noticed me clench, grit my teeth and curl my feet when I latched Little Miss, checked my latch, determined it to be good, and then told me the pain during let-down was normal and would go away with time. And it did. And it was so awesome that she was just so nonchalant about how miserable nursing was for me at first, because I was determined to nurse, and I'm odd that way - if I'd had some soft-hearted nurse that was determined to "solve" my pain, it would have been a big deterrent for me. But my nurse just nodded and told me to suck it up. And we are still nursing around the clock, and still happy with it. Although she is the rudest nurser ever. I second the motion that we give honest details about nursing. For some people, it hurts. Some women are willing to have that pain to nurse, provided we know it's normal, and will subside some.


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## MomRunner (Jan 6, 2011)

Haha! OMG - When I first started breastfeeding I totally could have written this post! Sorry, I haven't read previous peoples posts, so I don't know if this has been said before. Everybody always told me it shouldn't hurt, but it was absolutely excrutiating for me, and nobody could really tell me what I was doing wrong. Latch looked good, baby not tongue tied, etc. I eventually after weeks and weeks of pain, treated for thrush with topical creams which did nothing and finally diflucan. Around the time I took the diflucan, the pain went away. Was it thrush?  Probably.  Or maybe, just possibly, after nine of the most painful weeks of my life, my nipples finally got with the program and toughened up. At any rate, DS is now 18 months old and still breastfeeding, and painlessly I might add.

I guess my whole take on this. Perhaps your nipples shouldn't hurt, but is it realistic to expect them not to? My whole entire life, my breasts were firmly supported by a nice soft bra, protected from the sun, not chafing against my shirt, washed only with water or the mildest of soaps, and treated gently by my partner. Then along comes my almost 10 pound STARVING newborn boy who would do ANYTHING to get milk out of my pampered girls. And he did. He was a very aggressive little eater, and he ate often (every hour or two when he was brand new and then also when he was having a growth spurt). So my boobies went from being treated like royalty for my entire life, to being completely torn into. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that my nipples hurt so badly, but they did. Like me panting on the edge of the couch with my fist stuck in my mouth to keep from screaming type of pain - you know what I am talking about. And I kept getting so angry at all the LC's, doctors, nurses, etc. who were telling me that it shouldn't! So many people I know had pain with breastfeeding in the beginning. I hurt for 9 weeks, my sister hurt for 6 weeks, my friend hurt for 8 weeks, another friend hurt for 4 weeks with her first then 2 with her second, you get the point. But just because a lot of people have horrible pain in the beginning doesn't mean that you don't have thrush. But, I would totally treat for thrush, just in case. I think that was a major contributor to my pain, and I let it go so long without being treated (even though my nipples looked totally fine). And if it isn't thrush, just keep gritting your teeth. I think some women have just more sensitive nipples than others and it does take time for your nipples to desensitize. After about 6 months of breastfeeding, I can safely say that my nipples were made of steel, and that almost nothing hurt them - not even when DS would have a mouthfull of bood and decide to look around the room.

So, treat for thrush and just hold on. And keep getting second opinions. You never know when somebody might pick up on something that you have missed. I know this pain seems like it will last forever. Trust me, I have been there. I know. But I promise if you can hold on long enough it won't. Good luck and keep us posted!


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## bri276 (Mar 24, 2005)

The first six weeks were excruciating for me, too, and all the lcs, ibclcs, and LLL made me feel worse. I know a lot more than a typical layperson about breastfeeding and tried to do everything correctly from the start. I had EP'ed 21 months for my first child, so yeah, I'm pretty dedicated. .I got this condescending sense that my baby was doing something WRONG and I had to FIX it (like unlatch and relatch 100x in a row, even though it never made anything better and just frustrated her and me). I remember explaining to one ibclc (who was endorsed by LLL locally) that one part of my nipple in particular was very sore so I decided to try and lay her down and nurse upside down so she would be nursing on the opposite side of it and she literally laughed at me and snapped something like, "Why, so that part can get sore, too?" really sarcastically. I think most of us know how sensitive and hormonal you can feel in those first couple of weeks and after that, I stopped looking for help and just tried to wait it out. And like many others, it got better spontaneously. I would never tell anyone that "pain is not normal" or "if it hurts, something is wrong" like I see all over the internet on breastfeeding advocacy sites. Clearly, for many of us it is normal and does resolve. I'm not saying nursing problems and solutions don't exist, but it almost seems like a conspiracy to never admit that bf'ing can be painful at first because it might put some people off and make them choose bottles.


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## LilMomma83 (Jan 20, 2007)

I think its highly subjective too..people have different pain tolerance levels...I could deal with the passion from my first baby (it was bad, but, I pushed through), but, my 3rd it was freaking incredible...I had no idea how bad the pain could be. I wanted to throw my newborn baby across the room..the pain was unreal.


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