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Avatar universal

Breastfeeding- for how long is it going to hurt??? help i dont wanna lose this one!

So as my title says. My baby is 1 week and 4 days old and my nipples still huuuuuurt so badly. Mostly only for the first couple of minutes but sometimes during the whole session. Shes latching perfectly so thats not why they hurt, its just that she ***** veery hard. One of my poor nipples even has a crack in it, as in no bleeding but you can "see" blood in it . Sometimes my boobs hurt too but it might be the bra. Anyways, does anyone has any tip about how to stop the nipple pain? the special cream doesnt work. I feel as if I'm going to crack down soon on this and say f--- it and start bottle feeding her, but I don't want to! but it hurts a lot :'(
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202436 tn?1326474333
I'd like to throw in something I didn't mention in my previous post.  I tried the nipple shields with 3 of my kids, but they never worked for me.  I only recommend them becuase I have heard other women swear by them as well as the lactation consultants I've used.  As for thrush, I have had it but my nipples never turned white, though my baby had the classic signs.  My doctor missed it on one of his regular check ups.  I had to call them and take him back in and show it to them.  I found it was better to rub in some of the breast milk let it air dry then use a small amount of the nipple cream, let it soak in THEN cover up with the absorbent breastpads.  But not everything works for everyone. You justh ave to go by trial and error and see what works best for YOU out of the suggestions everyone has.  Good luck, but like Joy said, don't give up on your worst day.  The idea of short term goals is excellent.
Helpful - 0
1275097 tn?1270864664
I would use the very small nursing pads, and after I finished breastfeeding, I would smear a spot of the nipple cream on the inside of my nursing pad, so my nipple would soak it up better. That worked wonders for me...It helped the cracks heal very quickly and minimized the bleeding as well..
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
PS I wear nursing pads all day, too, without any issues. But if they are getting soaked a lot definitely change them and keep your pads dry. You don't want to wear wet pads as moist, dark places breed bacteria.
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Avatar universal
I'm going to be the unpopular opinion here and recommend AGAINST the nipple shields. They are a temporary and artificial device. My first two babies stopped breastfeeding because of nipple shields. They started to prefer them to my skin and because they are only meant to be used temporarily I had to stop using them and they absolutely REFUSED to breastfeed (believe me, I tried!). I bawled my eyes out for days as I ended up giving them bottles.

Many women can get their baby to wean off the shield but unless you are bleeding I honestly wouldn't even waste my time, heart or money on them. And it isn't just my personal experience that makes me adamant against the shields but the experiences of many others.

I would make sure you don't have thrush before trying the shields if you so choose to use them. My nips are pink compared to the rest of my aereola and I have never had thrush.
Helpful - 0
171768 tn?1324230099
I know exactly the pain you are talking about. Everyone who evaluated my baby commented on how strong her s.uck is. It should be getting better within a few days. HOnestly. It went from excruciating to tolerable after 2 weeks, and by 3 weeks there was no pain. I swear. Hang in there. I was able to get it to the point where she only nursed 1 side at a time, and that helped a lot as it gave one side a rest for 4 or 5 hours at a time.

Like some others said, the very best remedy was rubbing a little breast milk on the nipples and letting it air dry. You can also try a saline soak (recommended by an LC) by dissolving some salt in a cup of warm water and dipping your nipple into it or applying it with a cotton swab and letting it air dry. i'd hold off on the shields for a little longer... they are better used as a tool for latching and it doesn't seem like that is your problem. However, I do highly recommend nipple shells for sore or bleeding nipples. They keep all fabric and pads off the nipple and allow for air circulation and promote healing. You can try them with or without expressed milk on the nips or lanolin to see what works for you. By they have helped heal even huge bleeding sores within 24 hours. They are a little funny looking, so I only used them while i was home. In addition, you may leak into them so I would put a pad on the outside of the shell (between bra and shell). They only cost like $10 or maybe even less.
Helpful - 0
287246 tn?1318570063
Okay, I sure hope you come back and read this.....I just had my 6th baby in Sept.  I have breastfed all of them very successfully.  Well it always hurts a little bit at first.  You are always a bit cracked and sore but it will normally go away within about a week or 2 at the most.  And it did for me this time too.  I would just use the cream and it would be fine.  But when Mary was about 4 or 5 weeks old, it started hurting so bad I cannot even describe it.  I didn't know what was wrong.  After breastfeeding so many, I knew she too was latching on fine.  I tried everything everyone has said.  I did the ointments.  I did the nipple shields.  I did the nipple shells.  Let the air dry.  I rubbed my breast milk on them and let them air dry.  I am probably leaving something out but I am trying to tell you that I tried everything.  Went for my 6 week post partum check up and told my doc.  Just like feather said, they were pink in a perfect circle around my nipples.  Sure enough I did have thrush (which I had never gotten before with any of my others, which would also explain why I had no idea what was wrong).  Anyway, my doctor prescribed an anti-fungal medicine called Nystatin.  It is an oral medicine, but he told me to apply it twice a day to my nipples.  Ahhhhhhh!!!!  It went away within a couple of days.  I was so mad at myself for not calling my doc sooner and just going through this excruciating pain.  And Mary didn't have it in her mouth either.  She never got it in her mouth.  I thought the same thing.  I thought that if she didn't have anything in her mouth, that I didn't have any type of infection.  That's why me having an infection never crossed my mind.  But I did and that medication took care of it really quickly.  I highly recommend you calling your OB doc.  This medication is very inexpensive too.  It's good stuff!!  Good luck!  I know this is awful....
Helpful - 0
432779 tn?1364494875
If they are pink you may have thrush. I experienced thrush regularly and Fionn never had it in his mouth. You need to regularly change the pads as they hold moisture to your breast and can make it worse. Try going without a bra to let them air dry for a little while. If it doesnt get better your doctor can prescribe something.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
thanks for your suggestions ladies! Ill try to find the nipple shields, that sounds promising.
And yes I've been using the Lansinoh oinment and this other one I cant remember the name but its nipple ointment too but it doesnt work. I did have a lactation consultant come to help me when I was in the hospital, and she told me the latching was fine. I also asked this to at least 6 other nurses that checked and agreed that the latching was fine and "didnt know why it was hurting so much". The lactation consultant stuck a (gloved) finger inside my baby's mouth to check the sucking and she agreed that my baby has the suction power of a hoover :'(
I have a question though: I have these pads that i put on top of my nipples (inside my bra) so when I leak they'll absorb the milk, and I wear them all day long and as soon as I stop breastfeeding I put them back in and leave them till the next feeding. Is this ok or maybe this is making my nipples more humid and by this less strong?

oh btw I don't think its thrush cause my baby doesnt have anything inside her mouth (went to the pediatrician yesterday and i checked again today) and my nipples are pink (compared to the rest of the aerola which is brown), not white like they say thrush makes your nipple look like
Helpful - 0
1012334 tn?1283702979
I also really recommend the nipple shields, they are a small plastic shield that goes over your nipple they help with sore nipples, latching, and helping the baby get bigger mouthfuls of milk. I have 3 children and with my last one used the nipple shield for quite a while, it really helped with latching not being as sore and not having to supplement my baby. you can buy nipple shields at Target for about $10 and can reuse them for several months if you take care of them.  also when you are showering try not ot get any soap or body wash on your breast it will actually make them crack more and make you more sore. I do also think that for me the Lansinoh ointment worked well other brands did'nt,  but that one did! good luck and keep trying!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sounds like you have a blister on your nipple. Let your nipples air out when you can. You'll also want to massage breastmilk into your nipples. Applying cold cabbage leaves can help relieve soreness. By 4 weeks the pain should be greatly diminished or gone. It hurt me in the beginning too. I know they say if you feel pain then something is wrong but I don't believe that AT ALL because my baby was latching fine, too.

Here we are at almost 6 months and still breastfeeding. It doesn't hurt at all and hasn't since she was just a few weeks old. So HANG IN THERE! It will end. I had short-term goals. I'd tell myself, "Make it to 4 weeks and then re-evaluate breastfeeding" and by 4 weeks things were so much better and my confidence increased. My next goal was 3 months and by then I didn't even stop to think about stopping whatsoever. 6 months is the next goal and I'm not going to be stopping then either. Now I'm thinking somewhere around 12-18 months is when I might see how she's doing and if she's ready to stop.

Best advice I can give you- do NOT quit on your worst day!
Helpful - 0
470885 tn?1326329037
I experienced the same thing at first, both last time and this time (DS is 10 weeks old and I'm BFing exclusively).  I used Lansinoh cream on my nipples (both were badly cracked) and this helped.  At the hospital, I was told that the best thing was to express some breast milk right after feeding and let it air dry on your nipples, that the milk had antibodies that would help heal the cracked/chapped skin naturally.  

For me, this went away after the first 2 weeks.  I hope you get some relief soon - I know how uncomfortable it is!!
Helpful - 0
127529 tn?1331840780
Mine were sore for just over 2 weeks. After nursing I would just rub a little breast milk on them and let them air dry before I put my bra on. I also only wore cotton bra's which helped too. I only put the cream on cracks not the entire nipple. For me the cream almost kept the nipples too soft when in fact what they needed to do was toughen up.
Good luck, it does get better soon!
Helpful - 0
432779 tn?1364494875
It took me 2 to 3 weeks before it started feeling better and I was bleeding.I found that rubbing a little lanisoh cream after she nursed helped.Some of my friends suggested tea bags and cabbage leaves to help but I never tried those.I found those soothies that the lactation consultant gave me to stick to my nipples so I didnt like them. My son nursed every hour and half for 30 mins on each side so I felt like I did nothing but nurse.I too was in tears and ready to give up.It does get better just give it time.I am just weaning my 17 month old now because I am 22 weeks with a girl.
Helpful - 0
202436 tn?1326474333
Like Lizzy said, try a nipple shield.  What kind of cream are you using?  I always used the Medela or Lansinoh creams they seemed to work better.  Something else you might want to check.  Look in your babies mouth and see if she has the classic white spots indicating thrush.  If she has it, it can REALLY make your nipples hurt like you know what too.  There IS a cream the doc can give you for your nipples if that's the case.  

I can completely sympathise.  I always have latch issues becuase of large nipples and my babies all have major underbites so I've been through the painful irritated cracked bleeding nipples more than once.  For ME it usually lasts around a month, but keep in mind we have latch issues that contribute to it.  

If you aren't already, consider seeing a lactation consultant.  They can work miracles when we think there's nothing left to do.  Also if you haven't already, post on the breastfeeding forum, there are lots of women over there who can help.

Something else *I* have had to do becuase of the latch issues and milk supply issues...I have ended up doing a lot more pumping and less actual nursing.  It doesn't hurt nearly as bad and baby still gets the breast milk even though its in a bottle. But for me that's always a last resort.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi I used a nipple shield on alternate feeds until my nipples healed. This helped me slot. Good luck and I understand exactly how you feel. With my first child I did use the bottle til I healed and expressed due to pain and how scared I was about breast feeding and pain
Helpful - 0
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