My daughter is almost 3 weeks old. She's been doing well breast feeding but within the last couple days, my nipples have become almost unbearably painful! I'm using nipple cream after almost every feeding but I'm still almost in tears every time she feeds. I saw a lactation consultant and she thought my daughter's latch was pretty good. That was before the pain was this bad. Is this common? Will it get better and what do I do in the meantime?
Try Ameda's Hydrogels. They are awesome. I used them for the first few weeks after my daughter was born:
http://www.ameda.com/products/breast-care-accessories/com...
Nursed five myself, and every time, my nipples had to get used to the tugging. It IS normal; if more people would be honest about the discomfort in the early weeks, a lot less people would give up on it (thinking there must be something wrong if it hurts this bad). For myself, I always assumed 6 weeks of discomfort upon latching and unlatching.
In the mean time, you could try a couple things. First, try changing holds. The football hold is good for a totally different latch from baby, and might give some relief on sore spots. Also, when she is getting ready to latch on, at the VERY last second, make sure her bottom lip is rolled out. You can do this by putting your thumb or finger on the skin just below her bottom lip and pull down. You'll see how it kind of pulls her lip down and out. This is how that lip should be when nursing, and if it is, it can significantly reduce the discomfort of nursing. If its pulled in and under, it really hurts to nurse!
I never found much relief with the creams, but I DID think it helped to rub some breastmilk on the nipple, and let AIRDRY for about 5 minutes after nursing. Seems to toughen them faster.
Hope that helps!
It should get better. I had three children I breastfed and went through bouts of severe pain (where I would cringe when they latched on) and we got through it. Same for my friends, so try not to get too discouraged. We all cried at one point or another.
It definitely gets better. I used the nipple creams which really helped. I highly recommend them.
Breastfeeding became very easy for me after the first month. My second child seemed much easier than the first because I was more experienced.
My third child though had a funny latch, and even though I knew how to breastfeed, and was told it was a pretty good latch, she chewed the ends of my nipples and didn't open her mouth wide enough. We really struggled for a few weeks to get things sorted out, but we did in the end. So it could be her latch just needs to be adjusted slightly. My daughter was not opening wide enough (taking enough of the nipple in).
The thing is, if they're sore, it's hard to keep adjusting their mouths, and not cringe. It's very understandable. I would ask for help and just keep with it and hopefully things will (should) improve.
My daughter has breast fed 3 babies and says that it just takes time for the nipples to harden up so that they don't hurt. You could call the lactation consultant or the LeLeche League to ask. But I think it's normal.
My daughter whose due any day now and I were talking about this and she said there wasn't much one could do about it. I did find some silicone gel breast pads at Target with the breast pumps that claimed they helped ease the pain.
Congratulations on your baby! And on being a wonderful breastfeeding mom!
For most nursing moms, this is very normal. The pain peaks at right around 3 or 4 weeks -- meaning it's going to start to get better very soon. Within another month you won't even feel a twinge.
However, if you're feeling sharp shooting pains, or if the pain gets up to about a 5 or a 6 on a scale of 1-10, take her in to the pediatrician. She may have thrush, which is a yeast infection in babies, but nursing moms feel the pain. It's especially common if the mom or baby has been on antibiotics, but it can happen even if no one's taken any.
I disagree that this is normal. Some pain while you get used to it, yes. But if it becoming unbearable and you are almost in tears, my guess is thrush, which is a yeast infection. Talk to your OB about some prescription APNO (all-purpose nipple cream, also known as Newman's nipple cream). It treats infections plus has a pain reliever, and your OB needs to prescribe it. If your thrush is very bad, you can take an oral medicine for it (and it's perfectly safe for breastfeeding).
Also check the baby - she may or may not have it. Any white patches on her cheeks or tongue, or any diaper rash? If she has it, the ped can prescribe nystatin for her also. If you both have it, you need to be treated at the same time or you'll keep passing it back and forth.
I had this exact same problem and the pain was EXCRUCIATING, I'd be sobbing through entire feedings from the pain. The pain is probably from an improper latch prior to this, because her mouth was too small to latch absolutely properly. It's true, only time will help, unfortunately. Meantime let the nipples air out after every feeding, feed her as often as she likes (as horrible as it feels, it'll toughen up the nipples faster) and use mild doctor-approved pain relief. Also, if you lay a warm wet cloth over your breasts for 5 minutes before she eats, that helps so much with let-down so she doesn't have to suck as vigorously (read: less painful for mommy!) to get the milk. Allow the cloth to be over your nipples just for a minute or so, to soften them a bit before she latches so her sucking doesn't crack them if they're dry & painful. That's what worked for me, I hope your situation resolves asap!!
Most will tell you, it's a latch problem but like you my babies latch was fine & my nipples were a mess . Like Marda said, it took awhile for them to toughen up. Changing nursing positions did seem to help me. Hopefully, it will get better soon, nursing pain is the worst.
I had the toe curling pain until about 3.5 weeks. I was convinced it was thrush and then just like that it faded away. Try the Lansinoh "Soothies" gel pads.
I had significant pain for almost 7 weeks with my third child and then it completely disappeared. Even though it is miserable, it is normal.
It hurts. But the nipples toughen up and then you feel nothing. hang in there! It doesn't have to be a poor latch. In fact, I think with my third baby I had pain for almost 6 or 7 weeks, and she had a perfect latch!
I have four children and this happened to me every time, except the last one because I had nursed her brother through my pregnancy with her so my nipples were already "toughened up". Yes, it just takes time. I had to limit the amount of time I nursed on each side but would nurse more often. Vitamin E rubbed on the nipple and areola helped a little. None of them had latch problems, either, I was told it was because I am so fair skinned but I don't know if that's true :)
Now, if your breasts begin to hurt, that's something else. You're looking at thrush or mastitis if that happens. But stay rested and well hydrated and you should be able to avoid both.
Hang in there! I know how painful it is, and we all thought breastfeeding was sunshine and rainbows, but for some of us, we have to first find our inner warrior :) You'll just have to grin and bear it until it feels better. And it will. I promise!
Hang in there! It will get better, probably in a few more weeks.
I think you need to see an LC again. You could have the beginnings of an infection or you may need to revisit her latch. Keep asking til you get an answer. I had a minor infection when my DD was 6 weeks old. I got nipple cream from my OB and all was well.
kellymom.com is also a good breastfeeding resource.
It could be thrush/yeast..... you might head back to the dr.
