Anyway, I pumped like crazy (and it sounded like you had to do that before), and used a supplemental feeding system, and as she got stronger, her latch got better, and we made it through.

But I had one really sore nipple for 3 months before it finally toughened up. I remember cursing under my breath stomping my feet and counting to 10 every time she latched on on that side. Christ that hurt!

Anyway, hang in there. I hope things have gotten better. You are certainly not alone.

The jaundice cleared, but my son got used to the fast flow or the bottle, as opposed to the slow flow of my nipples, and it was only our lovely LC and her “finger feeder” that got him back to nursing when I was ready to give up. For me, it wasn’t the physical pain so much as the thought that I wasn’t meeting my son’s needs as evidenced by his screaming every time I nursed him.

If jaundice continues to creep up, putting him under the bili-lights or at-home bili-blanket is generally preferred. Whatever you choose to do will be right for you!

Hang in there. Do what works best for you.

I still remember having to clench my jaw and curl my toes up during the first minute of nursing! Aaaah! I’m having flashbacks!

But it does get better. Much better.

I have known some women who will pump more often than nurse, just to give the nips a break and allow them to heal a little faster. I don’t know if it works. I just used to coat the titties in lanolin and keep fresh dry pads in the bra.

Good luck and congrats!

I had these issues with my daughter at the beginning of nursing her. With the help of my sister-in-law who is a labor and delivery nurse, a lactation consultant, and a great doctor, we were able to get through it.

First of all, tongue tie is very common but there is little information on it as many women did not breastfeed for so many years- my daughter had it and we elected to have her frenulum snipped at 10 days old by a great doctor on the UES. It sounds scary and nasty, but it wasn’t – she let out a cry, and then was completely fine after that. The nursing improved immensely as did the state of my very sore nipples. I’m happy to give you her info if you are interested.

In the meantime, here are some techniques I used:

Dr. Jack Newman’s Nipple Ointment – Bigelow’s in the Village has the recipe and the will make it for you. It is genius. I can also get the recipe to you or check it online on his great website (referenced above).

Nipple shells (not shields) will protect your nipples and give them some air so they can heal. Medela makes them.

Gel packs. Medela makes them.

A shot glass with salt water will bathe your nipple and allow it to heal (3-5 minutes). Not is this extremely humorous, it does actually work.

Most importantly, follow your instincts. You are right to think it’s a crock of BS when people tell you it shouldn’t hurt. It does, but believe me, it gets so much better! If you want to breastfeed, stick with it. If the pain is having an impact on you that is too negative, follow your gut on that as well.

Best of luck!

Hang in there. He’s beautiful! (They both are!)

Good luck!

Anyway, in addition to the normal routine of lanolin, exposing the nips after each feeding, etc, I found the warm saline boob baths to be the most helpful. It’s a little awkward to stick each boob in its own hot tub for 10 minutes, but they felt much better afterwards.

Good luck!

Best of luck! Keep us posted.

As far as pain goes… it just sucks sometimes… I remember biting my lip until it bled one time because the cracks hurt so badly. On the positive side, it didn’t go on forever… but give yourself permission to stop if you want to. Once you do that, if you stick it out, good for you. If you stop, you can be OK with it long-term, no ongoing guilt. There are so many other stressors in these early days with the lack of sleep, recovery, etc. that breast feeding shouldn’t be an intensely negative experience.

Good luck, chica!

Dr. Hale’s Nipple Ointment
Mix approximately equal amounts of the three ingredients together in a small container with a lid.
Apply a small amount after each breast feeding until nipples have healed.
Does not have to be washed off before baby feeds.
Bacitracin ointment (also called polysporin or Neosporin ointment)
Hydrocortizone 1% ointment
Monistat ointment or Lansinoh ointment
Wash hands prior to applying, and do not put fingers back in once they’ve applied ointment. You don’t want the ointment to be contaminated.

Like you, I was shy about letting strangers see my boobs, but I had no problem letting my boobs hang out around the house. I basically spent the first six months topless at home because I didn’t want to breastfeed in public. I agree with the other posters about squeezing out a few drops of breastmilk and rubbing it in after a feeding. The lanolin also helps and has no taste (I tasted it since my daughter had to).

My LC recommended acidophilus (sp?) to prevent thrush; I took it, and never had a problem. My LC was wonderful; she checked up on us 3 times and was always helpful. I ended up nursing for 2 years.

Good luck to you, and just do whatever works for you and your family.

Here in Australia (yes, reading all the way from down under) the ABA, which is our equivalent of the LLL runs breastfeeding education classes for pregnant mothers and their partners. One of the best things I got out of it was an open discussion about feeding and the ups and downs. We also got to see a mother feeding here baby and have a really good (and educational) look at real-life latching and feeding.

The other great thing the told us was to plan out our support network when things aren’t going to plan or need some support. The great thing they offer is a 24 hour helpline to call when you need.

And finally, kellymom is great. I especially recommend reading the stuff about supply and comp feeding.

Good luck and fingers crossed for you.

Good luck!

It hurt MUCH worse with my first, who nursed frequently and for a long time, than with me second who was more content to go 2 hours between feedings right from the start. So simply the fact that Elliot nursed so often in the hospital was a good sign that you were gonna be in pain. It’ll ease up and you won’t remember how bad it was in a month.

Oh and I know you didn’t have a c-section but for anyone else reading this, looking for answers. What they didn’t tell me in the hospital, while my son kept losing weight (and thus further stressing me out) was that:
1) C-section babies are pumped full of fluids when they’re born from mom being on a saline drip (so they weigh more at birth and thus lose more)
2)Your milk takes longer to come in after a c-section.

Hope nice lactation lady was able to help you. Oh and…picture or it didn’t happen :)

Liz

And let me second what a lot of people have already said….it hurts even when you’re doing it right in the beginning. For probably the first 3 months I had to pump and olive oil my nipples almost every day to not be in serious pain/avoid cracking/bleeding. It was sort of a pain but the upside is that I have quite the stock of frozen breast milk. I think someone else mentioned nipple shields earlier and it’s definitely true that a lot of people shy away from them BUT if that’s what gets your kid breast feeding and breast feeding is the goal–who cares? I use a nipple shield and my kid is almost six months and breast feeding like a damn champ.

here are all the things that worked for me: — nursing lying down, on my side with the kid next to me. takes the weight off while you’re healing.
– NO lanolin, only vasoline to moisturize.
– dipping the breast in warm salt water after nursing — you’ll feel like an idiot, but it really helped heal the shredded skin.
– finally, the thing that kept me going all this time: fenugreek. lots and lots of fenugreek pills. the more milk you have, the less he’ll have to suck, the easier it will be. seriously, i took a dozen of these things a day and my cup(s) ranneth over.

i’m glad i held on, for what it’s worth, though good god did it hurt. hope this helps a little.