If you had discomfort or pain while BFing

[sonrisa]

how long did it last for you?

Last time it hurt for at least 4 months, but It might have been the whole year. (It took a year for the csection pain to go away. I don't remember if nursing ever stopped hurting).

Unlike her sister, she has a good latch. However, she also has a small mouth so the nipple and areola are uncomfortable throughout. The ducts sting while milk is going through them. There is about a minute of OMG-oww-oww-oww pain but continuous can't-you-just finish-already?-you-stopped-swallowing-so-unlatch!-unlatch! discomfort. She is nursing about 14-15 times a day (every 1.5 hours except two 3 hour windows). After we nurse, it takes a bit for the tension to leave my body so I'm sleeping in 20-30 minute increments and one 2 hour block. (She often needs 20-30 minutes of rocking to get to sleep so that lines up.)

I love my kid but mildly resent and dread feeding her. I know I'm sticking this out. I just need to hear from others who eventually stopped hating nursing. I don't know that we'll get there but I need a little magical thinking today.

(I am not interested in hearing from supermamas who loved nursing, felt close to their babies, found the whole experience a snuggly lovefest of naturalness. Good for you. Right now that would just be salt in the wound)

[papie]

I think the pain lasted about a month? I am sorry you are having a hard time. (((Hugs)))

[sugarbear]

6 weeks each time. It was brutal. For #2, I finally called my OB for a prescription APNO, which made things so much better.

I'm sorry

[hi725]

6 weeks with both. And it was really intense, clench your jaw, hiss through your teeth, arch your back and try not to fling the baby across the room" pain. But it only last for 15 to 20 seconds each time.

[sonrisa]

Jan 10, 2014 15:21:41 GMT -5 hi725 said:

6 weeks with both. And it was really intense, clench your jaw, hiss through your teeth, arch your back and try not to fling the baby across the room" pain. But it only last for 15 to 20 seconds each time.

That is good to hear. We start with that. If that could just end I'd just be left with the "Stop already!" discomfort. 

[wkatie]

Jan 10, 2014 15:21:41 GMT -5 hi725 said:

6 weeks with both. And it was really intense, clench your jaw, hiss through your teeth, arch your back and try not to fling the baby across the room" pain. But it only last for 15 to 20 seconds each time.

Same here, but I think it was more like 4 weeks.

Then another round of it at about 6-7 months. I think their suction gets much stronger at that point?  It didn't last quite as long that time.

I'm sorry.   Hope it gets better soon.

[speckledfrog]

I've blocked most of that era out. One nip was always a bit more uncomfortable than the other. More "crunchy" if that makes any sense at all. I used a nipple shield for 8 weeks and at that point I could start tolerating bare nursing on that side.

[MixedBerryJam]

Jan 10, 2014 15:09:32 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

With my first it took 10 weeks of pumping (with a rented hospital grade pump) to heal from maybe two weeks of really awful nursing ... poor latch, unwieldy release, bleeding, cracked nipples, I don't remember what else. I know I had to wear my bra in the shower because the water hitting them hurt too much. I'm actually feeling my blood pressure rising just remembering those days right now. After 10 weeks I was able to slooooooowly add a session or two of nursing every few days until by maybe 4-5 months he was nursing ft. With my second I was much much more relaxed about taking painkillers prophylactically and didn't have nearly the discomfort. I totally had the dread feelings about nursing, and if I'm honest with myself, probably the resentments, too. 

[juliahenry]

Both things for me there was 7-10 days of toe-curling, involuntary gasping agony every minute they were latched on. After that, nothing. Until a couple of days before getting my period when it kicked in again briefly.

My friend who is an OB says it's related to lower levels of calcium, potassium and magnesium so vitamins and some foods will help.

I hope you feel better fast. That sensation is horribly painful.

[saucyc]

I think the pain lasted about 6 weeks with my daughter, she was a very aggressive nurser. I would cry everytime she latched, once my nipples toughened up I was ok.

I hope it subsides for you soon!

[nicanmatt]

It lasted about three months for me! I remember asking my friends if the pain would ever go away... But it did!!

[Overthemoon]

I had a cracked nipple at one point early on and I was in tears every time I had to nurse on that side. I think it took a week or two to finally start healing, and changing nursing positions helped. Once that healed we didn't have any problems but it's been three years now and I still remember how much that freaking hurt.

[sa]

My friend had a baby a couple of months ago and she said it was beyond nipple pain, her whole boob was in excruciating pain. She said the only thing that helped was seeing an OT who specialized in breastfeeding to help the baby latch. She highly recommends this so it's worth looking into.

[sporklemotion]

Jan 10, 2014 15:09:32 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

how long did it last for you?

Last time it hurt for at least 4 months, but It might have been the whole year. (It took a year for the csection pain to go away. I don't remember if nursing ever stopped hurting).

Unlike her sister, she has a good latch. However, she also has a small mouth so the nipple and areola are uncomfortable throughout. The ducts sting while milk is going through them. There is about a minute of OMG-oww-oww-oww pain but continuous can't-you-just finish-already?-you-stopped-swallowing-so-unlatch!-unlatch! discomfort. She is nursing about 14-15 times a day (every 1.5 hours except two 3 hour windows). After we nurse, it takes a bit for the tension to leave my body so I'm sleeping in 20-30 minute increments and one 2 hour block. (She often needs 20-30 minutes of rocking to get to sleep so that lines up.)

I love my kid but mildly resent and dread feeding her. I know I'm sticking this out. I just need to hear from others who eventually stopped hating nursing. I don't know that we'll get there but I need a little magical thinking today.K

(I am not interested in hearing from supermamas who loved nursing, felt close to their babies, found the whole experience a snuggly lovefest of naturalness. Good for you. Right now that would just be salt in the wound)

I hear you on the bolded. I'm almost at six weeks and my nipples are still really tender. She has a good latch and I have a good supply, so I feel like I have to stick with this-- I know it's good for her and don't have an "excuse" to stop. She's growing well and I haven't had too much engorgement, or cracked nipples, etc.  Plus, I like the excuse to eat more and am a cheapskate who doesn't want to pay for formula.
But at least right now, this is a way to feed my child, not a magical and beautiful bonding experience.  It makes me feel better to know that others feel this way, too-- it is working out OK for me, but I don't love it.

[Jalapeñomel]

I still use my nipple shield if it hurts.

[usuallylurking]

DS1 - I nursed for 6 months, used a shield for the first 4. I'm not sure it ever stopped hurting? It got more bearable (I can't remember when, though) but looking back now I think he always had a shallow latch so there was always some pain and discomfort. I also refused to use a pacifier for far too long (out of fear of nipple confusion) so I subjected myself to being the human pacifier for the first 10 weeks or so.
DS2 - again I nursed for 6 months. He was miles better than my nursing experience with DS1, but still painful in the beginning. I remember thinking I was going to quit (and felt guilty because I stuck it out longer for DS1) but on the exact day he turned 6 weeks we turned a corner and nursing was pain free from that point forward. I was (still am?) in awe that it was literally like a switch flipped.
DS3 - painful at times still at 8 weeks (today!). He has a very strong suck and latch so it feels like pinching at times. I am past the toe-curling start but we still have some of the "aren't you done yet?!" pain at the middle/end. He also likes to keep hold and yank his head back - I feel like my poor nipple is a worm that a bird is trying to rip from the ground. He's the first to do this so I'm a little perplexed as to what to do about it, and seems to do it when he's tired/fighting sleep or nearing the end of a long nursing session. Starting at 6 weeks I introduced the pacifier for my sanity with 2 others running around and my H gone for 8 weeks.
With all 3 they have small mouths so I really had to watch a shallow latch with them. Once they were on I would sometimes help push more of my areola into their mouths while they were nursing, just a little bit at a time. It seemed to help. Of course I learned this with DS2 (and now 3). With DS1 I just cursed and gritted my teeth and kept plugging along.
I hope your csec recovery is going better this time around! My second was definitely better than my first.

[sonrisa]

Jan 10, 2014 15:35:40 GMT -5 juliahenry said:

My friend who is an OB says it's related to lower levels of calcium, potassium and magnesium so vitamins and some foods will help.

That is good to know. I have a hard time remembering to take my vitamins. I should get DH to remind me.

[texassmith]

About 6 weeks with DD1. It never really hurt with DD2.

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using proboards

[cleo29]

I never was able to get beyond this point, but I think a nipple shield is worth trying to see if it helps. Have you met with an LC just to see if there is some minor adjustment that could be made to help? Is she tongue tied? This could prevent her from being able to pull the nipple far enough into her mouth.

Hope things get better soon!

[jaycee]

It stopped hurting for me after 6 weeks both times. It is never super comfortable, but there is rarely pain.

I DO NO LIKE NURSING. Nope. My baby hates a bottle and it makes me feel suffocated and trapped.

I made a commitment to stick it out to the one year mark. Then we're done. My body will finally be mine again.

You're doing a great job. Hang in there.

[litebright]

The first six weeks. I dreaded pretty much every feeding. It sucked. I cried through more feeds than I care to remember. I saw LCs, went to a BFing support group, etc. There was nothing wrong with her or me, it just HURT. Toe-curling pain. 

Manage the pain as best you can. I used APNO and some neato little gel pads I got from my LC. I'd stick them in the fridge while I was nursing and then they'd be nice and chilly when I stuck them back on my poor, sore nips. They were re-usable and only a teensy bit sticky, enough to stay put but not enough to hurt when I peeled them off. 

Then suddenly it didn't hurt. Pretty much between one day and the next. And I started to enjoy BFing and did it for more than a year. 

I'm sorry it hurts. I hope it gets better for you soon!

[angelaa73]

I don't want to tell you how long it took to stop hurting bc I don't want anyone to quit out of fear

I will tell you that every week, I would tell myself (on Friday night) I AM DOING THIS FOR ONE MORE WEEK AND THAT'S FUCKING IT!

I ended up nursing erin for over a year.

[saraandmichael]

I had pain for about 10 weeks in my left boob when I nursed E. He also had a good latch, but for some reason the way he ate on that one made it kill in pain on the left side of the boob for about the first 5 minutes, and then a dull ache through the rest of the feeding (that I didn't feel at all when I pumped).

I would stick my pinky into the side to unlatch and adjust the nipple to point more toward the front or move him and relatch, and that would sometimes help.

[pollyprissypants]

It lasted about a month and each time I was done nursing I would rub some breast milk on my nipples and let them air dry. That really seemed to help them heal faster.

But I think maybe into the 3rd month the first 15 seconds or so were still torture and I wanted to scream each time she latched. Once the initial pain wore off it was fine though.

I'm about 5 months in now and it never really hurts unless she decides to turn her head with my nipple still in her mouth or when she bites me. Damn nosy teething baby.

[Gato]

Have you tried Dr. Newman's All Purpose Nipple Ointment? It has to be prescribed by a doctor/midwife. It took the hardcore pain away so I was just left with mild discomfort. I didn't find breastfeeding pleasant until around 6 months. Then all of a sudden it was great. Until the biting started at 9 months. lol