Tell me breastfeeding gets easier **Update**

[pierogigirl]

It really, really does get easier. BF babies eat ALL THE TIME in the first few weeks. I felt like I was becoming a part of the couch for at least 6 weeks with DS1. I never had much pain, but I did think about quitting when I was nursing for the 17th time in a day and the baby would not let me put him down and I was just so tired.

And now, I feel sad when I think about weaning DS2 because he's our last baby. Hang in there. Eventually, it becomes so much easier than washing out bottles (pump parts is another story).

[MamaMaui24]

It does get better!

Did they evaluate him for tongue tie? Those moms seem to have an abnormally painful time.

I will say my friend said she had a lot of pain for the first month or so.

Air out your nipples when you can. Use lanolin or nipple cream (there are various RX creams as well). Buy frozen peas and stuff it in your bra (throw out after being frozen/defrosted several times).

Hang in there!

[jackpackage]

I promise promise it does get easier! DS is 11 weeks and I think it got to be better around 7-8 weeks. I cried all the time over bf and had the same worries as you. We ended up giving him a bottle around 3 weeks because I was so exhausted by feeding him constantly and dreaded bf. A few weeks later, and I actually enjoy nursing him. He still doesn't have the best latch, but watching YouTube videos and Kellymom has really helped. Hang in there!

ETA: Also, I was always pulling him off when he had a bad latch (as my LC instructed), but I read somewhere to try to adjust him while still latching instead. This really helped the pain.

[rdgove]

It will get SOOO much better! Hang in there. Are your nipples red/peeling/bleeding? If so, try a nipple shield and make sure you are slathering on the nipple cream. Earth Mama's Nipple Butter is great.

With my first, it took 5 weeks for the mind-numbing, toe-curling pain at latch to go away. I cried and cried every time she wanted to eat. I saw three LC's who all said her latch was perfect. She gained weight fine. My nipples were so sore and they developed scabs. It was awful.

Then one day around week 5, she nursed and it was pain-free! Just like that. It was such a relief. I felt like a new person. I never had pain again.

Good luck! It is so hard, but it does become better.

[caramia17]

It gets better. I hated breast feeding at the beginning. It hurt, particularly on one side and I was always engorged and leaking and she took so.damn.long to eat. The turning point was right rand 5 weeks for the pain and 10 weeks for the 40 minute nursing sessions. It was great after that! I made it 13 months and it was sad to wean. You can do it. There is a payoff and you are doing wonderfully. Take care of yourself and nipple cream is your friend.

[ijack]

Hang in there - usually the magic number is 6 weeks, which is just around the corner!
I would suggest spreading BM on your nipples and letting them air out between feedings (I know people who cut holes in a tank and wore that around the house).
Hugs!

[bunch]

I promise it gets better. I could have written your post. I used to have tears streaming down my face every time dd latched. At 6 wks, I suddenly started to enjoy it and now I count our year of bfing one of my biggest accomplishments. Hang in there! I feel like its this big secret just how hard it really is. You are doing an amazing job.

[Deleted]

It will almost certainly get easier. I had blood curdling pain for ten weeks and then it just went away. I ultimately ended up EP after 12 weeks b/c DD never really got it. But I don't regret trying for so long. I really think my experience is atypical. I think it's likely to get much easier for you soon.

[h]

It gets so much better. I thought bfing hurt like a bitch for the first 2-3 weeks with DS1 and felt a sense of dread when I heard him wake up during the night because I knew I would have to feed him again. It quit hurting after the first few weeks, then he eventually quit nursing so often and it got even easier, and before I knew it I didn't mind it at all. Then I blinked and he had been nursing for two years. It really will get better soon.

[badtzmaru22]

It gets better!! Six weeks - just stick it out for six weeks, I promise. I was so upset because it hurt so bad, and I wasn't getting any bonding out of it at all... and then I realized it hadn't been painful in a while, and it seemed to be working out, and then I finally felt the bonding.

I am SO GLAD I stuck it out now, because it is SO easy to feed her quick and put her back to bed when she wakes up at night. Ditto to the end of the 40 minute feeding sessions around 10 weeks for us as well, but she was still eating all.the.time. Hang in there!! You have done great to get this far!

[Xyz]

It gets better! 6 weeks was my magic number too.

When he starts to clamp down after he is latched try putting a little downward pressure on his chin with your thumb to open up his mouth little more. That trick saved me. And if you can see his nose, try to shove more nipple in, he won't suffocate even though it looks like it.

People say they go through growth spurts but seriously its all one big spurt until 6 weeks... just non stop nursing, drinking lots of water and trying to sleep.

Breathe and consciously relax your shoulders, the baby tenses up when you do

Keep at it. It gets so much better and is so worth it.

[huskymom]

Six weeks and it got so much better! The rx nipple cream was so helpful, and letting the nips air out afterwards...you can get these plastic nipples covers that keep them from touching your bra, if you don't want to go topless. The gel soothies helped a little (stick them in the fridge)

[Ashley&Scott]

It will get better & easier. (Some day you'll be thankful you aren't mixing bottles in the middle of the night.) Keep working on the latch & get some fresh air, it will lift your spirits. If you have a bf support group in your area go, it helps to talk to other moms.

[huskymom]

Thanks! My LC told me to apply the cream immediately after nursing, then let'em air out, not putting a bra on if possible for awhile (or use breast pads if in public). I cannot stress how much better the APNO (rx) cream is than the lanisoh, which stained all my bras/tanks to boot! I wish I had it in the early days. I would occasionally alternate with the gel pads when they were killing me. They didn't really help healing but felt wonderful.

[huskymom]

And ditto a bf support group. It was nice to get out and be able to nurse around others without worrying in the beginning about what the heck you were doing.

[niki]

10 weeks was our magic number and things were pretty rough until we hit that mark. Then, like magic, it was better, like tons! But, damn, it was hard. It was stressful, and it was painful, but so very worth it.

If it helps, after reading a few books and talking to LCs, it really does sound like you are doing everything right, it is just not as natural a process as they make it out to be for lots of people. At birth weight at 2 weeks is perfect, and you have plenty of wet/dirty dipes, so you really are doing it right!

[pugz]

it will get so much better!

[scribellesam]

I agree with the pp who suggested adjusting the latch while LO is still attached. This worked well for me. I kept lanolin everywhere all over the house and loved the gel pads in between feedings.

Don't be put off by how frequently baby needs to eat! As long as you're getting lots of wet/dirty diapers and baby is gaining weight, he/she is getting plenty to eat. Nursing on demand is the best way to build up your supply. It's so exhausting at the beginning but I love bfing my son now. Iff you stick with it, it's likely to get easier very soon! Good luck.

[Deleted]

It absolutely gets better! I expressed a few drops of breast milk onto my nipples before latching to soften them and then a few drops afterwards to help heal them, and I would let them air dry for a few minutes. I did use the gel pads but only once in a while.

[Deleted]

Oh and also, ditto whoever mentioned setting goals. My goal was initially two weeks, then even after it stopped hurting I just wanted to make it 3 months (maternity leave), now my goal is at least six months with a general ideal goal of a year. Having shorter concrete goals helped a lot bc it got me out of the mindset that I "had" to do it no matter what.

[satama]

It will get soooooo much better! With both kids I just took it day by day because in the beginning there were many times I wanted to quit. 6 weeks was the magic number for us too. DS2 had been in the NICU so he had bad latch issues, but we powered through and nursing is easy peasy now. I had many tearful nursing session in the beginning with DS1 and I was so exhausted that I didn't even notice.my nipples were bleeding at one point. I wanted to quit in the hospital. DS1 wound up nursing for 15 months

Good luck and try and hang in there! It will get easier.

[satama]

Oh and ditto to setting short goals and the earth mammal angel baby nipple butter is awesome.

[aspentosh]

OMG yes. I almost threw in the towel on BFing a dozen times because of the toe curling pain. I was in tears while nursing during those first few weeks.

Around 6 weeks it got so much better. If you have cracked nipples, I highly recommend asking your OB for all purpose nipple ointment (triple nipple cream). It made a huge difference.

DD was tiny when born (5lb 13oz) and barely made it back to birth weight at her 2 week checkup. My first 3 weeks sound a lot like yours worry-wise. She's still low on the charts, but is thriving so don't worry about your son getting enough to eat!

[aspentosh]

Sept 5, 2012 21:04:34 GMT -5 @pnkybrwstr said:

Thank you ladies! It is helpful to know I am not alone.

It makes me so sad to dread feeding him, which is supposed to be a happy bonding time. I've taken to watching Clean House on Netflix to distract from the pain. My nipples will forever burn when I hear Niecy Nash's voice.

I found that I dreaded it those first 6ish weeks. After that it slowly got better and now it's a peaceful time (unless she's interested in what DH or the dogs are doing). It really really really does get better!

[jinnifah]

It does get easier. I just forced myself to nurse through the pain of blistered nipples that just wouldn't heal for 4 weeks. I remember almost crying when he started his 3wk growth spurt and the associated cluster feeding. What really helped is finally figuring out how to manually express milk onto my nipples after a feeding. Then I'd just spend the day shirtless with the curtains drawn

After the first month things got easier and once I hit the 2 month mark breastfeeding was a breeze.

It sounds like he's eating just fine if he's having lots of poops and pees.

[Deleted]

I was giving myself headaches gritting my teeth at feedings for the first 3 weeks. Then it stopped hurting.

There are different kinds of pain, though. I had pain at the beginning that improved within a few seconds. I didn't have any nipple damage. That meant if I hung in there, it would get better. If you've got damage (cracks, bleeding), then you need to take care of them and try some different position (football sometimes works better than cradle). If your nipple is white or a weird shape (like a lipstick) after nursing then you might be dealing with a tongue or lip tie. Regardless of how good your LC's reputation is, I'd see someone else - a LLL leader, a support group leader - because different people have different "tricks" and skills.

[water*drop]

It gets better. I cried (and occasionally screamed) every time DD ate for the first several weeks. It was awful. I had horribly cracked nipples with bad mastitis by the end of week 2. I found a support group, and it seriously saved me. I went twice a week, and I always felt better when I left...but then it'd be bad again the next day. Each time it got bad, I made a deal with myself - I could quit immediately after the next group meeting if I wanted to, but I had to make it until then. Since I inevitably left the meeting feeling better than when I walked into it, I didn't quit. It really helped to see people who had been through what I was going through (or worse) and kept going. Now things are great, and I still go to the meetings occasionally to help out the new moms or to get advice on whatever DD is doing at that time.

[bunch]

Awesome!

[Deleted]

Glad to know you're over the hump.

You're close ms.starry - most moms will say around 6-8 weeks is when it starts having an upside.

[froggy76]

Yay! I'm glad things are going well. It's so much work, but so worth it!