HELP!!! Sore Sore Sore Nipples

I would also check to make sure your son is not tongue tied, We all missed that with my second for awhile. They might still get a decent latch but if he cant extend his tongue enough he may not be nursing correctly.

Even when tired just keep removing him by breaking the suction with your finger if you have any doubt about his latch. That was the hard part for me, unlatching multiple times in a sitting to keep a good latch. One bad latch seemed to set my healing back. Yep for me, lots of air time and applying breastmilk after a feeding helped me heal. i would make sure i was dry before i applied the lansinoh.

his jaw should be moving up and down. If his checks are puckering like sucking on a straw he isnt latching properly or may be done. Make sure you unlatch his when he is done actively nursing. For me the "damage" would happen once they we comfort nuring and falling asleep because the latch would slip.

Hang in there and keep working on it because if it hurts while they are nursing something needs to be corrected.

I just went through this with my second, who is one month old. Feeding him was excruciating, especially at night. The nurses said it takes 2-3 weeks for your nipples to toughen up and they were so right - the day he turned two weeks old, the pain disappeared. Stay strong - it will get better!!

My DD is 10 weeks and breasfeeding was painful for the first 4 weeks. In fact, it was almost one month to the day that my nipples roughened up and stopped hurting. I didn't have any latch issues either. I think it is just your nipples getting used to being sucked on so hard. Pumping a little before feeding will definitely help. Also, lanolin didn't work for me. It was torture putting it on because it was so viscous. Earth Mama, Angel Baby nipple butter was the best - put it on after every feeding. Be strong, it will get better, you can do it!

I had to stop nursing for about 4 weeks with my third it hurt so bad, and nothing helped with the pain more the doctor prescribed "newmans ointment" love, love, love that stuff, I breastfed one or two short times a day to keep my little one familiar and then when I healed and she got better at feeding we went back to just breast over time. Now 9mo later we are just on the breast and doing just great...have been since about month three.

Just an idea: I experienced super painful nursing and used the Lansinoh religiously because it seemed to be soothing. Once things got better I stopped using it (after 2 months of severe pain). After she bit me and the nippys got a bit irritated and sore again I started using the Lansinoh again and then they wouldn't get better. I stopped using the Lansinoh and they were back to normal in 2 days - it was obviously a large part of the problem. I also learned that letting them air dry (best in the sun) with no cream was best. ;-) Good luck!!!

cold cabbage leaves (because of the shape) help. he'll figure out he doesn't need to do it that hard eventually. sorry!!!!

Poor you! Hang in there!

I don't know if this is the issue you are having, but with my second child I figured out that I had an over abundant milk supply and forceful letdown. This caused my kids to bite down on the nipples to slow the flow. With both kids it was excruciating. I would cry when my daughter breastfed. But the second time around I knew it wouldn't last forever which made it easier. My son is 4 months old and it doesn't really hurt anymore.

Anyway, check out this link to see if it might be your issue:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html
The suggestions here, and a lot of patience, are what helped me.

Good luck!

The Bionic Nipple - my best friend. I wanted to marry it. Seriously, it's one of those rubber nipple shield jobbers. You can get them at BabysRUS or Target. I know that some say that the NS will cause nipple confusion or keep the baby from getting a good latch without, but I never had a problem with that. My son also had a barracuda latch! That's funny! We called our son Barracuda Baby!
You don't have to use it every time you nurse; it just takes the edge off the pain and gives your tender skin a chance to heal. The only cream that worked for me and my son was The First Years Nipple Butter from BabysRUs. Hope this helps!

Be sure to wait for advice from the lactation consultant but I used nipple shields just briefly to get through those first tough times with sore nipples. Then after a couple of weeks it should pass.

Hi young Mama, I used a little A&D ointment and air drying and that worked like a charm. I totally understand that you really want to nurture your baby but not if leaves you in agony.

I used plain old chapstick after my son was done nursing. For me this did wonders.

Tea bags. Just make a cup of tea. Drain and cool the teabags, then put them in your bra under a nursing pad so they don't stain. Make a few bags, change them every time. It won't be immediate, but it will help. Unfortunately it is just one of the joys of nursing. It gets easier, try to hang in there

As a peer breastfeeding counselor with Nursing Mothers Counsel here in the Bay Area (we also have a Santa Cruz chapter), I agree with much of the advice you've gotten so far.

I do have a few suggestions to help:
- Air drying could be exacerbating the problem, as wet wound healing has been shown to improve the skin's elasticity (which is important for a nursing mom!) and lessen the risk of scarring. I know scarring isn't something you're probably concerned about with nipples, but think about how a cut feels when you let it air dry vs keeping it covered with a band-aid. When you let something air dry, it tends to become tight with decreased elasticity, and when you think about this happening with nipples, I just cringe thinking about the pain that could be felt while the nipples go from dry & tight to good & wet.

- I 2nd the tongue-tie possibility. My 1st was tongue-tied, but we didn't know until he was 2 wks old. Long story short: ENT told us @3wks no he's not, LC diagnosed him with Type 3 Posterior Tongue tie @4mo, got his tongue clipped @4mo = IMMEDIATE difference. However, I've heard from other moms of tongue-tie babies that they didn't notice a difference at all, so I'm thinking it has a lot to do with the TYPE of tongue-tie or extent of the tie itself. Worth getting it checked out, though!

- No one has suggested Reynaud's Phenomenon. I had this with both my kids, and it was EXCRUCIATING! It's a vasospasm of the nipple, even though it's most often found in the extremities. Blanching of the nipple after a feed, stinging pain when nipples are erect, painful sensation when brushed with clothing (ie: nursing bra, shirt)... these are just 3 symptoms. You can find out more by googling it, but what worked for me was 4 days of 250mg of B12, then a maintenance dose of 25mg per day. I did this 25mg maintenance dose until about 8mo, then did a trial run without it and ended up being fine. I wish I would've known about this with my 1st because it was unbearable at times!

- At Day 8, you should not still be experiencing engorgement. Ways to alleviate this are: feed baby often (10-12 times per 24 hours), pump just to relieve pressure and soften nipple enough for baby to get a good, deep latch, cold cabbage leaves or ice packs (unless you feel you have Reynaud's!!!), ibuprofen/tylenol for the pain/ache. If baby is already feeding 10-12 times per 24 hours (which is VERY typical of a wk old baby!), then I would NOT pump in between feedings unless it's just to relieve the pressure. This could lead to what another suggested about overproduction.

- My last suggestion is something we just learned about 2 weeks ago and is a fairly new thing that LC's are trying now with babies who won't latch or don't feed well in the traditional breastfeeding position of laying down on his side. It's call Laid Back Breastfeeding, and it's just what it sounds like. Mom lays back at approximately a 64 degree angle, and baby lays on her tummy. Gravity ensures that baby gets as deep a latch as possible, and it's actually a lot more comfortable for mom because you can lay your head back on some pillows and rest instead of leaning over baby and giving yourself a crick in the neck.

I can email articles to you about any of these suggestions if you'd like. Just send me a private email at ____@____.com (I can't attach anything on Mamasource). You can also check out NMC's website at http://www.nursingmothers.org for more helpful info as well as a schedule of our free breastfeeding classes on the Peninsula (for you or any pregnant mommas you may know!). Good luck, and happy nursing :)

Hi S.! I had the same thing with both of my babies, and yes, the latch was perfect. It was just a matter of sensitive nipples, small mouths and strong suck. For me, the worst of the pain was over at around the two-week mark. Keep up with the lanolin, as cracks can often happen because your nipples get dry. Be super careful about his latch, and hang in there! You can do it! His mouth will grow along with the rest of him, and you are doing great. I'm glad you have a lactation consultant to rely on too.

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try pumping just before nursing... may help with engorgement and make latching even better than it is currently. If you can - find an IBCLC instead of a regular CLC or LC. Even try going to the Local Leche League meeting for some other Mom's tips and experience.