s/o and x post Does breastfeeding hurt at first?

[american_mama]

I posted asking whether breastfeeding hurts at first in the Feeding forum and wnated people's experiences. I'm cross-posting here because it came up in a thread here, I think about a breasteeding class. http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=409361

[swissair81]

I just lost my whole post :(
Anyway, I'm probably the wrong person to answer because I have Reynaud's Phenomenon (http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/nipple-blanching.html), and nursing can be very, very painful if you don't find a good LC or medical advice. I was in agony for the 6.5 months I nursed my oldest. My OB kept treating me for thrush, and it never helped because I didn't have thrush. I ended up getting good advice when my 2nd baby was 5 weeks old. I emailed Jack Newman, who sent me his prescription for his all purpose nipple ointment- http://breastfeeding.about.com/od/nippleproblems/qt/triplenipple.htm. It saved me. I was able to nurse without pain within days. For my 3rd baby, I asked for a prescription right when I was discharged from the hospital. For my last baby, I filled it before I went into labor and brought it with me. It was very helpful.

[wimama]

Nursing was never painful for me. I got lucky and DS was a great nurser from the start. He had a good latch and had gained weight by his first check up at the pediatricians. Nursing was never really painful.

[MomToOne]

Yes, it can be uncomfortable at first IME. It shouldn't be outrageous or long-lasting pain but it does take some getting used to.

[daisymommy]

Oh H@LL yes it hurts!
Toe curling, lamaze breathing hurts.
And this is with two different great LC telling me that my babies latch was perfect.

I thankfully never had any cracked or bleeding nipples, but the ridge of their gumline clamping down on my breast like jaws and hoover combined, paired with flat nipples needing to be drawn out (which tears away the tissue beneath the surface that is holding them down)--was excruciating.

And then, magically, at 6 weeks I didn't feel any pain, and I loved nursing. Just as everyone said I would.

[mommylamb]

When I had DS, he had some latch problems and I had to use a nipple shield in the beginning. I'm not sure if that's the reason, but breastfeeding was never painful for me. But, I'm clearly in the minority. Breastfeeding was a PITA for other reasons (I have oversupply and leaked all over the place constantly and I hated pumping at work) but we stuck with it for the year.

[amldaley]

As you can plainly see from the other posts, this really depends on the person!

It depends on your sensitivity to pain, the shape of your nipples and breasts (as relative to baby's ability to get a good latch in a particular position) and whether baby is a good nurser or not.

If it is toe curling painful, as one pp said, for more than the first few days/weeks, you may need to try a different position, adjust baby's latch or use a nipple shield.

But let's face it, when your sensitivie flesh gets sucked on and mawed, it can be uncomfortable until you desensitize and/or until you and baby get a good latch and position that works well for both of you.

The thing is...in the end...most women who are able to nurse successfully and who stick with it, find it is worth it.

[ABO Mama]

It was a little odd at first, and I quickly learned that I needed to reapply lansinoh after every feeding.

[Katigre]

The first few weeks of nursing, I had pain for the first 10ish seconds after latch on, and also pain with letdown (that i mistakenly thought was thrush but was just typical letdown adjustments in a new mom).

I would count aloud to get through the initial discomfort and then nursing was comfortable - this subsided once the babies were a few weeks old and my nipples were used to things.

[sweetsue98]

Yes it hurts! People will tellyou if the baby had a good latch it shouldn't hurt. I think it's different for everyone and it hurt for the first 15 seconds and it got better.

[AnnieW625]

I recall only two instances with only DD2 that nursing was kind of painful, the first was after we'd been using Dr. Browns bottles for a couple of weeks (DD2 got a bottle when we were out to eat, or DH would feed her at least one feeding a day) and she had developed a long suck and so we switched to Avent bottles and the long suck went away. I also remember buying some soothies gel pads around the time she was 6 weeks old, but other than that I didn't find nursing painful at all. I remember with DD2 because she slept through the night very early on (6 weeks) that there were a few times I thought I was getting a plugged duct, but I just massaged it bit and it went away.

Both times I bought a full container of breast cream and never used more than a 1/4 of it.

[SkyrMommy]

It was very painful for me at first, DD had a great latch and I didn't have any issues with nipple shape, but I wanted to cry for about the first two weeks that I was nursing. Lots of nipple cream and patience thinking through the pain helped me manage. My breasts adjusted and I'd love to think that the tissues were tougher and nerves slightly deadened. We nursed for 11 months after that initial awfulness.

[elektra]

I had the toe curling, REALLY bad pain. It hurt so bad with both kids the first two to three weeks. Things got much better eventually.

[amldaley]

The first few weeks of nursing, I had pain for the first 10ish seconds after latch on, and also pain with letdown (that i mistakenly thought was thrush but was just typical letdown adjustments in a new mom).

I would count aloud to get through the initial discomfort and then nursing was comfortable - this subsided once the babies were a few weeks old and my nipples were used to things.

Oh...yeah...I totally forgot about the painful letdown. I went through a phase of that for a couple of weeks a couple of months in to nursing. I thought it was thrush or mastitis, too!

[indigo99]

I'm a baby about pain, and I don't remember it being really painful. I'd say uncomfortable maybe in the beginning until DS's tongue got longer and I learned to pull his lips out and around my breast (they tended to automatically get pushed in when he latched on). I did use motherlove nipple cream after every feeding from the very start and never had any major issues. Now when he started biting... that's another story.

[longtallsally05]

Nope. Not unless I have thrush (candidal infection in milk ducts or on nipples). If you have pain without obvious signs of breakdown (cracking, bleeding, peeling etc), you need to check with a lactation consultant to rule out thrush, and treat yourself & baby too if you have it. When I have had thrush, it has felt like the baby had a mouthful of glass while nursing. Once the thrush is gone, so is the pain (thanks to the makers of Diflucan)!

[eh613c]

As you can plainly see from the other posts, this really depends on the person!

It depends on your sensitivity to pain, the shape of your nipples and breasts (as relative to baby's ability to get a good latch in a particular position) and whether baby is a good nurser or not.

If it is toe curling painful, as one pp said, for more than the first few days/weeks, you may need to try a different position, adjust baby's latch or use a nipple shield.

But let's face it, when your sensitivie flesh gets sucked on and mawed, it can be uncomfortable until you desensitize and/or until you and baby get a good latch and position that works well for both of you.

The thing is...in the end...most women who are able to nurse successfully and who stick with it, find it is worth it.

:yeahthat: