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/sho...d.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/...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/ni...iplenipple.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.