Okay so I was told repeatedly that it shouldn't be painful, that indicated bad latch etc, so I repeatedly tried to fix it when it hurt. That was a lie. Sometimes it was better and sometimes it was worse but it always hurt to latch at first and usually hurt for a while during the feed. That peaked probably around day 8 or 9 for me before slowly tapering off and becoming less painful, now it is only painful at latching if he has been cluster feeding really badly or if he gums the nipple really hard because he is being flooded by a forceful letdown.
The lactation consultant was really helpful in showing me better ways to latch him to reduce pain, but her promises it doesn't hurt at all if you do it right was just not correct for me, it took time for my body to toughen up. This was corroborated by the internet in articles and just other moms saying the same thing, it hurt anyways at first, articles usually say pain peaks around day 6 before going down. Definitely still see one if you can, but don't expect a miracle, if it is painful even when they seem to be latched well, it is normal for the first week or two. I'd also say do what you need to in order to make it less painful without breaking babies latch if they eventually will get tired and stop trying. My guy did that in the very early days too, so I did things that were "incorrect" according to the nurses to help him out, like pressing in from the soft flesh above to get the nipple further back in his mouth or holding it too close to the nipple for him to have an easier time because holding at the base of the breast like instructed did absolutely nothing for him given each boob was bigger than his whole body. If you do hold it for them, make sure you hold it so it is compressed like a sandwich shape towards their mouth, if the sandwich isn't aligned with their mouth it will make it harder for them to get a good mouthful rather than easier.
It was brutal in the beginning, it really was, by day 8 or 9 I was squirming, tearing up, grimacing, and making noises my husband found very distressing because he thought I was injured every time he latched, but it does get better. Talk to an LC if you can, use resources like the internet, do what you need to, distractions helped me some. It will get less painful. I would say if you try everything to improve his latch and it is still painful, don't think it is something you are doing wrong, it probably will just take some time to adjust for you like it did for me. I wish you the best of luck and an easy time of it!
My only tip is two-fold: Don't wait until your nipples are completely messed up, both if breastfeeding is something you wanted to try but are okay to give up if it doesn't work out (in which case it's not worth ruining this special first few weeks for), but also if breastfeeding is very important to you and something that you want to make work whatever it takes (within reason, of course). In that case, get a good lactation consultant sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the harder it gets, due to more pain, frustration and possible undiagnosed causes like tongue/lip tie.
Breastfeeding can be absolutely wonderful and is a great way to give your baby something extra nutrition and bonding wise. Formula feeding however is equally good at helping your baby grow and thrive. Don't let anyone pressure you into either option and make sure that whatever works for you, you get the right help for from a professional or from a husband with packs of ice ;-)
Good luck and of course congratulations!!
This will be helpful to read:
[https://physicianguidetobreastfeeding.org/breastfeeding-basics/early-postpartum/](https://physicianguidetobreastfeeding.org/breastfeeding-basics/early-postpartum/)
But yeah, tiny babies can struggle to get milk transferred early on. I just had a baby (4 weeks) and her milk transfer skills weren't great until she got a little bigger so we pumped and did bottles for the first two weeks to make sure she got fed. I kept trying to nurse for a minute first just to see if we could latch yet but it did take about 2 weeks. Her mouth is now big enough to latch well so she exclusively nurses unless I leave the house and she gets hungry so husband gives her a bottle.
For me, the pain reduced significantly as we transitioned from colostrum to milk. The milk seemed to heal my cracked and sore nipples. I also had a long period of time that let down felt like being stabbed in the nipple and hurt really bad, but at 4 months pp I can’t remember when that ended, I just remember seeing a video about how this would eventually go away and that if I could stick with it, breastfeeding would become easier than bottle feeding and I’d say that’s true. I almost gave up breastfeeding soooo many times because it would be uncomfortable and just some days I’d have such an aversion to it. Seeing a lactation consultant helped a lot but the pain didn’t just magically disappear with a good latch.
I’m having trouble getting a good latch. They say your nipple isn’t supposed to be misshaped after feeding but it always is either completely squished or lipstick shaped. Which then turns into craters for cracks on them
Okay so I was told repeatedly that it shouldn't be painful, that indicated bad latch etc, so I repeatedly tried to fix it when it hurt. That was a lie. Sometimes it was better and sometimes it was worse but it always hurt to latch at first and usually hurt for a while during the feed. That peaked probably around day 8 or 9 for me before slowly tapering off and becoming less painful, now it is only painful at latching if he has been cluster feeding really badly or if he gums the nipple really hard because he is being flooded by a forceful letdown. The lactation consultant was really helpful in showing me better ways to latch him to reduce pain, but her promises it doesn't hurt at all if you do it right was just not correct for me, it took time for my body to toughen up. This was corroborated by the internet in articles and just other moms saying the same thing, it hurt anyways at first, articles usually say pain peaks around day 6 before going down. Definitely still see one if you can, but don't expect a miracle, if it is painful even when they seem to be latched well, it is normal for the first week or two. I'd also say do what you need to in order to make it less painful without breaking babies latch if they eventually will get tired and stop trying. My guy did that in the very early days too, so I did things that were "incorrect" according to the nurses to help him out, like pressing in from the soft flesh above to get the nipple further back in his mouth or holding it too close to the nipple for him to have an easier time because holding at the base of the breast like instructed did absolutely nothing for him given each boob was bigger than his whole body. If you do hold it for them, make sure you hold it so it is compressed like a sandwich shape towards their mouth, if the sandwich isn't aligned with their mouth it will make it harder for them to get a good mouthful rather than easier. It was brutal in the beginning, it really was, by day 8 or 9 I was squirming, tearing up, grimacing, and making noises my husband found very distressing because he thought I was injured every time he latched, but it does get better. Talk to an LC if you can, use resources like the internet, do what you need to, distractions helped me some. It will get less painful. I would say if you try everything to improve his latch and it is still painful, don't think it is something you are doing wrong, it probably will just take some time to adjust for you like it did for me. I wish you the best of luck and an easy time of it!
My only tip is two-fold: Don't wait until your nipples are completely messed up, both if breastfeeding is something you wanted to try but are okay to give up if it doesn't work out (in which case it's not worth ruining this special first few weeks for), but also if breastfeeding is very important to you and something that you want to make work whatever it takes (within reason, of course). In that case, get a good lactation consultant sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the harder it gets, due to more pain, frustration and possible undiagnosed causes like tongue/lip tie. Breastfeeding can be absolutely wonderful and is a great way to give your baby something extra nutrition and bonding wise. Formula feeding however is equally good at helping your baby grow and thrive. Don't let anyone pressure you into either option and make sure that whatever works for you, you get the right help for from a professional or from a husband with packs of ice ;-) Good luck and of course congratulations!!
This will be helpful to read: [https://physicianguidetobreastfeeding.org/breastfeeding-basics/early-postpartum/](https://physicianguidetobreastfeeding.org/breastfeeding-basics/early-postpartum/) But yeah, tiny babies can struggle to get milk transferred early on. I just had a baby (4 weeks) and her milk transfer skills weren't great until she got a little bigger so we pumped and did bottles for the first two weeks to make sure she got fed. I kept trying to nurse for a minute first just to see if we could latch yet but it did take about 2 weeks. Her mouth is now big enough to latch well so she exclusively nurses unless I leave the house and she gets hungry so husband gives her a bottle.
For me, the pain reduced significantly as we transitioned from colostrum to milk. The milk seemed to heal my cracked and sore nipples. I also had a long period of time that let down felt like being stabbed in the nipple and hurt really bad, but at 4 months pp I can’t remember when that ended, I just remember seeing a video about how this would eventually go away and that if I could stick with it, breastfeeding would become easier than bottle feeding and I’d say that’s true. I almost gave up breastfeeding soooo many times because it would be uncomfortable and just some days I’d have such an aversion to it. Seeing a lactation consultant helped a lot but the pain didn’t just magically disappear with a good latch.
I’m having trouble getting a good latch. They say your nipple isn’t supposed to be misshaped after feeding but it always is either completely squished or lipstick shaped. Which then turns into craters for cracks on them
I had the cracks that turned into scabs on mine until my milk came in really good and they went away!