How long until your nipples stopped hurting when nursing?

With my first it was toe curling, day 5 he had a tongue tie snipped and it got better within a couple days. It’s shouldn’t really be toe curling at any point, perhaps slightly painful for the first 7-10 days whilst your skin adjusts. It could be worth seeing an osteo if latch and tongue tie has already been checked. Their muscles could be tight from birth and making feeding uncomfortable.

@Rosie I’m on week 5 already and all things considered, there shouldn’t be any issue :( I even pump with no problem. I’ll check out an osteo though! (what is an osteo?)

Also pain* not poison 😅

Well done for sticking with it through the pain for 5 weeks! Cranial osteopath or osteopath that specialises in babies. They just help stretch the muscles carefully to give them a bit more movement. If it’s still sore after feeding, not just during, I’d also recommend silver nipple cups to wear between feeds with just a drop of breastmilk.

I didn’t even notice it said poison 😂 I read it all like 5 times to see the mistake. I’ll let you guess how sleep is for me at the moment 😂😭

Around the 2 month mark. And now I no longer feel a thing. With the second baby it also never hurt.

It definitely shouldn’t be that painful, as said above I recommend a lactation consultation!

@Rosie I haven’t 😅 I’ll stick it through until I can’t handle it and then I pump and give her a bottle until I can at least breathe without pain again, and then the cycle continues

@Tierney i have one! they had no tips other than to power through it 🥲 she checked for ties, checked out her latch, did a weighted feed to make sure she’s actually getting enough milk out, and nothing past that except popping a Tylenol if needed beforehand

Who did you have it with? A proper consultant wouldn’t leave you to it! It really shouldn’t be such an unpleasant experience!

@Tierney two at the hospital (who said her latch was fine and the pain would go away in 2-3 days) and two from WIC who actually checked her latch and everything bc the hospital LCs didn’t

The latch can be correct BUT if baby has a tie even just mild, it’ll cause pain after feeds. You’re not supposed to experience any pain let alone to this extent so something is wrong in baby’s latch. Powering through it is not normal and is terrible advice . Did they check top AND bottom lips? Were they tongue tie experts? Cause tongue ties are often missed when checked. So I would look for a professional that is more experienced with tongue ties. Also when nursing, have you tried different positions? Nipple shields? Do you know what type of nipples you have?

With a bad latch, mine hurt for two weeks. And I read toe curling ‘poison’ as intentional. Because it felt like i was being electrocuted. And i would sometimes panic before latching him on. Unfortunately, latch is still ordinary, but it no longer hurts. How often are you pumping? I find pumping can irritate as well, and are you using nipple balm before and after feeds?

I started using silverettes from 37 weeks pregnant when I started harvesting colostrum and my nipples didn’t hurt much maybe on the third day when baby finally latched (we struggled with latch on first two days). But again! Silverettes! They feel SO NICE on the nipples!

@✨Wis 🇭🇹 I’m not sure :( I’ll try to find someone to check her out again. Positions are unfortunately limited for me (combo of scoliosis and sciatica that both worsened during my pregnancies) so I’ve been using my pregnancy pillow to support her in like a cradle/crosscradle position Nipple shields not yet, I have a set just no clue where they went And one is flat and the other is inverted :( I use the Lansinoh correctors though and it usually works for long enough to get a latch on

@Jade electrocution is a very fitting comparison 😅 I always pump whichever breast she’s not on, both if I’m giving a bottle and between 2.5-3h each time since I never offer the second breast (massive oversupplier with both babies until my first period and then it disappears practically overnight) but I never have an issue with irritation from pumping luckily no matter how often 😅 had to EP my first and no, I try to avoid the balms when pumping because it ends up too slick 😔

@Elina I’m actually SO glad you mentioned these because I couldn’t remember what I wanted to get from target when I was making the shopping list and it was the silverettes 😭

My daughter never latched well... I ended up pumping for 5 months

Oooo maybe day 8? Started at day 3 or 4, i cried everytime he latched until one day I didn't anymore 🫡

If it lasts more than like 2 weeks, see a lactation specialist/consultant. Your baby’s latch could be off.

@Cait that’s how it was with my first because she was a preemie and it was absolutely grueling 🥲 I refused to EP again and gave myself a month to get the hang of nursing this time around otherwise I’d switch to formula but… it’s been a month now and I was hoping to have cut pumping out by now 😅 (not including pumping for a stash)

I would check the tongue tie it it hurts

Ok now that you’ve said what nipples you have, it makes more sense. I would seek a lactation consultant via insurance that has experience getting a good latch with the nipples you have. In the meantime, coconut oil for the pain. And def use the nipple shields to see if when nursing baby, your nipple don’t hurt after Also try the football hold position. It’s easy to do with the pillow as well and can def help get a deeper latch

With last baby they never hurt, she latched on perfectly from day one ❤️

I cried in pain every latch the entire time I attempted with both of my boys. My second was worse. Pumping was no better. We had no ties, perfect latches, tried different positions, the works. I had a low supply to begin with so it didn't last long. I was a happy mom when I said f*CK it and went to full formula lol

I dont think I ever had that much pain, could your LO have tongue tie?

It took about two weeks for my pain to subside to mild discomfort.

If baby had a bad latch at first and is better now. Have you tried any soothing methods like the nipple gels (you can put in the freezer and pop them on a boob for 20 minutes) and some nipple balm. The other thing is you can use a nipple guard/shield when feeding. It helped me until My nipple healed

Hats off to you for making it to a month despite the pain!

Did the consultants you saw at the hospital give any indication what the problem was? Were they IBCLC qualified lactation consultants? Not sure which country you're in, but my experience in the UK was that the breastfeeding specialists I saw in the hospital, although very lovely and supportive, we're really not very well experienced at all. I didnt realise it at the time but I think there's a huge difference between a IBCLC and general breastfeeding specialist.

Ive not selected any of the options above as none really apply to me. I was very fortunate not to have any pain at all for the first few weeks. There's no way I wouldve been able to stick it out with everything else that's going on in those first few crazy weeks, if I had done! However, I did experience some pain later in my journey. When the weather turned colder I experienced vasospasm, which was only alleviated by making sure I stayed as warm as possibly and I had some painful milk blebs which were only alleviated by removing them with a needle (despite all the advise saying not to). I think some pain throughout the journey is to be expected, but there will always be a reason for it. In my opinion the advice you've received from the hospital to just take some painkillers is terrible! They should be supporting you to work out what the underlying issue is!

UPDATE: THE PAIN IS GONE 🫶🫶🫶