Nipple trauma - help!
Show your support
My nipples are in crisis at the moment but what has been helping is rubbing some milk onto it then letting it airdry before using nipple cream then putting it away
@Sophie it's so horrible isn't it! Will try with the breast milk thank you
I feel your pain, I went through this exact thing with mine. He's now 5 months and happily feeding from both sides, though he still prefers the left so I always offer the right first to make sure it gets used and keep supply up. I alternated silver cups and nipple cream in between feeds to help heal, and also hired a lactation consultant who helped me latch back onto the right after it was healed as I was scared to do it by myself after the pain I'd experienced, but it was completely fine. (We had to introduce a bottle early on during the issues because he did lose too much weight so he is combi fed now, but the breastfeeding bit is all good.) Hang in there, it does get better! If you have a drop-in breastfeeding support group local to you that could be useful as well, I went to one that was free and the volunteers were amazing and very supportive!
I’d also recommend getting some silver cups to wear between feeds. Not exaggerating these healed the worst of my nipple trauma overnight! You can also pop them in the freezer so they’re nice and cooling if your nipples are particularly painful sore and also putting some breast milk in the cup before wearing can also help with healing. Hope you recover quickly!
I also had terrible trouble with my left boob for the first few weeks, I used a manual pump for that boob to give it a break for 24 hours - after about 6 weeks things settled (he learnt and I did, what to do!) and I EBF from then til he was 13 months with no problems 🥰 defo save anything you pump maybe freeze it for later? X
Thank you everyone, feel really reassured after reading all of these x
Lansinoh nipple cream is really good. Both of it nipples were cut and bleeding but I carried on feeding and never pumped. It was agony sometimes but this cream helped the repair and also had latched checked by infant feeding team and tongue tie cut and it got easier and much less painful. How old is baby? We are almost at 5 months ebf now xx
You’re not alone! I felt awful when I didn’t have enough milk and cried when the nurse made me put on a ridiculous outfit and hooked me to a pump like a cow. It was humiliating and painful. I tried so hard that both my nipples cracked. Thankfully it’s all good now and baby has gained quite a lot of weight. Silverette is what saved me- the nursing cups work wonders!
@Laura baby is 7 weeks old. BF has been going well so far. It's just this past week it's gotten so painful x
I had a damaged nipple last week I started putting coconut oil on it, while also correcting the latch and it healed really quickly! I was told it would take 1-2 weeks but it only took 2 days! It’s great for anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-fungal so helped a lot. You can bring it up with your care provider and see if that will help. The faster you can get it healed the faster you can use it more and not lose your supply. Hopefully it can help you!
Freeze all the milk!! Xxx
https://amzn.to/3FJXhIu I swear by this balm for nipples!! Xx
For healing I also loved these! Pricey but only need to buy once. Put some breastmilk in them and pop on nipple in bra! Works a treat. I’m four months in and honestly it does get easier xx https://amzn.to/4j8lVkt
I also struggled with nipple pain, latch issue and cried for days at the beginning but my girl turns 5 month next week and I’m happily breastfeeding 100% now🩷 What helped me: I used this nipple shields when feeding hurts: https://a.co/d/0b0FeVP It covered the nipple yet allowed my baby to suck - it taught her correct latch as well.
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
And I used this nipple butter when it hurts: https://a.co/d/gUSUT16 This butter is the BEST - it melts and heals your nipple so well!! My nipple is so soft now and it’s like a rubber haha
I wouldnt pour the milk down the drain! You never know if baby will take a bottle later and you can always use it for baths etc. Are you sure you have the correct flange size? Depending on how often you’re pumping you may need to change pump parts. If you pump 3x/day replace duckville valves once a month and backflow protectors once every three months - but obviously adjust based on how often you pump. You could try a nipple shield on the side that’s painful to see if that helps.