Advice on making BF more bearable…

Maybe looking into if your baby has a tongue tie that can cause bf to be painful. Have you see a lactation consultant?

Be careful, if you go too long without breastfeeding, the baby will no longer want it from your nipple. They call it “nipple confusion or nipple preference.” The best advice I ever got while breastfeeding was “if you’re uncomfortable take them off the nipple and make them latch again until they get it right.” For me, it required me to stick my boob further into her mouth. I had to wait until her mouth was wide open and then kinda shove it in. Lol. My baby had a very shallow latch. I had scabs on my nipples in the beginning. Whatever you do, don’t give up. Be patient. You’re both learning something new. 🤎 Best of luck. You got this.

Definitely sounds like there could be lip or tongue ties. Unfortunately if that’s an issue the pain probably won’t go away unless you have them released. Both of my kids have had them and releasing them allowed me to continue breastfeeding!

This happened with both my babies. Unfortunately I just had to power through. I would say it took 3-4 weeks to stop being so painful. I would literally cry anytime I had to nurse them. But I went on to have two very successful breastfeeding journeys. I would highly recommend the silver nipple covers! Game changer with my second !

Nipple cream EVERY TIME after you nurse. Silver nipple shields on every time you’re not nursing. Keep this up and they will heal. You can also buy shields that you wear while your baby nurses

@Haley pain isn’t normal. There’s clearly an issue here with the latch, positioning, or possibly a tongue tie.

I use nipple shields. I used them to help my baby latch when he was born with tongue tie but actually they do exactly what they say on the tin. They protect your nipple or give your nipple a break. Definitely try them ❤️

Epsom salt baths helped me in the early days. I would flip over and lay with my boobs in the water it really helped soothe my very sore nipples. Lansinoh nipple cream as well. Other brands didn't work, but that was great! I think it took me a good 2 months for my nipples not to hurt, and after that plain sailing, I breastfed for 3.5 years.

My little one had a tongue tie and it helped so much after we had it cut. However to help make more bearable in the meantime I would recommend nipple shields - these saved me during those first few weeks and whilst they were recovering as he was making them bleed. He’s now 6months and I absolutely love BF and can’t imagine not doing it, despite being so close to quitting at the start.

Go to a breastfeeding peer support group or ask your midwife/health visitor for the infant feeding team to come and see you. It sounds like you need a full feeding assessment to check the positioning and attachment