Breast Feeding Soreness

Hi G.
I have a 13 month old that I am still breastfeeding. Luckily I didn't suffer from soreness. I did, however, meet with a lactation specialist to help with positioning. She did state if the baby is not positioned correctly this could happen. Since you do work in pediatrics, maybe someone you know might be able to help you find a lactation specialist. I hope the soreness goes away and congratulations on successfully breastfeeding!!!

Just hang in there. It does get better, it just takes time. I nursed both my kids and I had the same problem. I keep telling myself the pain will go away and eventually it did. I want to say it was like that for the first 2 months. Well, Good Luck and Congratulations.

G., I'm so happy to hear you are nursing your baby. It does get easier. Latch on was the key for me as well as when I took him off. If he fell asleep and was just using me as a passifier, it was sometimes hard to remove the nipple without waking him up or getting sore nipples. I would use my pinky finger to detach the latch. This helped me. Not sure if itsby the book. You should try
LA LECHE League, they helped me so much when I had my first son. I could go to meetings, nurse my baby and ask lots of questions. I also met a lot of wonderful Mamas there who turned out to be life long friends. You could go online to see where your closest meeting is. Good luck, hang in there...

All the breastfeeding books and websites that say it is not common to have soreness beyond brief pain during latching. However, it is QUITE common and even normal to have knuckle-biting, hair-pulling, tear-jerking pain when breastfeeding. As long as you have ruled out potential breastfeeding problems such as poor latch, breast-infections, blisters, short frenulum, etc., then you can expect that the pain will eventually go away.

It does get better, I promise. It is so very worth it if you just get through the rough part.

What seemed to work the best for me was cabbage leaves. Buy a head of cabbage. Put it in the fridge. After you are done breastfeeding, air out your breasts for about 10 minutes. Then take a whole cabbage leaf, rinse it, then place it over your breast (one leaf per breast). I usually put my bra back on over the leaf and left it there for an hour. The first day I did this after every feeding, then the next day only every other feeding. I also never left them on for more than an hour. If used excessively, then it can actually cause you to dry up, but if used moderately, then it does WONDERS for pain.

Also, look to see if there's a la leche league meeting that's local to you. I go to one in Cy-Fair (Addicks-Satsuma) every second Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. It's a wonderful place to find support and get breastfeeding questions answered.

I have had EVERY breastfeeding problem there is at one point or another in the 4 months I've been breastfeeding. I have researched all kinds of information. You are more than welcome to send me a message if you have any questions. :)

Good luck, it does get better, I promise.

G.,

Congratulations...you are normal. I have breastfed two babies so far. With both, I had the sore nipples...cracked and bleeding also. Books and experts will tell you that if they get cracked and bleeding that you are doing something wrong (bad latch). I really wish they would not say this since it is such a common occurance. Both of my children latched perfectly. Everyone else that commented are correct in telling you that 'this too shall pass...' It sounds like you are at the cusp of the sore nipple stage. It should be a walk in the park from here, honey.

A couple of things...my lactation consultant had recommended gel pads to place on my nipples before covering them with any fabric. (they have them at Target in the baby section). They were great. Keep using the lanolin. you want to let the nipple air dry before putting the lanolin on. You could also ask your doctor what to take for pain if you need it. (mine suggested Ibuprofin) I am not a doctor, so it is very important that you ask someone who is before taking anything for it.

last, I had a friend that had constant sore nipples (from breastfeeding, of course!) It turned out that she was getting the 'thrush/yeast' problem from one of her dogs. She would pet the dog aroud its ears, then later breast feed, eventually the baby had thrush also. easy fix once she found the culprit.

good luck...you are doing great! I promise.

Yes it does get better. I tried those soothies with my second baby and loved them. Pop them in the fridge for a few minutes and they feel sooo good when you put them on your nipples.

congratulations on your bundle of joy and your devotion to nursing him exclusively. I have nursed 2 babies (my 15 month old is still nursing, with all 10 teeth !) and I have had the soreness on and off. I have also tried everything and the only thing that works best for me is Vaseline, simple as that!

give it a try in between feedings and just clean your nipples before and after feeding your baby. Goodluck and let us know how it went.

Depending on how frequently he feeds, it could be very temporary...I remember those days with both of my boys...and I remember very clearly how I did NOT remember it being that bad with my daughter. Anyway, my last one, I ended up with mastitis...and that was painful. Ok, I'm digressing...if they continue to be painful and start cracking/bleeding, I'd tend to think that it might be thrush. Have you had your 6 week check up yet? If not, ask your ob then...

Are they sore all the time?

It is common to have nipple tenderness when the baby first latches on, but it shouldn't last more than a moment or two. It will eventually go away.

Is there any possibility that he has thrush? This can make your nipples tender.

Good for you on exclusively breastfeeding!!! More moms need to follow your lead.

I am a mother of 3 nursed kidos......and yes it does get better. I really feel that babies eat more vigorously at times......which can cause soreness. But, if you have been sore since you started, you may want to consult with a lactation consultant to be sure that he is latching on correctly. If you haven't tried, prop him on a pillow....a little higher until it feels better. They also have shields that you may want to try until they heal. Don't give up, it is really worth it in the end!

G.
At six weeks, there should be minimal pain when nursing, and that would only be during or right after latching.

First, don't use cabbage leaves! This is a homeopathic way to decrease milk supply when weaning. So unless that is your goal...

Also, I would recommend against shields unless absolutely necessary. They can be difficult to transition away from.

Lanolin is good.
Also, try expressing an extra few drops at the end of a nursing session and rub it in. Breast milk has great healing and anti-bacterial properties!
Avoid using anything that will require being wiped off before nursing (vaseline, chapstick) - that's just more friction on an already sore spot. Also, no matter how you wipe, there will likely be a residue that your baby may/may not suck off as he nurses.

You said that you're certain his latch is good. I would still wonder though. Poor latch is the #1 cause of sore nipples. One advice giver said that she wishes LCs wouldn't blame poor latch so much since sore nipples are so common....well, poor latch is common, too! Look at your nipple when he first unlatches. Is it pink and round? Or white and/pinched looking? If it's the latter at all then that indicates poor latch. Be sure that his tongue protrudes over his lower gums when he latches and while he's nursing. You should be able to pull back his bottom lip while he's nursing to check this. If pulling back his bottom lip breaks the suction, then it's latch...

Have you recently started pumping? Sometimes if the 'horn' of the pump is the wrong size it can cause sorenes.

If your nipples become dry/cracked, I would avoid doing anything extra to dry them out. It just doesn't make sense to me. If my hands are dry with the knuckles cracked (which happens in winter) I don't add heat or anything to dry them out more -- I add lots of lotions and creams! Made sense to me to do the same on my nipples when this happened with my first baby.

Is it possible that it's caused by thrush? I've never had thrush, but I know it can cause sore nipples. Does he have white towards the tip of his tongue that can't be (easily) scratched off? Your local LLL leader can help you identify whether or not you and ds have it.

More than anything, please please please contact your local LLL person - this is why they are there - and it's FREE!
http://www.lllelpaso.org/
If you go to their website, you can find phone numbers to contact your local leaders. You do not need to wait for a meeting to talk to them. I know they do phone consults and I know some leaders who do house calls on a regular basis.

HTH
K. H,
Mama to Catherine, 4yrs (nursed to 2.5yrs) and
Samuel, 1yr (still going strong)