Breastfeeding tips

Try to get the nipple as deep into his mouth as possible, get his little mouth wide open. For me, it hurt more when they are just clamping down on the tip. Use lanolin or nipple cream in between sessions to help with the soreness. And lastly, know that the pain WILL subside, the pain is temporary. Soon it will be painless second nature (until his teeth come in 😅)

Also make sure the baby isn't tongue tied. However you keep the baby fed is good.

Nothing fixes your nipples better than a GOOD LATCH. So work on baby’s latch and it’s smooth sailing from there.

First few days are the worst. Multi mam compress helped me greatly 2nd time round xx

I'm not there yet but from what I've read: it's all about a good latch! It seems applying warm before nursing and cold after it helps... Maybe you could check La Leche League, they have lactation consultants and support groups that may help you with that

Try some different positions? at first I could only feed with him in the “football” under arm position - then I gradually started laying on my side. Lots of nipple cream and maybe do a little massage before you feed. If you are anticipating pain your body will automatically tense up. I remember seeing this random tips for hoe to latch that was a game changer - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/tvshowbiz/video-2133400/Video-Ashley-Graham-discusses-difficulty-breastfeeding.html

I just want to say that breastfeeding is a skill and that baby also needs to learn that skill. He’s brand new and is still learning. I was in the worst pain ever with breastfeeding and after 4 weeks it literally doesn’t feel like anything anymore and that’s because my baby sucks differently now. You can help the latch by squeezing the sides of your breast into his mouth to help his latch. With your photo you right hand should be squeezing the left and right side of your boob. You just want the whole nipple and areola in his mouth so he’s not just on the nipple. I’m sorry for the pain- it’s something we all experience and it does feel unbareable!

Cool compress and coconut oil. Helped me tons.

The lactation consultant at the hospital told me that if it hurts it means they’re only latched on the nipple rather than around the areola, which is where they should be.

My first hurt for 2 weeks. Sooo painful! I used nipple cream and medela hydrogel pads between nursing and it got better. Also seek out lactation nurse (should be free with insurance) to consult about your latch!

Nipple guards?

Have your baby checked for oral ties x

Even when the latch is correct it still takes a week or two getting the nipple to toughen up, it’s horrible and if you can get through it then massive well done to you! I found the second week was much more comfortable x

In my experience "pain" means something is wrong with the latch. At first it doesn't feel great and you will be sore, but pain is not ok. Please please seek out help like a a lactation consultant before your nipples get injured- because then sometimes you can't breastfeed until they heal. In my case it was near impossible to get my baby off the bottle once my nipples were better. Hang in there. Good luck!

Do you know what is causing the pain? If not, consult a lactation consultant or your local La Leche League. Baby may not have an ideal latch. Discomfort is normal pain isn't so please get help.
If it's chafing, a nipple cream or cocont oil can help. La Leche League' website also has helpful info about what a good latch looks like.

Nipple shields saved me! I may have given up if I hadn’t found them and now feeding is a breeze! Good luck

Check for tongue tie

I had problems with my right, fed on the left and expressed on the right!

I'm not experienced yet at breastfeeding personally, but I'm planning for it, and my mum is a lactation consultant so I've picked up a few insights over the years listening to her. I would suggest a nipple shield now so your nipping can heal, but I agree with definitely seek out a lactation consultant soon as you can, you may need to get more of your areola further into your little one's mouth so the nipple is further back and in the softer part of bubs mouth, that should hurt less.
Also if you have time, watch some of this video about early days of breastfeeding and positions to try... https://www.naturalbreastfeeding.com/

Good luck mama, you got this 💪

For me when it hurt I would break the suction and try again. I hope you figure out a solution. I remember when I first started breast feeding he bruised my aerolas so bad but by day five I had latching down. My first three days back from the hospital I was angry because all this pumping and figuring out the latch and the pain of it was hard. But now it doesn’t hurt and he’s nine days old. Inshallah you will find a way, just don’t give up too soon.

Yes NIPPLE SHIELD run don’t walk!

It’s best to try and find the cause of the pain before finding a remedy. For me the most common thing was a bad latch (which a health visitor / lactation consultant can advise on), blocked duct (keep on feeding that side until it clears), or cracked nipple (try and keep it covered in the lanisoh cream and out to the air). Remember you’re both still learning so this won’t go on forever, just an adjustment period! Xx

It is painful at first but it does get better i promise! It’s worth it!!

Nipple shields! Medela has the best ones

Sorry, I’m just here to say that I absolutely adore this picture! Congratulations and be proud of yourself for breastfeeding and seeking advice to better your experience! This picture makes me miss breastfeeding!😭😍🥰

Breastfeeding shouldn’t cause pain. Makes me so sad that so many women experience this and think it’s ‘the norm’. Pain, scabbing etc. is indicative of a problem. Nipples don’t need to ‘toughen up’. Yes, baby and mum learn everyday how to get better at breastfeeding which is most likely why the pain ‘suddenly just stops one day’. However, you shouldn’t need to go through 2, 4 or 6 weeks of pain for that to happen. There’s lots of different holds and techniques to try. Please see a Lactation Consultant, if you have the means. Stay strong, mama.

Apply breastmilk, let it air dry before putting bra / top back on.

Works wonders🌟

I wonder if using a nipple shield would help at all.

Check for thrush. If it feel like burning or needles.

I used bag balm after every session, just be sure to wipe it off before nursing again.Sometimes they don't have a good latch, and you can have them try to relatch. Your nipples will get used to the strain on them over time, those first few weeks were rough.

I used nipple shields for a week or 2 while I waited for my babys tongue tie appointment and it worked wonders. We was able to feed really well with them and both became more comfortable and confident without having to put up with any pain at all. Few days before the appointment I braved a session without the shield and just like that the pain I felt before was gone. It's like we used the shields just while we 'learnt how to breastfeed' then once we knew how to do it and took them off, we had perfected our latch and now I don't use them (couldn't even tell you where they are tbh they've went missing 😅) xxx

Nipple cream helped me alot and to be honest it depends on what you want to do , I really wanted to brestfeed so it was just something I had to get through it does get a lot better to the point where you actually don't feel any pain at all ..do what's best for you and what works for you hun ..Good luck

I hurt for about a little over a week for me. It goes away.

Nipple cream from the dr but as I’m currently breastfeeding my third I can tell you the first month is PAINFUL no matter what you do 😭

Nipple butter helps & lansinoh cooling gel pads. Just try different positions and make sure baby is getting a good latch. It’s normal in the beginning but it gets easier.

Massage from outer breast towards nipple, warm compress before feeds x

Make sure your latching the baby on correctly. It only hurts when the baby is not latch on correctly. Nipples butter/cream helps as well. But Yea try the nipple shields too. I hope it's gets better. 🙏

I was always told to use a luffa and scrub your nipples while you’re in the shower

Get as much support as you can. Take some pressure off yourself if that means doing a bottle a day to give yourself a break. Try everything you can, nipple shields, nipple cream, whatever if it takes. Don’t be afraid to try anything and if it’s not working and you can’t take the pain you are not a failure and don’t listen to peer pressure, you do what’s right for you and your family, your mental health because a happy mum is a happy baby too. Good luck.

You're doing such an amazing job reaching out for advice, it's so so hard in those first weeks, been there 3 times. Best advice I had is not to give up on a bad day, but give yourself permission to reevaluate in a calmer moment and get loads and loads of support. If latch change doesn't help make sure tongue tie has been ruled out. Lots of other good advice here I won't repeat but have tried it all and hope you are on the other side of this bit soon x

It sounds like a latch problem. My 1st had a horrible latch. Can you contact a local lactation consultant?

Does the actual nipple hurt or the whole breast? If it’s just the nipple you can get cream if chapped and if it’s the breast you may be engorged/mastitis I would ask dr if it’s unbearable but pumping in between feeds helped me when they got too full/hurt

nothing helped me 😩 it will go away promiss!!!!! hang in there

Nipple cream or a nipple shield should help! In saying this breastfeeding is hard to get the hang of! At first my bub wasn’t latching properly and she grazed my nipples the first day! The next day I went to a lactation class in the hospital and they pointed out that bub had a lip and tongue tie! As soon as the fixed the tongue tie it didn’t hurt anymore and she latched beautifully! We are now nearly 1 years old and still going strong with breastfeeding ☺️ do maybe if you haven’t already just check under bubs tongue or lip! That may be the cause of it but also in saying that it does take practice ❤️ goodluck on your breastfeeding journey!

In my experience it hurts in the first weeks no matter what, specially the first 10 seconds when baby first latches, but with time got better! Lasinoh and breast milk helped a lot with healing cracks. Don’t let bad days put you down, this is all very temporary, it will get better, hang in there! 💕

Try a nipple shield hunny I feed both my babes with a nipple shield all the way through to the end good luck

Lanolin cream after every feed and nipple shield helped me!

You pass a pain barrier at about 2 weeks and it’s not painful anymore x

I had painful nipples and I used cream! And after couple days pain gone and now 7 months still breastfeeding and enjoying every sec of it!

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention Earth mama angel baby is a great nipple butter! Safe for baby and most importantly very soothing! Target and Amazon have it♡