Breastfeeding help
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I’d go to a breastfeeding consultant. It might have something to do with the latch/ angle, etc. sometimes if my breasts are too full/hard then she isn’t able to get the nipple in far enough and sort of is chewing it a bit and that can be uncomfortable. I’m definitely disconnecting her and relatching in that case until it’s comfortable. But I know that for some of my friends bf was generally a lot more painful than for me. I just wanted to say you’re not half a mum at all for having the birth you had. I know the feeling (had an emergency C-section and two pretty terrible pregnancies with HG and cholestasis). But you’ve gone through a lot for your baby and they’re here and you’ve done amazing pumping and feeding them in the NICU. I’m sure that with the right help you’ll manage to breastfeed (there’s breastfeeding drop in clinics in a lot of places too). But even if you can’t - you’re a ‘full mum’ and doing amazing.
If your breasts are full and engorged before you nurse, it’ll hurt 10x worse. Next time try hand expressing or pumping a little before latching baby and apply nipple cream before and after feeds.
Your baby might have a tongue tie so definitely get that checked asap. My boy had no tongue tie and our latches were usually good but yes still very painful for us. I used lanolin, or silverettes for pain. We gave one bottle a day and I did find bottles made his latch at the breast a lot worse. I had Reynauds so I kept my nipples warm and used heat pads on them (Google Reynauds to rule this out)
Hi. I vote go to a consultant. Make sure his lower lip is Not tucked in. I used to gently use my finger to pull the jaw and lower lip down as my baby latched. I remember being in pain because my first few days I had a bad latch and got blisters. I’d ice my nipples after every feed. Once I got the right latch and the blisters healed, everything was fine. But I that took a week for it to heal.
Did you get help choosing the right size shields? I found if they were too big or small they nipped loads and caused the kind of pain you describe (pun not intended). Also the latch can still matter with shields on. So could be worth getting some support with positioning baby to be sure you're comfortable. Tiny changes can make so much difference
The latch is most probably wrong if it’s hurting you. Here are some tips I read that helped me & my babies latch - try a few different positions , straight across your chest, rugby ball position, upright. Use a feeding pillow to adjust baby & keep their neck straight -use nipple shields & nipple balm (try changing brand) -sit upright when feeding -babies chin & nose should be flush to your breast. A wide latch with no gaps. Breastfeeding should be silent for baby for the most part. To encourage a wide latch, squeeze breast while baby latches then let go, (you’re putting more of your nipple in his mouth than he would). If the latch is painful, and you want to readjust during the feed, slide your pinky inbetween your breast and baby and they’ll unlatch. You nipple should look normal & round after a feed, not flat or lipstick shaped. There is also a breastfeeding helpline you can call anytime, they have some brilliant advice, as well as your health visitor. You’re doing great x