[peanutsmommy28]

is it possible that the reason it hurts so bad when my baby is latching on is because my nipples got so sore when she wasn't latching correctly earlier on? i notice a major improvement from the first days when she wasn't latching correctly (i had pain throughout the entire feeding and it was so painful that i jerked my body away from her mouth) and now, when the pain only lasts 30 seconds or so and then the feeding is fine. my nipples are really tender to the touch still, but my mom, who's breastfed four children, said that it may be that my nipples just weren't prepared enough and they have to toughen up, and that she had pain in the beginning too. i had really really tender nipples even before i got pregnant, and i guess it's my mistake for not readying them before breastfeeding. i do know that if i am concentrating on something else while getting her latched on, like singing to her or something, i don't notice the pain as bad.

[KR258]

When you take her off put your finger in her mouth first otherwise pulling away will hurt real bad. I think it might just be getting used to breastfeeding. I am no expert though....I am sure someone with more experience has something more insightful to say.
It could be hurting because you're nervous about it.....maybe? When you don't think about it and relax your milk flows more freely so just try to relax and focus on your little one and not so much on your pain. It will get better. It is worth the effort.

[purelegance]

i've never heard of toughening them up. but to answer your question, i do think it's probably still from the bad latch, especially since it's only a few seconds. it should clear up soon.

[peanutsmommy28]

my mom said the doctors had her rough up her nipples towards the end of pregnancy to prepare her. my mom also told me last night (as a joke, to try and scare me) that it will get better when i get calluses on my nipples. haha, right? she keeps encouraging me though, so i'm not giving up. i'm just going to pray that it gets better. she has her first doctor's appointment tomorrow, so i will discuss it with the doctor. i know she has a good latch now though, we have worked on that a lot.

[KR258]

My mom also did the same thing with her nipples....but I don't think its really needed our bodies were made to feed our babies. You could try different positions but it will probably just take a few more days.

I hope your pain goes away soon and remember no question is a silly one! Good Luck!!!!

[peanutsmommy28]

the nurse showed me how to do the football hold, and that's when she wasn't latching on correctly, so the day after i got home, i decided to try the cradle position, and that's when it started working better. and i can tell the baby is more comfortable too.

[KR258]

I always liked laying on my side and having my babe laying facing me...of course that only works if you're at home and have space That's how we used to do it at night though. It was hard to not fall asleep while doing that though. I was always worried about falling asleep and squishing her (although I gotta say at that point in my life I never slept deep and was always thinking about where she was and checking her constantly)

[oweirdo]

mine were sore at first too, but that was from poor latch on. After coming home and reading Val's blog, and fixing the latch on, they were fine. But if I dont pay attention she will get lazy and I can tell with in no time that we have a bad latch!

[twinzplus3]

Okay peanut. . .I've read all of your posts in the other thread too but haven't had time to respond as we just moved Sat. Are you aware that there is a breastfeeding index full of articles on this site? I would highly suggest some reading.

Secondly, toughening up nipples is a load of stuffing. That's going to do more damage to your breast tissue and there's no benefit to it. Breastfeeding should never, ever hurt. Even if you have sore nipples, once the baby gets the latch and suck right it won't hurt while latching on or nursing. If it still hurts for 30 seconds or so, I would suggest that something still isn't right. I'm guessing that she's pulling the nipple into her mouth instead of taking the whole thing. I'm obviously not there to watch but just know that if it hurts badly something is still not quite right.

Do you have soothies or lansinoh? I like soothies better but both are things you should go out and get.

[luvbeingamommy]

With both of my children I was VERY sore, but definitely more so with the first than the second. I spoke to quite a few lactation consultants, and they all said that I was latching on correctly. I was so frustrated, and felt guilty that I was doing something wrong, because supposedly if you are latching on correctly it should not hurt, until one lactation consultant (bless her!!!) said that she just went to a national lactation convention, and one of the top, top consultants said in her lecture, that "you just have to realize, there is going to be some soreness at the beginning." I felt so relieved to know that the soreness was not from my doing anything wrong!!!
Your nipples definitely will get callused from breastfeeding, but I really don't believe that it's possible to toughen them up before. Nothing compares to a baby sucking hard on you for four hours a day!!!!!!
The one thing that I found made all the difference was using the nursing pillow called My Brest Friend. I would even sit up in the middle of the night and strap it on to nurse, b/c otherwise it just hurt sooo much more. It sounds silly, but gotta say it worked.
FYI, there is an ointment that I found REALLY helped. The only one, and it was a LIFESAVER!!!! It is called Dr. Hobson EasyNurse, and I gotta say, it was much, much better than the regular lanolin, it really soothed my nipples.
So just stick it out!! It will only be about 4 weeks till you grow calluses. Good luck!