Anyone Else Hate the First Few Weeks of Nursing?

[Shelsi]

With ds he had a bad latch the first 4-5 days and I ended up with horrific cracked and bleeding nipples (the LC I finally saw gasped that she'd never seen anything like it). They took weeks to heal and lots and lots of tears but I got through it and finally nursing was good and a nice experience that I loved.

I thought this time if I did everything right and had the perfect latch that there would be no pain. But I've discovered that a big problem is just my skin type. I have extremely sensitive skin and if anything rubs (or sucks) my skin anywhere on my body for a period of time I'm going to have pain.

So I have the perfect latch and have since the beginning. Alexia is getting tons of milk and I love that. But the pain is still there. It makes my toes curl when she latches. My right breast is bleeding because of a blister that keeps getting broken open. There's actually tons of blood on her little shirt right now because she spit up and it's all my blood. We call her our dracula baby

I know there's nothing "wrong" being done. There's nothing to fix. I just have to wait for my nipples to toughen up. And I know it will happen and should happen sooner than it did with my ds since I don't have cracks and blisters all over. It's still really hard though. I KNOW I'm going to be happy I stuck through the pain...I know in a few weeks this will be easy. Right now though I'm jealous of the moms who can NAK. I'm too busy cringing and gritting my teeth to be able to NAK or do anything of the sort :

[fw221]

If it weren't for three things I think I would have given up. 1) Lanolin; a little on the nipple immediatly after nursing saved my nipples. 2) The knowledge that it I got through it with dd. 3) My own stubborness.

And I shouldn't deny the loveliness of ibuprofen when my left breast got mastitis.

[happymom83]

well this is my fourth time nursing.first daughter nursed for month and a half.we kept passing thrush/yeast back and forth.i gave up.
first son nursed no problems for 6 months.second son nursed for 5 weeks hurt the whole time,and got horrible mastitis in both breasts which is when i gave up.
this time i really really want to be succesful!!! i got help at the hospital with getting a good latch on,etc.which i think was most of the problems before.its still sore when she first latches on,but its not horrible.and its goes away as she nurses.i use lanolin when i'm done nursing each time.it really helps.but yes i totally agree the first few weeks are so hard,i do enjoy the "down" time tho!

[acordio]

The first couple of weeks hurt for me too. I got a blister with ds #1 and thought I would not get one again, I was wrong. I got a blister this time and the first couple of weeks hurt but I knew I would get thru it since I had done it once before. Hang in there mama!

[Panthira]

nak

sitting here gritting my teeth!

[Juvysen]

huh. I was totally prepared for pain for the first few weeks, but I think the continued nursing from dd throughout my pregnancy has kept my nipples tough. ds doesn't have a great latch (he curls his lips in) but I've been surprised at the general lack of pain (of course, shen he *clamps down* on my nipple, that's another story...) and he's certainly pooping and peeing a lot, so I know he's getting plenty of milk. For some, reason, though, it still makes my skin crawl when my toddler nurses I was hoping that'd get better when I was no longer pregnant.

[bdavis337]

The IBCLC I saw today told me that nipple pain is NORMAL for the first few weeks. Not talking about insane, crazy painful, can't stand to think about nursing kind of pain, but the pain when they first latch on and then for the first few minutes or so as your nips adjust. THAT is normal. My nipples feel like shredded glass right now, actually, they're throbbing b/c he's been on me so much the last few days. But they're not cracked, bleeding or scabby, so I have no outward proof!!

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by bdavis337

The IBCLC I saw today told me that nipple pain is NORMAL for the first few weeks. Not talking about insane, crazy painful, can't stand to think about nursing kind of pain, but the pain when they first latch on and then for the first few minutes or so as your nips adjust. THAT is normal. My nipples feel like shredded glass right now, actually, they're throbbing b/c he's been on me so much the last few days. But they're not cracked, bleeding or scabby, so I have no outward proof!!

OUCHIES

[Mel L]

Is this the one good thing about having one of the oldest? I am a pretty "good" girl, but no one wanted to be around me for the first 4 weeks when she started eating. I sounded worse than a sailor! Now, things are much better. It gets bad again when she is going through a growing spurt, but it is much better!

It was also hard for me because she was never awake during those long hours of nursing. I at least wanted something to remind me that it was worth the pain. I got through a few books though, and that really helped take my mind off the pain. She has finally started to be awake while she nurses so I can see those sweet eyes.

Hot wash clothes worked great for me. They helped soften up the nipples before the dreaded latch.

[50ftQueenie]

I think the worst was all the dumb advice people felt the need to share with me. In my heart I knew I was doing it right (feeding on demand, using my lanolin), but post-pregnancy hormonalness drove me to tears a couple of times after being told "you can't feed him all the time like that".
My toes also used to curl, but it's better now. There's an initial pain when he latches on, but it's not unbearable. Mostly, I like breastfeeding. He does have days when he wants to nurse CONSTANTLY, and then I get to feeling antsy because nothing else is getting done.
I am having issues about starting to pump. I don't want to give up my exclusive feeding rights, but dh feels so left out. I got out my pump today, steralized it, and was all ready to start a cache of milk, but Liam is having one of his all-day feeds, so I didn't get to pump at all. Maybe tomorrow.

[Emma's_Mommy]

yep my nipples are sore as well and i make a face every time she latches on!

[javamama]

We started out with the pain too. It was gone in about two weeks I think. Too curling is such an accurate description, I can still feel it! We're in the leaky faucet stage now. I thought we skipped it, but I think she is having a growth spurt and the continuous nursing has made me look like a fire hose. I go through more clothing than she does in one day!

[Shelsi]

I'm so glad to not be the only one! Well, not that I wish this on anyone, but it's also nice to know I'm not some freak of nature.

I was stupid and didn't use lanolin for a few days and now I have cracked nipples : Not to mention that last night I got a blocked duct. So now I'm working like crazy to get rid of it. It's making me feel bad. No fever but I did have the chills so bad last night for one of her 2 hour blocks of sleep that I didn't sleep at all. I know it's not mastitis though because I really don't have any flu symptoms besides that bought with the chills.