When does it stop being so hard?

[sophi4ka]

My boobs hurt, my nipples are sore, I have too much milk, she doesn't latch properly, I am sleep deprived, I don't manage to latch her laying down, I am tired, I didn't figure out her hunger cues, I am cranky and cry all the time...

When does it get better? When will I start enjoying it?

Makes me feel so desperate sometimes If she wouldn't be so sweet it would be really depressing

[YummyYumYumMama]

you sound exactly like me maybe 10 days ago. and my baby was born 11 days before yours! go to kellymom.com if you need help with latch, or i think i still have a link to some latch videos somewhere that were helpful, if you think that would help - for us, i knew what it was supposed to look like but that didn't mean i could get HER to do it.

anyway, it's WAY easier now than it was even a week ago, and i know it will just keep getting easier. my boobs, which were hard and exploding ALL THE TIME last week are now feeling softer and more normal, even though my milk supply is the same.

as for hunger cues, what i try to do is feed her as soon as she gets fidgety and starts turning her head side to side. but that doesn't always happen. sometimes she does that, and then the fist makes its way to the cheeks, and she roots on her fists, and then sucks them, and then suddenly starts SCREAMING because omg she is starving and then doesn't want to latch on. but i figure it's all part of the learning curve.

[HappyFox05]

The videos are great, but Anna doesn't watch the videos. Her latch has only gotten better with time, but it has gotten better and my boobs are a little less sore. Hang in there!

[VickV]

The early weeks are just hard, in my experience. They were hard with Isabel, and they're harder with Olivia. I remember with Isabel I was just promising myself to get through one more day of nursing and sleep deprivation ... then I promised I'd nurse for 6 weeks, then 3 months - and before I knew it, we hit 18 months.

Have you worked with a LC or your MW to see if you can get a better latch? She's not tongue-tied, is she?

The cranky and crying all the time may signal some depression setting in. You're still in the first few weeks, tho, so it could "just" be 'Baby Blues' - if that's the case, you should start feeling better in the near future. Are you feeling detached from your baby?

[ASusan]

I was just saying to DH last night how easy nursing is now. In the beginning, I felt like every feed required a huge set-up and preparation (pumping, pillows, ice water, towels). Now, the only thing I need is a nursing pad - and I don't change those every time.

I think it got easier around 8 weeks. By then, I didn't need the nursing pillow. I didn't need to pump every time beforehand. I was still leaky then and required a burp cloth to contain the leaks while he ate.


If you're producing too much, maybe you can pump an ounce or 2 before you start? That may help with the latch, too. It did with my little one. I had overproduction/overactive let-down. On the advice of a LC, I pumped before every session. I pumped off 6 oz before feeding, and that was only from one breast. This made the latch much better (easier to grab onto a nipple that isn't small and tight) and cut down on the green-diaper-causing foremilk.

Hang in there, it WILL get better.

[minsca]

It does get better. If I remember correctly by around 6 weeks with Sofie things were getting better. My nipples may still have been cracked but they definetly weren't bleeding and I wasn't crying anymore while feeding. I had gotten some help for PPD, and things were on the upswing. I think 3 weeks pp was whe worst. At least that is the time I remember as being the worst.

It does get better, that much I can promise. But if you think you might have the baby blues or PPD, please, please talk to someone.

[ghuaghua]

With my first baby it was so hard at first with the engorgement and getting her to latch properly. It got better around a month or so

[Right of Passage]

s This too shall pass, your working so hard. Maybe DH could hold the baby while you take a nice bath or a nap or anything just to get some you time. It might be just what you need.

[wife&mommy]

I hear ya! It is TOUGH! Breastfeeding was/is so hard for me with my son and now dd. I hate it, honestly, but I do it for them. It will get better in a few weeks!

[Ceinwen]

We're having a tough go here too - everything hurts from my neck down. We don't have thrush or mastitis though, just really sensitive. My nipples are finally healing, but I still cringe every time she starts to root. I'm really hoping it gets *way* easier over the next few weeks.

[clintonhillmama]

i think part of it is just from becoming a mom- when my 1st was born, it was a huge mental shift, compounded by all the hormones, sore bits, sleep deprivation, etc. even though i was delighted to be a mom, it brought up all kinds of anxiety & questions for me - right up to "what DOES it all mean?!"

for me, those feelings def. amplified the "holyf*ing$hitican'tdothispleasebabystopcryingi'll doanythingyouwant" part of me.

it does get easier (easier said than believed, right?). try to take it easy on yourself -you're doing a fabulous job!

[sophi4ka]

Thank you so much for encouraging me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes I feel like all the other moms are doing great and only me crying and complaining

I don't think I have PPD, just feel like the whole universe circulates around my boobs. They never got that much attention, thats for sure!

I am trying to sleep when she sleeps, cause don't sleep much at night, so don't get to do anything else at all. At least if this breastfeeding would not hurt that much and would not be a latching struggle every time, that would help.

I wish I'd knew how difficult breastfeeding is at the beginning. I wasn't mentally prepared for that. I seriously thought that you just put the baby to the boob and she will suck nicely...

I saw a LC at the very beginning when things were much worse and my nipples were bleeding. She did help me, but the latch is still painful.

I just feel so tired and overwhelmed. Today she is 3 weeks. I guess I need to give is a couple more weeks.

[Belleweather]

It might be worth it to see the LC again, or call a La Leche League person or some other BF help, if just to get the nursing while laying down thing working. I know that I would absolutely lose my freakin' mind if we hadn't gotten that worked out, because it helps SO MUCH with the amount of sleep I get. On the other hand, I know sometime it takes babies a while to grow into nursing in that position.