[Fletchersmama]

Any suggestions? It hurts so bad when my ds nurses, I am limiting him more than I really want to because of the pain. I know this is really hard for him, he is no where near weaning, I worry what my constant no's and ouch that really hurts will mean to him. We also just moved and it's a bit much for him.

Anyone have any ideas on dealing with the pain. I don't have thrush, no symptoms and I've had it before. Thanks in advance.

 

[minta]

I have no advice but just wanted to sympathize. I am currently nursing through a pregnancy for the second time and I so hate it! It's hard because I 100% believe in CLW and already feel guilty about the possibility of DS weaning due to my pregnancy as I know that's not really CLW, but man, it is miserable! The nipple pain, the letdown pain and just the really strong sense of irritation I feel every time my little man wants to nurse. I don't know that there's any way to make it feel better (but would love to hear if there is). Honestly, I just grit my teeth and try to endure it.

I will say that I found nursing in the 2nd trimester brought much relief last time, although it started hurting again late in the pregnancy when my milk was almost dried up and / or changing to colostrum. But really, I think 1st trimester is the worst!

I've resorted to distracting DS when he wants a comfort feed -- or an "I'm bored" feed -- and only feeding when he's truly hungry as then my milk flows and he sucks efficiently, rather than just rolling my nipple around and chewing on me as he often does otherwise. So that helps. I've also started taking him off when he's finished his actual feed and then sitting with him until he falls asleep in his crib, rather than nursing him to sleep in arms and then transferring him as I was before. I just feel like I need a bit of a break and want to do whatever I can to make nursing bearable enough for me to keep it up!

Anyway, as I said, no great advice. Just wanted to let you know I hear you and wish you luck!

 

[NatureMama3]

I definitely do limit length and frequency of nursing right now. It's excruciating!

The other thing I do is constantly remind him to stick his tongue out when latching. If he doesn't it makes the pain 10x worse!

 

[bluegrassgirl]

One thing I found that helped a whole lot when I was nursing Emma while pregnant with her sister was putting a cold pack on my breasts for a couple of minutes before I nursed her. This seemed to numb the pain a little bit to where it was tollerable to nurse while pregnant. Earth Mama Angel Baby Booby Tubes work good for this.

Jessie
(single mommy to Emma, 4 years and Angela, 2 years)

 

[e.naomisandoval]

I found that so awful. I had to really breathe through the pain.

 

[Nekawa Ma]

I too really suffered through the nipple pain during my first trimester. In my case, the pain subsided around 18-19 weeks. Hopefully your pain will subside too.

Unfortunately, I find that I am experiencing VERY strong aversions to the non-painful sensation of nursing my 16-month-old now. I'm so thankful that even though I've been resorting to putting dd off and cutting our nursing sessions short that I still have milk at the moment, 23 weeks along now.

I wish I could tell you that anything has helped a lot... but I've only found a few ways to help a little bit. Things that have helped me somewhat with the pain and the aversion: depending on the particular nursing session, stroking dd's hair, reading/distracting myself, labor pain relaxation/breathing techniques, doing kegels while nursing; and making extra-double-sure to stay generally well-hydrated.

Nursing while pregnant is so hard. I feel that my body is telling me in rather strong terms that it is time to wean my older baby. One thing giving birth the first time taught me was that I can trust my body. BUT in this one case, I strongly believe that I need to ignore my body's signals and continue to nurse for dd's sake.

Good luck to you as you struggle through it too!

 

[rahrahgobg]

It hurt for me to nurse DS#2 when I got pregnant. It hurt the whole time to nurse, not just the first few seconds. I had to wean him as I couldn't take the pain. I don't know how women keep on nursing through the pain. He was 15 months when I weaned him. I thought he would give me a hard time, but he didn't.

I have no advice, but to say I feel for you and I hope it gets better.

Vicki

 

[Prensa]

I just nursed through a pregnancy and I have to say although it was very very painful at times and I would have to stop, or cut him short, other times it was not so bad. I was very committed to not weaning. I just took each day, each week one nursing session at a time...

I agree that distraction works, at times I was jamming my tongue into my broken tooth (very painful!) to take my mind off my nipples...but then a week later it would be ok again and I would be so thankful that I still had the nursing relationship with my boy.

you are not alone, you can get through it, and once the babe is here it will change for the better!

hang in there mama!

 

[Shell]

I don't mean to co-opt this thread, but it seems silly to start another thread with the exact same title! Just adding another experience, I guess... and seeking the experience of others...

Anyway, I'm going through the same thing now. I am at week 18. My milk dried up around week six, but I was able to nurse the whole first trimester without any significant pain. But the last week has been unbearable. My dd (almost 3 years) puts lanolin on my nipples every morning

. I am at the point where I am just having to end nursing sessions -- I just can't bear it.

Poor baby, though, she wants it SO bad. I try to explain that now that the milk is gone it hurts... and she doesn't want mommy to hurt, right? She gets that, but then a minute later she begs for booby again. She is obviously struggling with what to do. She cries and cries for it. She also has been waking in the middle of the night lately, and trying to rationalize things while she is half asleep just doesn't work! So I find myself nursing her and struggling with the pain. I am so tired with being pregnant as it is, this is only making it worse. Oh -- dd is also an intense twiddler (she plays with my free nipple because I was too naive to stop it when it started), so it is REALLY unbearable!

While I am committed to CLW, I can't do anything in my relationship with my child that causes one of us immense pain. The real tough part of this is that sometimes it doesn't hurt at all -- I just don't know when that beautiful time might be (although it seems to be when I am sitting in a chair, rather than sidelying).

While weaning or partial weaning is really uncomprehendable to me, the other part of the challenge is... what do I replace it with? I can get her to go to sleep with a bottle of rice milk in the rocking chair, but what I really want is for her to be able to lay down in bed and fall asleep by herself. That seems SO unlikely right now. I am so not wanting to wean. This is really the pits.

I have heard it gets better when the colostrum comes in, I'm not sure when that is exactly, but I don't know if I can make it until then.

 

[CalebsMama05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahrahgobg It hurt for me to nurse DS#2 when I got pregnant. It hurt the whole time to nurse, not just the first few seconds. I had to wean him as I couldn't take the pain. I don't know how women keep on nursing through the pain. He was 15 months when I weaned him. I thought he would give me a hard time, but he didn't. I have no advice, but to say I feel for you and I hope it gets better. Vicki

this is where I am at right now

some days my nipples don't hurt at all and other days I cannot nurse him even once

and my baby boy DOES care I feel awful