Will tenderness fade?

In the very beginning my nipples were extremely sore and tender, even while nursing. Pain while nursing went away fairly quickly but anything touching my nipples like loose shirts, the shower, etc hurt like hell. However,
this all went away by the first and second month. So hopefully it will be a temporary situation for you as well. To help with the pain, I used plenty of Earth Mama Baby Angel brand nipple butter to keep my nipples moisturized. (Although I'm sure any lanolin based nipple cream would help too...EMBA is animal product free which is why I used that instead)
Peace and good luck!

It'll get better. But be aware, it'll maybe also get a lot worse before it gets better. But maybe it won't. No way to tell!

Everyone says that, magically, around 6 weeks, it all gets a lot easier. And while I totally doubted that, at 6 weeks, it all magically got better. We didn't do anything differently, but it stopped being intense pain on latching for me. Maybe she got a little bigger. Maybe I "toughened up," or something, who knows?

Key to showers on sensative days - Lansinoh on the nips BEFORE getting in the shower. Much more comfortable.

lanolin is my best friend at this point. After each feeding, before and after showering, all the time. Also lots of topless time for me and baby. thanks for the encouragement though. I hate having to sleep so covered up, but a rubbing sheet is just no fun right now.

Yes, it does get better, but it's impossible to tell you exactly when.
I don't know anyone who has had this go on more than 2 months.
It took me 6 weeks, but I was puming, which probably made things worse.

I wore a nursing sport bra 24/7 at first because my nipples were so sensitive. Out BF relationship got off to a late start, but I would say around 6 weeks everything felt better.

My friend, who is an L&D nurse and extended BFer, said, "If our babies came out as 2 month olds BFing would be a breeze!" So true.