How long before pain and supply settle?

[RedPanda]

I know everyone is different, but I wanted to get a feel for how long it takes before I won't grit my teeth at the start of a feed.

When he's on it's not so bad, but my boobs are already just so sore that feeds just aggravate them. My supply is pretty full-on which gives me that painful stretched feeling, and my nipples are still a bit sore from early days of bad attachment (and a bit of a nip a few days ago :rolleyes:).

Aghhh! Tell me to keep going!! In the middle of the night I wonder why I'm doing this!

[MilkOnTap]

:hugs:

Those first few weeks were horrendous... The pain - oh the pain!!!

You know how I got through? I told myself that BEFORE giving Jedd the artificial stuff I would have to WANT it for a week! If on a Monday I was dying of pain, I would write down the day (cause baby brain is horrible lol) and I usually found that in a day or two I was thinking how on EARTH did I contemplate doing that?!?

Strange really... lol.

So - the letdown pain for me went on for about 4 or 6 weeks. I now cant feel let down at all - it just happens.

To settle your supply down (do you have an over-supply?) you could try just squeezing out whatever makes your breasts feel comfortable in a hot shower. Dont empty them though. Remember, breastfeeding is demand and supply, so if your expressing as well as feeding, then your supply is only going to keep on increasing; so just squeeze out whatever helps you feel a bit more comfortable.

If one breast is really tender, then give it a break for a couple of feeds. I did this after my left nipple was badly grazed and bleeding horrendously and it was the best thing I could have done!

And my number one tip is to always express a tinsy amount after a feed and rub it over your nipple and let it air dry. Breast milk has so many nutrients and antibodies in it, that it alone is the best thing to help heal sore and cracked nips.

Good luck - and keep it up!!! :hugs:

[Funkychicken]

Aghhh! Tell me to keep going!! In the middle of the night I wonder why I'm doing this!
Remember Dory in Finding Nemo? Just keep feeding, just keep feeding, just keep feeding......:goodvibes::goodvibes::goodvibes:

Robyn, you are doing exceptionally well. Look how far you have come in the last couple of weeks!

I often think of breastfeeding as a leap of faith. Trust that all will be well and it will be-it just takes time, one feed at a time. :hugs::hugs:

[abibelsmum]

They told us at the hospital that it would take 6 weeks to fully establish breastfeeding, so I would give yourself that long. By the end of 6 weeks the pain will be a distant memory :thumbsup:.

[the_queen]

:hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

It'll settle down soon, I promise. For me, in the third week, it literally just was not there all of a sudden. I sat down, gritted my teeth, starting curling my toes in anticipation.... and he latched on, and nothing. No pain. This will happen for you too. Just keep going, very very soon it will all fall into place, I promise. One feed at a time.

:hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

[MummaBear03]

It took 4 months for me, but only because I had no one around who could help, only people telling me that I didn't have to keep feeding her and that formula is just as good :rolleyes:

When I finally found someone who could help it turned out to be an attachment problem and was over in a jiffy. I was told that it's only normally the first month at most where people have problems.

[RedPanda]

Thanks everyone. We just had a terrific feed, which always leaves me feeling good. Hopefully the next one will be good too!! Just when I think we've got it together we seem to have a bad feed where we both forget what we've learned!

[Funkychicken]

Thanks everyone. We just had a terrific feed, which always leaves me feeling good. Hopefully the next one will be good too!! Just when I think we've got it together we seem to have a bad feed where we both forget what we've learned!
:yelclap::yelclap::yelclap::yelclap: That's great Robyn.

Or another way to look at it- just when you think it is all going pear shaped, you have a great feed and reaffirm to yourself that yes, you both can do this.:goodvibes::goodvibes:

[LadyGrey]

so good that you finally had a good feed, what a relief!!

i remember with us it was exactly 12 weeks til my supply was fully established and it wasnt painful anymore (and my boobies didnt leak anymore!)

:hugs: