Cracked/Bleeding nipples

[sparksgirl]

Hi everyone, my 10 day old baby girl has done so much damage to my nipples that I have to try SOOO hard to not scream as she even approaches my nipples for a feed. I know being tense does not help the situation at all. Sometimes her hands are flailing about also and earlier she grabbed my whole nipple with her hand!!! Any advice? I don't want to give up but this pain in unbearable at the moment.

[codswallop]

try a nipple sheild:fingerscrossed:

[laylasmumma23]

I had the same prob with my dd, my nipples were so cracked, i got mastistis from fear of feeding..

she had the swinging arms as well...i know its frowned upon but i used to wrap my dd up before breast feeding that way she wouldn't hold my nipples or pinch my breasts whilst feeding..
I also used this really good cream called Lansinoh it heals nipples in a couple of days, and you dont need to take it off to breast feed.
You can get it from the chemist.

If nothing seems to help, maybe try expressing into a bottle to give yourself some time to heal..but make sure its only a few times or it might damage the bf relationship. You may need to seek pro advice on attachment, talk to a midwife or a lactation expert.

HTH :thumbsup: good luck :D

[sienna2008]

I Hear Ur Pain, I had really sore nipples the 1st week that I brought my DD home, it didn't get as far as them bleeding. She grabbed them once when I was trying to position her and that hurt sooo bad, just the next time I was more aware of her hands.
I used lansinoh ointment which helped me alot, u can get it at any chemist, though a little expensive, I beleive it was worth spending the money.
Hope it gets better for you :hugs:

[bronny-jane]

i had to feed ds in the foot ball hold fo the first month..it was easier for me to attach him that way, i couldnt get the cradle hold till he was about a month..

you should give it a try:yes:.. it felt better almost immediately, and my nipples were fine in a few days:yelclap:

also, make sure you dont aim your nipple into the middle of bubs mouth, i didnt get why until i watched a dvd in hospital that showed what happens when they attach;)

good luck, its worth it.. my ds is 1 and im loving it..lost 2 dress sizes while still eating take away and chocolate everyday:D

[bronny-jane]

oh and if you cant get lansinoh, just use your milk..let it dry on your nipples:thumbsup:

[sparksgirl]

i had to feed ds in the foot ball hold fo the first month..it was easier for me to attach him that way, i couldnt get the cradle hold till he was about a month..

you should give it a try:yes:.. it felt better almost immediately, and my nipples were fine in a few days:yelclap:

also, make sure you dont aim your nipple into the middle of bubs mouth, i didnt get why until i watched a dvd in hospital that showed what happens when they attach;)

good luck, its worth it.. my ds is 1 and im loving it..lost 2 dress sizes while still eating take away and chocolate everyday:D

Where do you aim the nipple when you are trying to attach?

[bronny-jane]

brush the top of bubs top lip with it, when the baby opens it mouth, slide your nipple into it..you want it to be aiming at the roof of bubs mouth..

im bad at explaining it... i'll hunt down some videos for you:D

[threepigs]

Yup, had the same with DS, his attachment was ordinary.

I agree with others:

1. Wrap your bub
2. Football hold
3. Lanisoh

and then I also

4. Expressed one feed or one side of a feed to give my nipples a chance to recover (and because I just couldn't STAND it).

We were over the worst of it by week three. Good luck hun, it's hard yards.

[MrsMiggins]

Oh, the flashbacks!!!! This sounds exactly like what happened with my DD. We didn't end up continuing after 4 weeks, because it never got better and I was so sick from mastitis and in constant pain.

BUT....

I learned from the experience & was able to successfully BF my DS (he's still going nearly 2 years later!! :D)

I would strongly suggest speaking to an LC or CHN or the ABA. I had no idea where to get help and I think if I had gotten help, we would have been able to continue & get past all the problems.

When I was pregnant with DS, I spoke to a lactation consultant and she was awesome. She said she couldn't believe that I'd been warned off nipple shields (the midwives in the hospital told me not to use them at all, under any circumstances) because based on what I told her, she thought that alone could have helped enough to fix our problems. She said that nipple shields had caught a bad rap over the years because they were often misused, but they certainly had their place. If you are experiencing such terrible pain that breastfeeding becomes traumatic for you then it might be worth giving them a try - even just for a day or so to give your nipples a chance to heal.

There are other things you can do too, such as expressing for 12 or 24 hours to give yourself a chance to heal.

But speak to someone and get the help you need.

:hugs: I really wish you all the best, because I remember only too well what you are going through!

[bronny-jane]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zln0LTkejIs

[bada]

We had exactly the same problems, it is so painful and heartbreaking to not be able to feed comfortably. It does get so much better and it won't hurt at all when things are back on track. I can not recommend this highly enough:
GO TO A LACTATION NURSE
I went to see one at the hospital I gave birth in, it was free too.
It was the best thing I ever did, she gave me a few pointers, probably took all of 2 mins and we were back on track. Get yourself a breast pump and express and bottle feed her until you nipples heal. Also that lansinoh cream PP suggested is great. Don't be afraid of giving bubs a bottle of expressed milk, as so many ppl told me bubs would get nipple confusion and would never breast feed again, but it wasn't true and as soon as one side healed i combo breast and ebm bottle fed until I was all better and then used the tips from the lactation nurse, and we are still breastfeeing 9 months on.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll get there, it takes a bit of determination whch sounds like you have!

[bronny-jane]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzptXRlEMV8&feature=related

[bada]

In the mean time, The major points that helped me were,


getting bubs in the right postion, so they feel cuddled and secure so their arms aren't waving about so much (I remember them grabbing your cracked nipple was sheer terror, you poor thing)
As a PP has explained the directing the nipple to the roof of their mouth.
getting a breast pump to feed bubs until nipples heal

:thumbsup: good luck!

[Pregnor]

I agree with everyone that attachment might be a problem... I was nipple feeding for days, it was lucky :rolleyes: i was in the hospital for so long, cos one of the midwives caught me, and oh the relief! Still had a few probs after, but we are all good now at almost 8 weeks :thumbsup:

Get the lanisoh, there is also another brand which they gave me samples of in the hosp. but i forgot the name. I think its a bit cheaper. Also, if you are at home by yourself, go topless, give your nipples some air time, and time without anything rubbing on them, i found it helped me out

Good luck :hugs:

[sparksgirl]

Thanks everyone for all the tips and advice. I expressed for 5 days to let my nipples heal however they are still not healed properley. I have gone back to bf as I am really worried about supply, even though the nurse said not to worry to much. I'm on fenugreek also. I saw a lactation nurse and am going back to see her again this week. It is far from great yet as I'm not quite getting it right but I am so determined to breast feed. I had to top her up with formula this week which broke my heart!

[bronny-jane]

you'll get it:)

[littlemissmoi]

oh my god.. this brings back memories, and almost puts me off wanting to have another baby for a long time. My nipple got grazed and tore after literally 3 seconds of bad attachment with my hoover-like newborn. I still have a yuck scar around one side of my nipple.

On top of that, your boobs really do take a while to get used to the whole feeding thing.

On about day 10, I went out and bought the lansinoh, like everyone else said, and it improved things within a day (not entirely, of course, but I felt SOOOO MUCH BETTER! Even after the first application).

Also, for the first six weeks, I did shift between normal hold and football hold (if you do football hold, use a normal pillow for support).

But then, one day a friend of mine whose bub was a little older than mine, said, "Oh it's so easy now, at first it was terrible, BFing took an hour and it hurt and I hated it". When she said that i realised that it had become second nature to me without me even realising it at that point.

You'll get there before you know it!

[Lissa7]

Ouch!!!! Those first few weeks are hell :rolleyes: BF is really hard and we are not told all this prior to giving birth everyone seems to focus so much on the birth they forget to educate us on the whole feeding thing!!!!!

It has taken me 3 daughters to finally get the whole BF thing :rolleyes:

I agree with the other girls get yourself some Lansinoh and slap it on thick, and rub some breast milk onto your nipples and let them breath as much as you possible can. I would also express one side and feed off the other and alternate this with each feed to give your nipples a rest.

Good luck darl, stick with it once you are over these hard first few weeks it really does become so easy and quick :flowerz:

Good on you for sticking with it :thumbsup:

[bada]

Good on you sparksgirl for going to see the lactation nurse! :thumbsup: I think the stats say more than 50% of women would have given up by now, so you are beating the odds!
Even after I saw the lactation nurse it still took a bit to perfect the technique. You sound like a determined lady and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it and soon enough it will be second nature, and not painful at all!
Good luck, and congrats on doing so well!

[SPC]

It doesn't have to hurt! Nipple shields rock. My baby had trouble latching on as I was very flat and she was very irritable. It took 6 days for somebody to give me a nipple shield and it solved all our problems.

I fed her upright, literally perched her on my thigh, and that worked for us when she was small. Other good tips I found helped:

When she's latched on tuck her bottom in and it'll encourage her to push her jaw forward.

Sit bolt upright and use cushions to bring her up to the right height.

If she's not latched on properly and it is hurting, make a noise, [I hiss], and prize her off. Soon she'll know to let go when she hears the noise and you won't have to lever her off the nipple.

[bronny-jane]

yeah mastitis sucks:thumbsdown:
i got it when ds was 11 months..over expressing;)
and it hurt when i attached him, i knew it would get better, so it made it easy to keep going:).. but even when attaching correctly it still hurt...

it does get better :yes:.. and easier too...

good on you for keeping it up:yelclap:

[sparksgirl]

Today I had my first pain free feed on both sides!!! yippee!! Except the subsequent 2 feeds have not been so good and I know if I continue I'll end up where I was before. This is so hard, I know how to latch her on properley but it doesn't always go so well and when I take her on and off it seems to do the damage. I gave back the breast pump that I had hired so now I'm on my own!:no:

[SPC]

Keep going! As they get bigger it gets easier for them to latch on. You're doing really well. :yelclap:

[poppie]

Oh I hear ya! I don't have anything else to add but :hugs::hugs::hugs:and it does get better hon.

[MZmama]

Sparksgirl, I had the same problem with both my children at the start of breastfeeding, and it was horrible.. but it does get better!

I found Lucas' Pawpaw ointment to work better then Lansinoh, and it also doesnt need to be washed off before a feed.. and I used to put the shields on my nipples under my bra between feeds, as this kept the bra/clothing off of my nipple which promoted healing..

Hope that helps...

[Lissa7]

I think as long as she is having wet nappies she should be fine.

Also when I take Lily off my breast I slide my little finger in the side of her mouth she then sucks my finger as I take her off my nipple so no damage is done, a midwife showed me this trick in hospital with DD1

You are doing a great job :flowerz: BF is bloody hard work!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sparksgirl]

OK, so here is an update - I am finally exclusive breastfeeding and at last weigh she put on a good amount of weight - yippee! I think I am almost through the worst of it now. I've had mastitis twice now and my nipples are still very tender but not as painful as I finally have my attachment right. I sought advice from another lactation nurse who gave me one small tip and now it is awesome. I am so happy that I'm finally bf properley after 6 1/2 weeks!

[threepigs]

Well done sparksgirl, it's really hard and you've been such a trouper to persist. Enjoy your b/f relationship with bub, it's very special :goodvibes:

[bada]

:yelclap: glad to hear it's going well now, good on you!

[Merla]

Well done sparkgirl, you have given me some hope!
Bubba is 4 weeks and I'm still having troubles with really sore cracked nipples, and trouble attaching her (even after seeing a LC). Just got to keep going I guess, though reading stories like yours gives me hope that its going to get easier soon!