Please Help! Extreme Pain While Breastfeeding

What about thursh? I got thrush a few weeks into breast feeding and oh-my-gosh did that hurt! It just BURNED while he nursed and even afterwards! My nipples had this shiny pink look to them and then I noticed white splotches in his mouth. The white splotches looked like puffy clouds and they didn't wipe off easily. Thursh doesn't seem to affect the baby - jus the mom!

A good over the counter, been used for decades treatment, is gentian violet. I found it at a Happy Harrys by the syrup of ipecac and such. Ask around and you'll find it. It's actually a by product of coal tar, but it's a deep purple dye, and it works! I would take a cotton swab and paint my nipples purple before latching him on. Beware, you will have purple nipples - he will have a purple mouth - and anything else it contacts! You may want to remove your shirt (and his) before doing this and drape your lap in a towel.

It can't hurt to try this and it may solve the pain problem. I hope you come up with something so you and boy can continue the wonderful bond of breastfeeding.

J.

I am not sure about this breast pain if the lactation consultant does not know. If you had thrush etc the pain would be when you pump too. Maybe ask another lactation consultant as well.
I could not continue to breast feed b/c of multiple reasons--baby premature etc. So I have now been exclusively pumping for almost 11 months now. Since the pumping does not hurt, you may consider that. You will need to rent a hospital grade pump for that. But the most important thing is to give your baby breast milk not how he gets it. It would be great to breastfeed but as long as he is getting the milk that's great. And potentially you will produce more breast milk that way b/c you will be relaxed.
Do not feel guilty about the bottle and the spitting up. Make sure you have a slow flow nipple and you may want to experiment with other brands b/c the flow can be different even though they a say slow flow etc. We experimented with many and settled with doctor brown. You also can change the flow slightly by how tightly you have the cap on the bottle. But the spitting up does not bother them and gets less as they grow.
Good Luck

I do remember extreme pain in the begining of breastfeeding...the good news is that it does eventually go away. I really do think that they are just good suckers! One of my daughters gained a pound in her first week!! You are doing everything right...hopefully it will go away in a couple of weeks. A trick i was tought was to gently toughen up your nipples in the shower with a warm washcloth. If you are already sore though this may not be good....i used to start in the end of pregnancy....best of luck to you!

I feel your pain. I in the process of nursing my second daughter and had the same problem too. I also had the same problem when I nursed my first daughter. I always thought it had to do with the let down of the milk. It always started around 2 or 3 weeks in (just when your milk is coming in so strong)The first couple mins of nursing were unbareable. I can give you some postive news, with both my kids it went away after a week or two. I think it is just your body getting adjusted to nursing and the baby. I think it doesn't hurt when you pump because your body doesn't let down your milk the same way when you pump as when you nurse.
Hang in there. I bet it will go away in a couple weeks.

Mama, I feel your pain. What you're describing is extremely similar to what I felt in the early days with my daughter. We stuck with it and it did get better. She was about 6 weeks old before I finally had an "aha" moment and really had a good time with breastfeeding.

For the first 3 months, give or take, your supply is hormonally driven. Once you start hitting about 10-12 weeks, our supply becomes driven by demand. It is absolutely imperative that you have the little one on the breast as often as possible for as long as possible to ensure that your production doesn't take a dive. Any time the baby gets a bottle, you need to be pumping to replace that as close as possible to when baby gets the bottle.

Not having pain when pumping is a good sign - it means that the pain issue is probably not thrush. Our pain started at about week 3 when we weaned from a nipple shield and it lasted about 2-3 weeks. Some of the feedings just started hurting less and less. There's definately a tougheing up of the nipples that goes on during this time period.

You should be able to break the baby's suction easily, no matter how strong the suck. What I do is stick my finger in my mouth first to make it easier to slide into DD's mouth. Then I slide my finger into her mouth, between her gums, and hook my finger around my nipple, and then it just pops out without pain. It's entirely possible that if you pulled out without breaking the suction you may have a bit of bruising in the nipple that's still healing.

I used a lot of lanolin in the early days to help with pain. And make sure to check carefully over your nipple for cracks.

Hugs mama. There's a lot of learning that goes on for both you and baby in the early days. There is a great community on Livejournal.com called "breastfeeding" and there's also a community called "adopt_a_mom" that pairs you with a mentor to provide one on one support and answer questions. Having someone to turn to who had been there, done that, was really helpful to me in those early days.

Sticking with breastfeeding is one of the things I'm most proud of. DD was exclusively breastfed to 6 months when we started introducing solids. At 2 weeks shy of 1 year, she is still breastfeeding daily and we plan to let her self wean when she is ready. I really believe that our nursing relationship is worth all the pain and all the tears. It's so easy to never have to worry about bottles or forgetting formula. Her milk is always with us, always available, always the right temperature, and always a comfort to her. I just wish I would have discovered nursing tanks a little earlier.

Hang in there mama, it gets better.

Have you tried nipple shields? He will feed as normal, but his mouth will not be on your nipple at all. I know they are usually meant for women with inverted nipples, however I used them when my nipples were cracked and bleeding. They allowed me continue breastfeeding while I healed. If the actual contact on your skin is the cause of your pain, this might help. I hope you find something that works. Good for you to push on.

Also, a good read is Spilled Milk by Andy Steiner. Lots of breastfeeding stories from different women that make you realise you are not alone. My Mom bought it for me after my first baby when I was living in the UK away from family. Hope this helps. Your boy is very lucky to have such a good mother!

Congratulations on your little boy!

I am so sorry to hear about your pain. I wish I had some advice for you. The only piece of advice I received from a nurse, which you probably already know about, is after you nurse, air yourself out for a minute or two before you fasten yourself up. The milk is a natural healer if you are having dryness issues.

As far as feeding your son a bottle, I started giving my son a bottle whenever we went out and every evening. He was just fine! I also use the Dr. Brown bottles, I love them. As he matures, your son will stop spitting up so much.

Please don't feel guilty or selfish for not nursing!!! I had to stop when my son was almost 6 months due to becoming pretty ill and no longer able to produce milk. I understand your guilt, but your son will be just fine no matter what! You need to take care of yourself as well to be a good mom emotionally and physically.

I really hope you are able to find some answers. Good luck!

Your post brought back memories of nursing my son who is now 2 years. He was my second and before him I had nursed my daughter for 9 months with nary a problem. It was a wonderful experience. Then my son came along and he absolutely killed me. It was a completely different experience from my daughter. Your description of the pain sounds pretty much like what I felt. I actually had to grit my teeth it hurt so bad and I also couldn't talk once he first started nursing. Not that this is something you want to hear but it never got better. I called my OB a number of times and first was put on "triple nipple" which was an antibiotic, a steroid and an antifungal cream. It helped very little. Then I went on oral diflucan which is for fungal/yeast infections but that made very little difference also. I also ended up with mastitis twice which I never had with my daughter. I ended up stopping nursing at 5 1/2 months and I still can't believe I made it that long. My only theory of what it was is that he was a boy and he had a super strong latch. I think he was just stronger than my daughter and just sucked really really hard. I also think he was hungrier than my daughter and therefore was a much more enthusiastic eater and tried to get as much out as he could and as fast as he could. I don't think there is anything wrong with pumping and giving him a bottle so he gets all the wonderful benefits of breast milk or even switching to formula if you have to. I know with your first you want everything to be perfect and wonderful and would love breastfeeding to be this wonderful bonding experience but please don't feel guilty no matter what you decide. You have to do whatever allows you to be the best mother for your baby. You could even start off by pumping maybe half of your feedings to give your breasts a rest and then nurse maybe even only one or two feedings a day so you are still getting the experience of nursing your son. I hope this helps. If it makes you feel any better I just had my third and she is also a wonderful nurser. Every child is different. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do. Feel free to email me with any questions.

E.B.
I had a similar problem with my 4 month old. The doctors could not figure it out. Do you feel feverish at all? I didn't, but they told me if I did to come to the er to be treated for possible mastitis. If you are like me and do not feel feverish, try doing what I did. I know it sounds weird, but while you are in the warm shower massage your breasts until they start to express milk. Keep doing this for a few days and it should make the pain go away. What I discovered my problem was was a partially blocked duct that was only being effected when she sucked (and not when I pumped for some reason). After 2 or 3 days the pain went away completely. Give it a shot, and good luck!

I experienced something really similar with my first daughter. The pain was so awful and it got worse and worse--so much that I would cry at every feeding. My nipples were torn off and all that was left was a bloody patch. It was disgusting. I tried a nipple shield, lactation consultants, creams, not wearing clothing all day long...but it was terrible. My milk had come in and I enjoyed pumping so much more than actually feeding. After 4 weeks I switched to bottle feeding and I was so relieved. I finally felt like I could be a mother instead of a weepy mess in constant pain. I cried for a year everytime I thought about breastfeeding. I felt so guilty because I really wanted to breastfeed and there was so much pressure to do so. But bottle feeding was the answer for my first daughter.
I tried breastfeeding again for my 2nd daughter, but got double mastitis after 10 days. I was put in the hospital for 2 days with a fever of 104. I gave up breastfeeding at that point. I never even tried with my 3rd because I felt like I could not put my mothering at risk. I couldn't be put in the hospital with 3 little girls at home needing me.
Good luck with your situation, and know that making the right decision for you is always the best choice.