Comments on Chronicles of a Babywise Mom: Sometimes Breastfeeding Hurts

HappyI8d, I would look into yeast. When I had it ...

2012-02-08T11:27:54.517-07:00

HappyI8d,

I would look into yeast. When I had it with McKenna, she did not have any signs that I could see, and I knew what to look for. Look at my post on yeast for help with seeing if that is it. If it is, it will be a lot worse by now.

As for let down, have you tried pumping for a minute before he starts to see if you can get the let-down going faster?

Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories! I ...

2012-02-01T16:28:14.760-07:00

Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories! I am sure they will help future moms.

Troutmans, that is huge! I can imagine your theory would be correct.

Katy--I hate the teeth.

Natalie, that is very weird that it hurt with number two and not one. I used a nipple shield with Brayden and that helped with tenderness, but in general you don't want to use it too

Oh yes! It absolutely hurts. For the first week af...

2012-01-27T14:30:21.538-07:00

Oh yes! It absolutely hurts. For the first week after my first child was born, I had to bite down on a rag every time he latched on. I wanted to scream it hurt so bad. My nipples had scabs on them. With the 2nd & 3rd, I had a couple of painful weeks too, but not as bad. But then I got mastitis with the 2nd one, which was a new experience. Breastfeeding is no picnic!

Thank you for your reply, ME! He has gotten into ...

2012-01-24T15:06:32.546-07:00

Thank you for your reply, ME! He has gotten into a bad habit of pulling and tugging at me while nursing. (I think I have a slooooow let down.) I try to hold him close and tightly and sometimes he fights me with that. I didn't really think anything of it since just the one side is bothering me. I'm going to try a different nursing position to see if that helps. I just pulled out the

to happyl8d....i struggled with plugged ducts too,...

2012-01-24T08:38:23.736-07:00

to happyl8d....i struggled with plugged ducts too, especially when the kid's intake would change. And on time had a nipple that was cracked around the base almost clear around, that was sore for such a long time!!! I would guess that something about your baby's positioning is causing him to rub on you or overstretch, worst case you might have slight yeast irritating it?? My midwife would

Question!! I'm nursing my 4th child. He'...

2012-01-23T18:59:02.969-07:00

Question!! I'm nursing my 4th child. He's now almost 8 months old, and everything's been going pretty well, up to this point (aside from the usual pain the first couple weeks and until after my milk comes in). This last month I've had 3 occurrences of plugged milk ducts that I've been able to thankfully work out, but now, my one side (nipple) is very sore (same side that

This is so true. I had red blood blisters on my n...

2012-01-17T18:34:09.816-07:00

This is so true. I had red blood blisters on my nipples for the first week and it was very painful. I mainly only experienced pain right when baby latched on, not during the entire feeding. The lactation consultant gave me a nipple shield to use and that helped some but it was still painful. I used the nipple shield for about a week to get me through that time then stopped using it when my

WHY does no one talk about this? I found out after...

2012-01-17T13:29:07.479-07:00

WHY does no one talk about this? I found out after I had been in horrible pain for weeks that most of my friends cried through the first few weeks of nursing. I really wish I had been more mentally prepared

Amen!!! It can hurt even when you're doing ev...

2012-01-17T12:31:02.975-07:00

Amen!!! It can hurt even when you're doing everything right. I'm unsure why women are afraid to admit that. Thank you for this post and I hope it helps other moms out there wondering "what's wrong with me?"

Yes! Thank you! It drives me insane that doctors, ...

2012-01-17T08:29:10.354-07:00

Yes! Thank you! It drives me insane that doctors, lactation consultants, midwives, authors, etc tell us it should not hurt! It does so much damage and sets us up for failure. Breastfeeding just plain hurt until 9 weeks for me, I agonized over it day after day, feeling like there must be something wrong-but in the end it just can take time for you and baby to adjust and get accustomed to. I hope

So true :D After four, each one different, I'...

2012-01-16T20:32:57.790-07:00

So true :D After four, each one different, I'd experienced most issues, including yeast infection (owie) remedied with a vinegar and water rinse, mastitis, engorgement, etc. and knew by then, the books are going off the ideal, at best. Maybe they just don't want to scare us out of breastfeeding :D Anyway, I stuck it out because it was so important to me that my kids got breastmilk.

You know what's insane? I had ZERO pain when n...

2012-01-16T19:44:28.213-07:00

You know what's insane? I had ZERO pain when nursing my first baby. I thought it was because I was religious about using Lansinoh after every.single.feeding. Yeah, i was wrong. Come baby number two, and breastfeeding was excruciating. And I think I went through 4 tubes of Lansinoh in just the first 4 weeks. Obviously that wasn't helping. I had to shower with a bra and breast pads on

I think anytime a nursing mom is hurting or cracke...

2012-01-16T16:43:15.008-07:00

I think anytime a nursing mom is hurting or cracked and bleeding she should talk with a good lactation consultant. Sometimes, it does hurt just because, but other times there's a reason. I found out that I wasn't getting enough of my breast in my baby's mouth. For a baby that's a chewer when sucking, a tip I learned is to dip a clean finger in water and put touch it to the roof

SO SO true!! A good friend of mine, who was super...

2012-01-16T14:31:20.717-07:00

SO SO true!!

A good friend of mine, who was super committed to breastfeeding all through her pregnancy, nearly gave up before her baby was 3 weeks old. I was kind of shocked that she was planning to stop so soon, and told her that, for me, I found breastfeeding to be more unpleasant than pleasant for the first 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, I finally felt like the unpleasant/pain equaled the

THANK YOU! I just about was ready to kill my husb...

2012-01-16T12:19:41.685-07:00

THANK YOU! I just about was ready to kill my husband every time he echoed the breastfeeding class early on saying "It shouldn't hurt." Well, you know what? That's just not true. And no real woman I have ever known thought that. Just the classes. Now? 8 months later? I STILL will occasionally get the clogged duct, engorged pain, or bleeding thanks to someone biting with

I had the WORST pain while nursing for almost 10 ...

2012-01-16T11:39:19.868-07:00

I had the WORST pain while nursing for almost 10 weeks! It was horrible! I kept going to the lactation consultant and the doctor, and it was never a yeast/thrush issue. The lactation consultant said my son latched on perfectly, but that he had a very shallow suck, so it was him that made it painful and there wasn't much I could do about it. Once we hit around 12 weeks, it didn't