Extremely painful ready to give up!Help?

[@llli*xxskyelove]

My baby is a week old and i've been trying my best to breastfeed her but my nipples have gotten more sore and raw each day. when she latches on to my breast, it is extremely painful and brings me to tears! I'm so ready to give up on breastfeeding because nothing I do seems to help the pain and the whole reason I want to breastfeed is for the bonding and it's hard to appreciate the bonding when you're in severe pain. My nipples are sometimes white when she is done nursing and they are bloody sometimes too. I have had scabs that have fallen off then come back again. I have used lansinoh lanolin cream but it almost seems like it makes me more sensitive. I'm not sure if my baby is even latched on correctly, but I don't know how to fix it. Her bottom lip is curved out and usually her top lip is too, but her tounge never is out of her mouth. I tried to pump once and feed her breast milk from a bottle, but more than half of it ends up on her bib cause she doesn't know how to take the nipple on the bottle so it leaks out of the sides of her mouth. I don't know what to do anymore and for now I guess I just have to suck it up and take the pain but it's really hard and I need help. Any advice?

[@llli*hermione]

Hi there, I'm kind of new here but I've been through the same problems, I can totally relate! I would cry and dread every feeding due to nipple soreness.
Here is what worked for me:
- All purpose nipple ointement (I mixed miconazole, mupirocin and hydrocortisone cream) after every feeding, just whipe the excess off when you nurse again
- Airing your nipples
- Using medela breastshells to protect nipples between nursing sessions
- Pumped every other feeding when it was too painful, but allways had the baby latching at least 3-4 times a day; it's best to avoid bottles to avoid nipple confusion but I did use them (medela calma, the baby really has to work to get the milk), usually 24-48 h was enough to heal the cracks
- But most important thing: assess the latch and get some hands on help! I would have done it sooner if I knew! I had 2 LC telling me the latch was fine and it wasn't! When I was able to get help from an IBCLC I really noticed a difference.
Here's what really helped me: CORRECT POSITIONING. I was using the cradle hold and baby was too high (almost in the crook of my elbow). You want the baby's nose aligned with your nipple, with his lower lip at the level of the lower part of the areola. You can also tilt the nipple a bit, almost like you were "hiding it" from the baby so he has to open really wide. You also want to push your baby's bottom with the inner face of you forearm so he is really close to you and extends his neck a bit (this doesn't seemed relevant to me, but it is). Now this is really hard to explain if you have not seen it! That's why an IBCLC is so important. they can also check for tongue tie and other stuff.
You can take a look at these videos to get a better idea. I e-mailed Jack Newman and he sent me the chapter on latching of his book, which was helpful too. He answers right away!
Hopefully more knowledgeable ladies will chime in soon and give you some more tips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcfqIIc99LE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_tKhiJQ-bI
http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml

I thought of giving up a gazillion times, but I'm really glad I didn't. This will get better, I promise!!! Everybody told me so and I thought the day would never come, but it does. Hang in there, you're doing a great job!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Does it hurt the whole time, or just at the beginning?

You needs some hands on help. Yes, we can advise you regarding positioning, like try a laid back position, but nothing beats the hands on help of an IBCLC.

Google IBCLC for your city and find one. Yes, many work in hospitals, but they are so busy that it will be worth the effort to seek one one that isn't in a hospital. And your insurance company s required to pay for it!

There are several moms who had a terrible time at first, including me, and all made it.

[@llli*mamadavid]

Do you have a WIC office or even the lactations consultants at the hospital will be more than happy to help you! I went to see a LC over and over with my first baby, and she did not mind at all, I even called her every day the first week. HANG IN THERE!!!! You can do this, I promise, I totally feel your pain, I bled and cracked and bled some more with my first and now I am amazed how this time I don't even feel a thing! My nipples finally toughened up after a few weeks with DS1 and I promise yours will too, but you need to make sure the baby is latching correctly! Go see or call a LC they do this for a living, and most are really nice. You LO can hardly see you clearly right now, so don't worry about being in pain while BF it is the warmth, the skin to skin, the nourishment and the familiarity of you meeting all her needs just like you always have... you will see how awesome the gazing into each others eyes while BF is just a little while from now, and having done both breast and bottle on two different kiddos I can tell you that bonding is so unique and is absolutely irreplaceable! I regret every day not having BFed my second child, I would give anything to go back, so if it is that important to you, hang in there, get some help and rest assures this too really will pass, many of us have been right where you are and we made it through, so can you!

[@llli*mommal]

It sounds like you want some hands-on help from a professional. When you say your baby never has her tongue out of her mouth, that makes me wonder about tongue tie or a short tongue, two things which can make it very difficult to get a proper latch. Tongue ties can be released with a simple snip of the frenulum, so it's definitely worth talking to your LC and pediatrician about that possibility.

some questions for you:
- How has baby's weight gain been?
- What has her output of wet and poopy diapers been? And what color are the poops?
- When baby unlatches from the breast, what shape best describes your nipples: symmetrical, like pencil erasers, or asymmetrical/creased/wedged, like new lipsticks?