When does it stop being sore?

[@llli*izzy29]

Fed my 1st for 7 months but this time I am not sure I will make it to 7 weeks. It still hurts every time baby latches on and sometimes after. The feeling after I can only describe as if u have been expressing with an electric pump and its turned up too high and the feeling u have after. Could it just be baby's suck is so strong and I just have to toughen up? I am very fair skinned and super sensitive. Baby is 4 weeks old now.

[@llli*mommal]

Whether or not the soreness will pass depends on what is causing it. Small baby, small mouth, imperfect latch? That pain will pass as the baby grows. Thrush (a yeast infection of the breast/nipples or some other infection)? That will go away when mom and baby complete a successful course of treatment. Tongue tie? That will probably pass with time, or when you get the tongue tie released by a doc. Vasospasm? Depends what's causing it. If it's due to compression of the nipple, it will pass when baby grows or gets the tongue tie released. If it's caused by Raynaud's phenomenon, then you may be stuck with it, and will need to treat with palliative methods and perhaps a course of Nifedipine.

Questions for you:
- When baby unlatches, what shape are your nipples: symmetrical, like pencil erasers, or asymmetrical/wedged/ridged/creased/shaped like new lipsticks?
- When do you have the most pain- at the very beginning of a feeding, during the feeding, at the end of a feeding, or after the conclusion of the feeding?
- Do you have any cracks of blisters? If you have cracks, are there multiple, small, slit-like cracks or one single sore per nipple?
- Is the skin of your nipples more pink/red than normal? Does it appear dry or flaky?
- Any itching or burning sensations?
- After feeding, do your nipples ever turn white? They may turn white, then bluish-purple, before returning to their normal color.

[@llli*izzy29]

Whether or not the soreness will pass depends on what is causing it. Small baby, small mouth, imperfect latch? That pain will pass as the baby grows. Thrush (a yeast infection of the breast/nipples or some other infection)? That will go away when mom and baby complete a successful course of treatment. Tongue tie? That will probably pass with time, or when you get the tongue tie released by a doc. Vasospasm? Depends what's causing it. If it's due to compression of the nipple, it will pass when baby grows or gets the tongue tie released. If it's caused by Raynaud's phenomenon, then you may be stuck with it, and will need to treat with palliative methods and perhaps a course of Nifedipine.

Questions for you:
- When baby unlatches, what shape are your nipples: symmetrical, like pencil erasers, or asymmetrical/wedged/ridged/creased/shaped like new lipsticks?
- When do you have the most pain- at the very beginning of a feeding, during the feeding, at the end of a feeding, or after the conclusion of the feeding?
- Do you have any cracks of blisters? If you have cracks, are there multiple, small, slit-like cracks or one single sore per nipple?
- Is the skin of your nipples more pink/red than normal? Does it appear dry or flaky?
- Any itching or burning sensations?
- After feeding, do your nipples ever turn white? They may turn white, then bluish-purple, before returning to their normal color.

My nipples are flat and pointy after feeding, is that bad? I hurts most at the beginning of feeding, nearly as she elongates the nipple from flat.

I have seen the very tips of my nipples white, just for a short time, then they return to normal colour. I did question thrush at this stage but it only happened twice and baby had no signs of it. I ave seen my nipples a bluish purple colour too before returning to normal.

I did have a crack but it seems to be healing well. In between feeds i get the sensation that I have been pumping on full power and its been too strong.

Any suggestions? Do I have a multitude of problems going on? Somedays are sorer than others, I am just taking each day at a time continuing with the breast feeding. Any advice helpful.

[@llli*mommal]

Okay, what you describe sounds like a latch issue. Lipstick-shaped nipples mean that the nipple is sitting in the front of the mouth, between the tongue and hard palate, as baby nurses. Ideally, the nipple sits on the back of the tongue, in between the tongue and soft palate. If you stick your index finger in your mouth and suck on it, you'll understand why this hurts! When the finger is on the front of your tongue, it's going to experience a lot of movement and get compressed against the hard palate. On the back of the tongue, it will experience less motion and almost no compression.

Compression of the nipple can cause an extremely painful condition called vasospasm. That's probably what is causing the white and blue coloration of the skin of your nipple. This link explains vasospasms in more depth: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/moth...ple-blanching/. Vasospasms are often mistaken for thrush, but they are not thrush. Treating vasospasms is often as simple as keeping a heat source- like a heating pad or hot water bottle- nearby, and using it on the nipple after the feeding is done.

In your shoes, I would go to see a lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC, for hands-on help with the baby's latch. There's a reason why the baby isn't getting a deep latch- maybe a tongue tie, maybe a positioning problem, maybe just a consequence of a small baby and a small mouth- but a LC should be able to help you figure out what the problem is and fix it.

I just want to encourage you to keep on going! If the crack is already healing, you're probably well on your way to pain-free nursing. As babies grow and their mouths grow, they become better able to achieve a deep latch every time. When that happens, it stops hurting.

[@llli*izzy29]

Thanks for all the advice. I have been trying very hard today to get the positioning right and get more into her mouth but she seems to like to nibble.

[@llli*monika.h]

When our nipples come out mis-shapen, this means the latch is too shallow. Your nipple is being compressed between baby's tongue and the top of his mouth. You need your nipple to end up further back in baby's mouth where it won't be rubbing against anything.

The comfort zone video clip below explains this. I've included some of my other latching videos, they will give you things to try. I agreee with mommal, there may be other things going on like tongue tie. So if you are unable to get improvement through a deeper latch, be sure to find an IBCLC and/or local LLL leader to look at things for you.

Here are some of my favorite latching links. I personally had good success with the Flipple technique. It helped DS get a good deep latch.

COMFORT ZONE (Comfort zone explained+your baby knows how to latch)
http://www.ameda.com/resources/video

ASYMMETRICAL LATCH (Dr Newman’s info)
http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/conte...agename=doc-WL

THE “FLIPPLE” LATCH (Latching technique where you fold your breast into baby's mouth so your nipple ends up far back in her mouth)
http://www.breastfeedingmadesimple.c...atedlatch.html
(animation)
http://www.rebeccaglover.com.au/grap...aching_big.jpg
http://www.rebeccaglover.com.au/grap...chment_big.jpg

THE BABY-LED LATCH (Baby latches himself on while mother helps. A relaxing position and often comfortable latch)
http://www.biologicalnurturing.com/video/bn3clip.html