My son is now 6 weeks old and I have been pumping exclusively ever since he was born. I have tried several things to relieve my sore nipples and think I may be a lost cause, but hopefully I can get someone's input. I am using the medela pump in style double breast pump. The original breast shields were too big as a great amount of my areola was being pulled into the breast shield during pumping so I got the personal fit connects in a smaller size (21mm) and an insert for the regular size breast shield that makes it smaller. I found that the personal fit breast shield hurts a lot more than the insert. I put lanolin on my nipple and the breast shield inside and slightly outside the tunnel. I have taken ibuprofen 30 minutes before pumping sessions. I have tried the hydrogel pads. I allow my nipples to air dry with expressed breastmilk on them. I then put for lanolin on before I put my bra back on. I actually try to keep my shirt and bra off as long as I can so no irritation occurs. When I do put on a bra, I put breast pads underneath it. I have put cold compresses on my nipples after pumping. I only clean them with water. I've tried doing shorter pumping sessions over a shorter period of time, either 5 minutes every hour, or about 8-10 minutes every two hours instead of the regular 15 minutes every three hours. I notice I can't really stand pumping for more than 8 minutes before my nipple really start to hurt. While the extra nipple pain during pumping is recent, probably over the past week, I have had nipple soreness since my first breastfeeding when I delivered. I've been told it would go away, but it has not after 6 weeks. My nipples don't look infected or anything. Only a small portion of my areola gets pulled into the flange now, and that part is pink. I'm not sure what else I can do. Someone please help!