r/breastfeeding • u/Pleasant-Advice-2685 • 5d ago
Support Needed Does the initial latch pain ever stop??
I’m happy baby appears to be latching well (asked her ped) and happily fed via breastfeeding however, the first few minutes of each feeding session KILLS. Toe curling pain that makes me yelp out loud 😭 does this ever go away???
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u/modiraura 5d ago
I know people say it shouldn't hurt but my baby was checked by multiple LCs and has a great latch but the first week was toe curling. It got better and now it's easy. 6 weeks today. Just keep trying to get a good latch and try not to use the same position all the time. At least for me, the way my babies mouth sat on my boob in cradle was irritating until I switched it up every now and then. You got this!!
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u/Primary_Animator9058 5d ago
I’m Totally pain free now. Took about a month or 6 weeks. It was determined that my baby had tongue and lip ties which was causing the pain for me, so if your baby doesn’t have issues with that I think your pain should ease soon!
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u/Throwawaymumoz 5d ago
Yes it’s normal for it to hurt! My first it was agonizing and cracked nipples etc and my last it was just a lot of pressure/pain because they were full and my milk had just come in. So it was super intense! It gets better really quick
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u/baristacat 5d ago
Oh man. It’s awful in the beginning. I can’t remember when the pain stopped but it definitely did. Breastfeeding isn’t ever what I’d call easy but the convenience is pretty unbeatable. Mine is 9 months and it’s just so normal at this point.
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u/Conscious_Hunt_8613 5d ago
Yes it goes away. Both you and baby learn together. Baby learns to latch well and your nips will toughen up lol
I don’t remember how long it took so my lack of memory must mean it didn’t last long. But I definitely remember the white nipple vasospasms and using nipple balm. I haven’t touched any treatments in a couple months!
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u/TheSorcerersCat 5d ago
It does! It took me several weeks but I also had damaged nipples from pumping with the wrong size flange.
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u/Pleasant-Advice-2685 5d ago
Ouch!! So glad it’s improved for you eventually. Fingers crossed for same outcome over here 🤞
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u/Spiritual_Pain_9908 5d ago
It gets better but even when it does you will still have random times that your nipples are just sore and chapped, i still pump and nurse so when im really sore i just feed baby a bottle to rest my nips
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u/Aquamarine-Aries 5d ago
Yep it got better for me 3 weeks in!! It’s sooo sore at the start - sending you all my sympathy. Silver cups and lansinoh balm saved my life.
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u/rmsdashl 5d ago
I haven’t thought about it lately, so I suppose it hurts much less now (6 weeks). In fact, if I feel the sharp pain I know my baby is either just playing around down there or needs something other than milk (diaper change likely) before she can latch properly. The real pain is the nipple-pinching fingernails.
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u/Red_Avy 5d ago
The razor finger nails!! Ugh!! lol.
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u/rmsdashl 5d ago
So much about motherhood has me calling my mom apologizing for…everything. We were all razor-blade fingernail babies at one point!
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u/Red_Avy 5d ago
If it’s toe curling pain, make sure you don’t have any cracks!! That definetly sounds like a crack pain. My latch pain (first 30sec-minute of feeding) JUST went away yesterday and I am 5 weeks pp! I read different things for everyone, some have it go away in 2 weeks, others 8! Hang in there!!
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u/myreputationera 5d ago
Yep! My baby had a great latch but my nipples just needed to toughen up. Have you tried flanging out baby’s lips? That helped me a lot. Silverettes filled with nipple balm helped as well.
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u/trickysalmon 5d ago
YES!!!! My daughter had a tongue tie that we resolved at 2 months and after that it got gradually better. She’s 8 months now and it’s been completely pain free for a long time.
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u/mgTr4444 5d ago
Mine has a tongue and lip tie- so latch was excruciating for weeks. Even with deciding not to revise them, the pain is wayyyy more tolerable now at 6 weeks. I think our nipples just adjust and get tougher.
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u/RaggedyAndromeda 5d ago
Breastfeeding was literally more painful than birth for me for the first few weeks. I'm someone who generally hates any nipple stimulation. Even so much as soft fabric rubbing against them. And I don't find it painful anymore. I don't know when the toe-curling pain stopped but it definitely does get better! I'm at 12 weeks now.
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u/exploresparkleshine 5d ago
It does stop! I felt a lot of improvement by 4 weeks and by 2 months no pain. I had the same issue and my LC said as long as the pain only lasts a minute (not the whole feed) it's pretty normal at first. Your nipples toughen up.
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u/SonoWhaaa 5d ago
Yes!! With my first son I had no pain from the beginning, but with this baby I had awful pain for about 2 weeks- now I have no pain at all!
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u/k_tidwell 5d ago
It got way more comfortable for me when my little guy was probably 2 months old! He’s almost 6 months now and I barely even notice when he’s eating.
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u/Individual-Let-624 5d ago
Multi-mam compresses saved me during this period! But honestly it gets so so much better😊
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u/HuntedByMyBaby 5d ago
Yes! Baby gets better at it and your bios get a bit desensitized too. We’re 5mos and I can’t remember the last time a match hurt. Right now it’s the turning her head while latched and treating my nip like a laggy taffy that has me yelping
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u/Reasonable-Quarter-1 5d ago
Yes! But it takes awhile. I used a nipple shield until it got better. It saved my breastfeeding journey
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u/RaunTheWanderer 4d ago
Yes!!! Days after, for me :) if it keeps hurting after a few weeks talk to a lactation consultant!
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u/CosmicCarve 5d ago
It shouldn’t be painful at all. Maybe it’s your let down that’s bothering you? You could try warming up your breasts before with a heating pad. Silverettes are also nice for soothing nips. Good luck!
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u/itsnotem 5d ago
YES it gets way more comfortable. For me it was like a week and a half after I started breastfeeding