sore craked nipples.....

Rubbing some breast milk in and letting them air dry really worked for me and then using lanolin before you put your bra back on.
Also I read somewhere that salt water soak is supposed to help heaps but I havnt tried it.

Stay positive, it will get better

I'm not sure i can help chonny, just going through the same thing, going to try expressing and my mw says getting some air on them and sunshine is good, although can't see me sitting outside topless really.

I am putting breastmilk on them and trying to let them air as much as possible.

thanks ladies, i have been using purelan but finding (& had same thing last time) that it makes me stick to the breast pads & is worse to get off. am letting them air dry & putting some cocoa butter nursing cream on them. Mum says if that doesn't help them i need to get some am-o-lin or bepanthen to put on them. I am trying my best with the latching to use the method i got shown by the LC last time. it was helping get him on, but my RHS seems to be a bit misshapen compared to my LHS. I.e. doesn't pull out as nicely. The football hold last night was deffinately a huge help! Helped with the blockage i was feeling too, eased it off. same as today with the shield, the football hold was better. again i felt like he drained me well & i wasn't still full & hard. he starting to wake again now which is good, can feed him again off LHS then may do top up on RHS to help empty it.

Hi Chonny
I had the exact same problem, the milk was coming out pink because of my nipples bleeding! it was horrible and I know exactly how you feel. Purelan is fantastic I had the same prob with the nipples then sticking to the disposable breast pads, my midwife recommended getting wool washables, they sell them at baby factory and have lanolin built into them so they keep your nipples moist as well, they are really soothing so those two things combined fixed it. along with salt baths, air time etc

Papakura Maternity has a lactation consultant that you can go visit, they run a drop in clinic, might pay to give them a call and find out what time it is, Im pretty sure its a Tuesday

good luck

Hang in there Chonny, sounds like you are persevering well despite the pain! I still have cracks on my left nipple coz lil miss has trouble latching properly on that side and keeps slipping off. Like you I think that particular side is a bit misshapen coz all of my babies have had trouble with it. And like you sometimes I get chicken and put her on the right side just coz it's easier!

I swear by Purelan but if that's making things too sticky for you Bepanthen is also great, and I've used Pimafucort (on prescription from your m/w or GP) which is an antifungal/steroid/antibiotic ointment and helps clear things up super quickly.

Best of luck!

Congrats on baby David.

I am now 9 weeks into BF and it took untill 7 weeks for it not to hurt every feed. I saw 2 MW, plunket and a LC in the space of a week to check the latch and they all said that was fine and I was probably extra sensitive.

Early on Joel had a really bad patch and I had to express for 2 days to give both nipples a break (both were blistered, crack and bleeding). I found the football hold the best for the first 3-4 weeks while he was so little and needed so much support.

My MW recommended parafin gauze as well and also take brufen or panadol to make it bearable.

It does get better, they all said to try to get to 8 weeks, but that is such a long time when you are in huge amounts of pain, and I got to the point of "just one more feed like this and i'm bottle feeding forever!" but you do get through it so hang in there.

Just get your midwife to check for infections - I had a staph infection after the first bad patch and also ended up with thrush from that as well.

Good luck.

hi ladies, well after my last post i went to feed David off that left side, the side that was ok, & noticed it was open. (the cut that was a blister) he'd gone on but not properly so i got him off (yes broke the suction) & then burst into tears. Tried to get DH to take him but he was outside without his phone. I had major breakdown but got up & got the shield & usded that. i was obviously really emotional coz i couldn't stop crying as i felt like such a horrible mum. Used the shields over night etc & again today. was ok until this avo. Went to put him back on the right side & i froze. called mum asi needed to hear that the pain IS worth it. she reassured me then i put him on. He came off coz didnt have a good mouthful & there it was, bright red blood! i bled! Anyways, i braved up & put him back on (am using shields) then called mum to make sure the blood wouldnt make him sick.

MW came, he has great weight gain & she said to use the nipple FORMERS (to draw out flat nipples) during the day in between feeds. they will halep draw the nipple out also allow it to breathe. she also gave me a pair of hemp pads as she said they are known to reduce sticking. Bepanthen is helping & i reckon one more day & i should be off the shields on the left side. Papakura LC drop in is a monday but she not sure if they found anyone yet as the old left or something. She has said give it another week & hopefully we can get me off the shields. but they need to heal. If need be, she has told me to express & glass feed for a couple of feeds to give the nipple a rest. may do that in a couple of days if no improvement on the RHS. She coming back on Friday to check on me. She also suggested using the lying down position too. Used it in the first couple of days but not since they got really bad.

I got some wool pads from birthcare last time but found i leak too much to use them & they were sticking too. even these jolly hemp pads i have leaked thru! i must have heaps of milk, also i think coz he doesn't feed regularly IYKWIM

Hey there Chonny, big hugs to you!!!!!!!

I know EXACTLY what you are going through - it took me 8 weeks to get BF sorted! Now we've being going well for months so hang in there!!!!

I also felt alone and hopeless, as my mum & MIL hadn't had problems with nipples, and my sister had to express from Day 1 for other reasons.

At first DD preferred the right side, and after only a few days that nipple became sore and got worse. By the end of the first week I was crying and gritting my teeth with the pain every time she fed on that side. Then I noticed that the other nipple was heading downhill fast too. Blood, massive gauge down one side etc, and really sore when they got cold!!!

Luckily when DD was 1 week old, Mum arrived from down south (I was counting down the hours) and I knew she was bringing my sisters breast pump with her (just in case I needed it). I ended up solely expressing and bottle feeding DD for 3 days, then slowly reintroduced her onto the better side first, then the bad side. I would express 2-3 feeds, then BF one feed. LUCKILY she didn't care if she had it from the breast or bottle - milk was milk as far as she was concerned!

I did the whole breast milk/air dry thing (luckily we live in the country).
I had been using Lanolin cream and rubbing it on the breast pads too so they wouldn't stick, but after a couple of weeks of using HEAPS of this my nipples seemed pretty soggy.
I then tried Bepathen cream and found it really good! I tried not to use too much, and to still let my nipples dry out.

At DD's 6 week check I showed our Dr and he said to take her off again just on the side that STILL hadn't healed (it hadn't gotten any worse, but wasn't getting any better) and give it a couple more weeks.

My mum and DH really helped me through this, and also that I had in the back of my mind that it doesn't really matter (to me) if BF doesn't work. Also I found it really encouraging to break the time down into weeks (ie I'll keep trying until the end of the week, then review how it's going). I'm a teacher and joked to my DH that I needed a star chart!

Man that was a long post - it's too late for me to go back and read it so I hope that it all makes sense!
Hang in there, big hugs and remember that lots of people go through this and come out the other side, it's not just you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol, thats a good idea simone! lol. Wondered about that this am. Used a disposable over night & didn't leak one bit! was so nice to wake up & not feel all gross from being so wet from the milk. Helped with my night sweqats too, lol.

OK, so i braved up during the night. my left nipple has healed heaps already so i put the shield on to start with (this is what the lc told me to try initially last time) then once he had sucked the first part & calmed his hunger as such, i then took the shield off & got him latched perfectly & instantly! i felt so proud of myself & i think it helped me feel heaps better today. When he woke this am i tried without the shield but he couldnt get a good enough latch & when he came off i saw a bit of blood sitting there so calmly got up & got the shield (a first fo rme to be so calm). Anyways, put the shield on to give him the initial bit & then once again managed to get him off & back on without the shield. I think until my milk settles down i may need to do this as my breasts get too engorged. Haven't fed off the RHS all day as he been asleep for ages now. It hurts like anything as it's so full (& getting cold is painful as too!!!) & i'm not so much looking forward to feeding him when he wakes as i know it will be agony but at least i am feeling better in myself so much so that i know it will be ok. i hope. lol. sometimes easier said than done. lol. He been more settled today so that has helped me too.

that's interesting bout the slipping. were you putting it on before the feed? i always do it after the feed, haven't found it makes him slip, at least not when i wasn't using the shields. David slept for so long this avo that i decided i needed to relieve my RHS so expressed a bit of milk. When i took the pad off it looked so pussy i decided i couldn't bare to try put him on once he did wake. managed to express 60mls (which the OB email i got said is what they generally drink in a feed) so decided i would do what MW had suggested & give him his feed from a cup. means my breast could have a bit of a break. We gave it to him using a spoon & he didn't spill too much. maybe ten mls total if that? anyways, he hated it but was settled after & you could tell he was feeling fuller as he went to sleep. Gave him a top up on the LHS a bit later. Just given him another feed from the LHS & is due for a top up soon from the RHS. It's aching all the time at the moment so wondering if i be mean & horrible & express again for him. i feel awful as he gets none of that skin contact when i do it & gets horrible wind, but at least i'm not getting too stressed right? also, i think my pad has slipped so i have stuck to it & am dreading pulling it off