Can you help with a painful breastfeeding problem?
One ofmy nipples has cracked open and there is a very painful sore that my 2-week old son opens back up every time he nurses. It’s excruciating! I expose the nipple to air and apply Lansinoh after the feedings but it will NOT heal.
This is the breast my son prefers so pumping is not an option because he does not nurse the other side well and I don’t want to give him pumped milk in a bottle until nursing is well established.
Any tips or remedies that I haven’t tried for healing this sore?
have you tried “soothies”, they’re little gel pads that you can put in the fridge and they are soooo soothing; I had alot of breastfeeding problems with my first baby and those were a lifesaver since I’m allergice to lanolin (make sure you’re not allergic too by the way, because there’s nothing worse than slathering an irritant on an open wound- I learned that the hard way)
I was going to say pump on that side and nurse on the other, but I guess that won’t work for you.
Cracked nipples can happen anytime but they’ll happen a lot more if your latch is wrong; if you think that might be the case you might want to make an appointment with your lactation consultant who can help you out.
Try switching up nursing positions, if you always use the cradle hold, try the cross cradle, the “football” hold, or try nursing lying down. This will change the position of the babies mouth when he nurses so it’s not always putting pressure on the same spot (it may have the added bonus of helping him get used to the other breast too).
I’ve also heard that putting expressed breastmilk on the crack can be very soothing. And make sure your not using any soap on your breasts and keeping it out of the water in the shower because it will dry it out and make it crack more (you’re probably doing that anyway because it hurts like hell to have the shower run on a cracked nipple).
Don’t give up, and you’re right not to give a bottle now. It will heal soon.
Good luck and congratulations on the new baby.
Sore Nipples From Breastfeeding Sore Nipples Remedies Video
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