Overcoming a bad latch and cracked nipples
I knew that even before I got pregnant with my daughter that I wanted to breastfeed. I assumed it would be easy, it's what your body is designed to do. After having her I thought she had a good latch. She was nursing well, had plenty of wet and dirty diapers. I did realize in the hospital that sometimes the nipple was lipstick shaped and I didn't think anything of it because it didn't always look that way. Once I got home, by that weekend I had cracked and bleeding nipples and promptly called the lactation consultants there at the hospital. They informed me that I just needed to get her a deeper latch.
I would have asked for help sooner, however when I was in the hospital, instead of asking me, a nurse just grabbed my baby and shoved her on my breast and I immediately told myself that if that's how they were going to act they couldn't possibly help me with any questions I have, then I was going to figure this out myself. I was part of the BFPC Program as well but didn't even think about writing my peer counselor.
The information the IBCLCs gave me helped. When I was there, they had my daughter latch the right way and while it hurt at first, the pain wasn't nearly as bad and it was much better. However, every time she latched initially it was so incredibly painful but would immediately feel better, because of how much damage my nipples had. I went to a breastfeeding group at the hospital every Tuesday and it took about a month and a half for my nipples to fully heal. In the meantime I wore breast shields to keep my bra from rubbing against my chest because the pain was unbearable from the damage that had been done in the few days that I had been nursing her after leaving the hospital.
If it wasn't for the way the one nurse at the hospital had just grabbed my daughter and forced my breast in her mouth I would have asked for help a lot sooner, but it had really gave me a bad taste in my mouth. I do know that just because that was what she had done, that it didn't mean anyone else was going to be like that. It just wasn't something I had been willing to risk at the time and my stubbornness resulted in very damaged nipples. My daughter never stopped gaining weight though all of this though and eventually the pain was completely gone and my nipples healed and now I'm at almost 3 1/2 years of breastfeeding her! I never dreamed I'd breastfeed her for this long, and yet here we are.
I definitely wished I would have used my Peer Counselor more, but I also wasn't sure if she would have been able to help me. I was very limited on what I understood that they knew and they have such a vast knowledge base at their hands and can help with so many issues when it comes to breastfeeding. If I ever have another baby I'll definitely be sure to ask more questions in the future and use such a valuable asset!
I just wanted to write because sometimes breastfeeding doesn't go the way we hope it would. Sometimes it can be extremely painful and I almost gave up. I'm glad that I was able to correct the latch and power on. It's been such a wonderful experience so far and I will be sad once the day comes that my daughter is no longer breastfeeding.
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Looking back at what you dealt with for the first couple months to now successfully breastfeeding for 3 1/2 years (and still going strong) has to be so rewarding. Such a great story of resilience!
I can relate. As a young, first-time mom who had no clue what I was doing, combined with breastfeeding being rough in the beginning, I really thought about quitting. After a few weeks it got easier and by two months I remember saying, "I can't believe I've kept her alive for a whole month."😂 She's 17 now..💕
I am so sorry you were violated like that, Amber. That would be SO off-putting! It was brave of you to still reach out for help and also attend the group with other moms. I bet you were able to encourage other moms at that group too!!
Latch struggles are SO tiring, but you tried different things and kept with it and tried to figure it out-- and YOU did... YOU put in the hard work... and because of that both you AND your daughter will see lifelong benefits from it. You should be so proud of yourself!!
Thanks for sharing!
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