I am not sure what support I can get from here but I guess I’m just looking to see if anyone has experienced this and what helped them.
I’m a FTM and my new born is 7 weeks old now and for whatever reason, breastfeeding still hurts so bad. I am getting to a point where I am mostly bottle feeding because of the pain. When I first had my baby, breastfeeding was a total nightmare, it hurt each time and even up to 30 minutes after feeding. I asked the midwives for help and they recommended a nipple shield, applying nipple cream, and dropping some breast milk on the nipples after each feed (when I had blisters). I was also given the phone number to Bambis where i reached out a few times and could not speak to someone, it rings and goes straight to voicemail. At my last home appt with the midwife, I shared that I’ve been unsuccessful with getting a hold of bambis and was told I have been released now since it’s been 6 weeks so I can’t even reach them or get support anymore.
The midwife also said my baby may have tongue tie and referred us to the clinic (never heard back) but today the GP said her tongue tie is VERY mild so it’s not a concern at all. I was really hoping the tongue tie was the reason for the pain and once that’s fixed, it’ll be rainbows and sunshines but welp.
At 3 weeks, I completely gave up on breastfeeding from one boob and just expressed fully from there due to the pain. Now I’m getting to that point with the second boob. I keep hearing “it shouldn’t still be hurting” and I’ve spoken to family members who were already side lying to feed at 6 weeks. I can’t even feed while sitting without tapping my feet on the ground in response to the pain so side lying is not even an option.
I’m considering just expressing full time and not even bothering to continue trying but I also feel like I’m giving up so soon. I know breastfeeding helps a lot with bonding and some hormonal things and I feel like I’m taking something away from my daughter if we just do bottles. But idk where to go from here.
Has anyone experienced pain for this long? What am I doing wrong
Any support is appreciated