Man, this is hard...

My first baby and I were an excellent team at nursing. We had a rough time in the hospital, but once we were home and my milk came in, she did great and we breastfed for a year.

When baby number 2 came along a month ago, I thought it’d be a cinch since I was “experienced.” Well, not so much. A couple weeks in, I started having severe nipple pain and discovered a paper-cut-like slice over nearly 1/3 of the base of my right nipple. Then similar cuts developed on the other nipple. Feeding HURT SO BAD!

I tried different positions, alternating sides, pumping a little first - everything I could think of, but the pain kept getting worse.

I finally went to a lactation consultant who confirmed that my baby had quite the opposite of a tongue tie; her tongue is freakishly long, “like a little giraffe.” 😳 It’s a lot to try to deal with in that little mouth. Also, my letdown is fast, like drinking from a firehose, so she’s probably clamping down to try to slow the flow to something she can handle more easily, thus shallowing her latch and slicing me open.

I came home and we tried breast rest on one side (pumping only) for 48 hours while trying to recline and stem the flow while nursing the other side. I have finally healed the cuts on the left, and am now resting the right side. This means feeding sessions take forever since I have to nurse, pump, and bottle feed every time, but slowly things are getting better.

It’s so tough, but I’m determined to stick it out. Not trying to judge any mama that chooses or is forced to formula feed (being fed is what’s important and you’re still a fantastic mama), but kudos to all you breastfeeding mamas out there; this is hard, hard work, but you are doing a great thing for your LO! Keep it up!