Big hug!!

I would agree with the previous ladies - you're doing a fantastic job looking after baby but looking after mummy is important too.

I went down the nipple shields route when we had early problems and i found them fantastic - although to be fair i also started using a little extra ff too. Ds had lost 1 lb 14 oz by day 6. Started using nipple shields soon after, and top-up formula a couple days after that - and he was soon gaining weight really fast - 12 oz in 5 days at about 2 wks old so probably looking back the extra formula wasn't really nessersary, could of held out and allowed my milk to catch up, but he was suddenly getting much more milk with the nipple shields and then looking for more and wailing and i was just really worried and not at all confident he was getting enough. We never quite made it off the nipple shields, although he dropped the formula bottles, 1 at 6 mths and 1 at 7mths, and we're still feeding 3 or 4 times a day now at 19 mths, and it is so much easier.

Don't let anyone make you feel bullied into a decision - do whatever you feel you need to do to stay feeling sane, and if that involves more bf then *do* consider getting an expert in to help you with your latching. Also remember - if you *do* need a bf break right now, it's not all or nothing, you can express everything, or you can 1/2 and 1/2, or you can ff for long enough to recover a little bit ..... it's your baby, your body and your decision and just look what a good job you've done over the last 9 months already in growing such a perfect lo !!

Poor you darling.....u certainly are not being a wimp...you've just been through what will probably be the most traumatic time in your life and now she want u to be all singing and dancing when your nipples and breasts feel like there gonna fall off cos they hurt that much......i had terrible problems with dd and everytime i thought we'd made a plan and would move on, (nipple shields, then expressing fully) my nipples would bleed no matter what i did and not a little bit that makes your milk a bit pink but it would come out red. It completely freaked me out as i didn't have any problems after having ds. I decided to fully express for 3 days to give nipples chance to heal which was flippin hard work and then when 'I' felt emotionally ready i gave it another go but only with our local bf counsellor with me to make sure she was on properly......it was great cos i needed someone to do it for me as i just couldnt' deal with trying to latch her on myself and failing. She did it first time...i was amazed....things were still a little tender for the next couple of days but i had no more bleeding and we haven't looked back since.

I would be tempted in your situation to feed lo from a bottle for next 24-48hrs to give your body a complete rest then see how u feel. If your worried about your milk drying up u could just express a couple of times to help ease things and keep milk flowing and mix what u get with a bit of formula (i used hipp organic) it's cheaper than rest for a start. U will then be in a better emotional state to make a decision. However u feed your baby so long as they are happy and healthy that's what u need to think about. I know 'breast is best' but what is the point in missing out on such an amazing time because you are crying all the time and in agony and feeling guilty cos u want to stop. Definitely contact your local surestart bf counsellor and get someone out to see you...u need support and help not lectures. I couldnt' have done it without them. She also told me that she's never had a baby she couldnt' get back on the breast. You'd be better giving yourself space now and feeling like in 48hrs i'll give it another go when a proffesional bf counsellor can be contacted and come and help me, than trying to carry on as you are  and by monday feeling like u never want to do it again.

Good luck whatever u decide, the most important thing to remember is 'happy mummy' equals 'happy baby' !!! Congrats on your precious arrival!! xx Sam

i know how you feel, i had problems feeding DS and have had problems this time with DD too.

With DS because i have falt nipples he wasnt latching on properly and because my milk literally poured out of me at first he beacame lazy and instead of sucking would just lap at the milk, he lost loads of weight and i my midwife made me feel really bad and just kept saying that if he didtn put on weight he would have to go into hospital. after a couple of weeks i went to see a BF counsellor and after just one session the latch was all sorted and he piled on the weight and i ended up feeding him for 11 months

This time with DD it all started ok, but when my milk came in coz of the flat nipples she didnt latch properly so i ended up with really sore cracked bleeding nipples and then mastitis. feeding was agony, i was in tears, felt really unwell with the mastitis. couldnt express anything so ended up giving formula top ups to give my nipples a rest, tried nipple shields but didnt feel they worked very well for us. she has only just started to gain weight, same midwife as last time so she mae us take her to the hospital to see the pedatrician who said she is perfectrly healthly and to persevre with BF.used loads of nipples cream, and gritted my teeth through the pain, now DD is nearly 3 weeks old and although i am still tender it is getting much better now the mastitis has gone i feel i have much more milk for her and she has now gained weight.

best advice i can give is it does get better, i have such a low pain threshold so BF this time round has been torture and i felt such a wimp but if you can manage to get through the pain for a few weeks it should all click into place, so try not to give up.

use nipple cream and air tyour nipples when you can - i normally have the out when i am watching TV in the evening.

for the flat nipple you could buy a nipplette which draws out your nipple before you feed. I bought one whith DS. they are expensive at about £30 but it does work, and anyway thats only a few weeks of formula feeding cost!!! expressing also helps draw out the nipple.

ask to see a BF counsellor - your midwife should be able to refer you. they will check your latch, show you the best postions that suit you and your baby etc.

make sure you change you breast pads regulary if you leak a lot so you dont get any infections

you could try nipples shields they might work better for you.

hia honey, dont worry, ur not a bad mother...

i went through that stage too, it took us 5 weeks b4 we even got a latch on... and then we had the sore cracked and chapped nipples... i used to take it 1 feed at a time... i remember the toe curling pain and taking him off to relatch and thinking ,if i get through this we are good.. we'll see how the next feed is.. and by thinking like that i didnt notice that the pain was going untill one feed happened and there was no pain..... i know ur expresssing just now, but it really is better if u get lo to feed, as they do learn how to do a good latch, and as soon as its sore take lo off to re latch....

inbetween feeds express a little milk to leave on ur nipples as bm helps healing, use lansinohl b4 going in a shower/bath, i remember going in showers an not being able to let the water go on my boobs as it was too sore!

my friend swears by thses.... http://www.breastfeedingheaven.co.uk/silverette/prod_2.html   i didnt know about them when i was going through it, but a few at my bf group swear by them!

try every now and then to get lo to drink from the flat nipple, but dont stress about it, as u and lo will get there eventually

dont worry about the midwife she carnt make you do anything, i had a really bad one after my daughter who always made me feel like crap cos i found it hard to breastfeed her, and the way she kept telling me to do it didnt work so i just persevered and figured out my own way. your supposed to be supported by these people not feel critised. take it slowly and dont get yourself upset about it it will just make it harder for you xxxx  

After a gruesome labour and 8 days in hospital, 2 days of which both baby and I were on antibiotic drips, we've been allowed home and I'm really struggling with feeding. He only latched on to one side due to the other nipple being flat and him being prem and not able to find it. The one he found is just soooooo sore because he latched badly and was only emptying one side of it. Midwife came round, found me in tears and baby had lost weight. told me to express for a day or two to give nipple time to heal. Nipple is still sore and that's with me controlling how hard i express ... am now dreading having to start feeding again and know that when the midwife comes back on monday that she's going to tell me that I've got no option and I have to do this.

How is me dreading feeds good for baby or me???? Really not enjoying this at all especially as it's all about breastfeeding! Am I being a wimp?