ok so im bf Ava and my right nipple is seriously cracked and bleeding also very engorged due to not wanting to use that breast as so painful .. i tried to express with the pump to relieve the engorgment but ended up with strawberry milkshake .. has anyone any advice on what i should do as im scared to use that boob and fear it will ruin my chances of breast feeding

Have you got some cream Hun to put on. I know it's painful but I promise it will get much better. I used Lansinoh cream it's fab. I carried on bf even when it was so painful as I knew it would get better. You're doing fab chick xxx

Express some breast milk on it and let it air dry. Your own milk has healing properties. Keep the area clean as well.. You can also buy some lanolin cream for the nipples..but I always found the milk worked best. xxx

umm the things i would do (having had various excruciatingly painful nipple problems when beginning bf), are:
have a warm shower if you can manage it and make sure the skin is clean - but not with soap.
i personally couldn't have expressed with a pump at the beginning so try hand expressing in the shower, just enough to release the pressure, but not enough to stimulate milk production.
get some lansinoh ointment asap (prescribed or bought, its about £10 though from mothercare/tesco/sainsburies/toysrus/boots) and literally slather it on.
put a clean and very soft breast pad on (i know it will hurt like f*ck but it will protect your nipple) and change the pad every hour or so.
it's a good idea to try and keep using that side as much as the other side, because your milk production will regulate itself in the next few days/weeks and you don't want to be lopsided! but if it is too painful you can work on sorting your supply on that side out later - for now try and get the nipple to heal.
the lansinoh will help a lot and will protect your nipple - it's fine for little one to feed when you have put it on, its harmless and hypoallergenic so don't worry about having to wipe it off, it provides a barrier so you can still heal

and if all that fails - combined feeding is a helpful way to go sometimes it will get better i promise! we had a terrible time at first and i didn't believe anyone haha but it's so easy once you are healed so keep it up you are doing a fantastic job

(p.s i know that was a bit long^ but good ole cabbage leaves are great - half an hour in the fridge and straight down the bra aaahhhhhh!)

thanks guys am using lanisoh pads etc i think i was having latching on troubles Ava goes on the boob for ages but they dont go that soft so im thinking she isnt getting enough its so frustrating they tell you all this stuff and its frying my brain i must be doing it wrong as she also takes at least 60mls of formula i feel like a failure

Rach your not a failure at all Hun, I had similar problems with Charlie, add thrush into the mix and my god it's awful.
Ava is a different baby to the rest of you children that's all. Try and keep up the expressing and feeding if you can, I know how difficult that is but this time next week this will all be a distant memory.

If you can't continue because of the pain that's absolutely fine Hun, you gave it your best and Ava will not suffer at all or know any different.
The pressure you feel is totally normal but it's coming only coming from you.

Remember happy mummy= happy baby!

Hope it stops hurting soon xx

im more worried she isnt feeding well Kell all the help pages do is highlight that thought its so hard knowing whats right i have the midwife coming today to give me my last injection my tummy is covered in bruises from the bloody thingd lol so i will ask her for better guidance than the last midwife gave me as she just looked at my boobs and went ok ... wtf she was not interested at all but i have a new one coming out today fingers crossed for me that she is of help ... how is Charlie ? i had nipple thrush with Caleb so pray that doesnt happen lol p.s my boobs dont go very soft after a feed they still feel hard this is why i think she is not getting enough

don't worry! your boobs probably won't go soft for a wee while yet because your milk supply is probably all over the place (it's great that your milk has come in though ) and ava probably doesn't need loads - breast milk is concentrated. once everything is settled and her tummy is bigger she will take bigger feeds, but for comfort it's fine to express a bit (its comfier by hand at first) - if you express loads with a pump you will stimulate your milk supply and end up with even bigger boobs at this point eeeek!

i think that the best way to determine if she is getting enough is if her weight is ok - it might be a latching problem as you said elijah always preferred the left to the right, who knows why, maybe it was the way i held him?! but if Ava's weight is ok then don't worry, she might just feed a tiny bit but every hour from your boob rather than taking more regulated bottles but taking larger amounts if that makes sense?

i'm sure that it takes a while of bf for a baby to be able to empty your boobs, so once you are producing the right amount of milk (i.e you aren't engorged) and ava is used to drinking milk you will find that your boobs go from hard to soft fairly easily, but it does take a wee bit of practice - i wouldn't worry about that too much just now if she doesn't seem hungry and her weight is about right.

remember it's really early days and you are doing a fantastic job! i was amazed at how painful it was at first, and we had nipple thrush on and off for nearly 3 months if was f*cking agony but it will get better...just do whatever you need to do, if that is stopping that's fine, or if its combination feeding or just fighting it out until you can manage thats fine too

(p.s my experience of midwives/health visitors and bf were useless, the le leche league are great though and if you email them from their online form they have lots of really useful tips they will email back http://www.laleche.org.uk/pages/about/helpform_disaclaimer.htm but beware, they are very helpful/knowledgeable and supportive but very pro-bf)

I have every faith that if Ava isn't feeding well she will let you know pretty darn quick!

Like Mari I found I was feeding litle and ofte. With Charlie fore the first few weeks, in the first week of life Charlie actually put on 14oz!

Try not to worry Hun, I hope the midwife is more helpful today!

Charlie is lovely thanks! He's climbing all over tommy laughing his head off as we speak! Lol

ok midwife wasnt great at helping me latch but i did it myself in the end lol she did weigh Ava though and she is 7lb14.5 so only lost 20grams so i am obviously being a worry wart thanks for the support ladies it means a lot

no worries her weight is great! hopefully in a week from now it will have settled down and you will be having it easier

had awful night ended up in a right state as my left boob was unbearable just expressed around an oz from it as i couldnt bring myself to nurse from it ... oh lord pain please stop

havent read all the replies hun so sorry if im repeating anyone, have you tried nipple sheilds?? they were an absolute godsend for me, i honestley dont think i could have successfully bf without them xx

Rach if it hurts don't nurse from it, try to continue expressing or have a hot shower and you'll leak then. Your supply will probably lessen a bit but once it's healed you can concentrate on getting it back! Hope it starts to feel better babe! x

nipple shields! as gemz says, it's definitely an option. or as kell says, give it a break and then sort your supply out when you are more healed