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I didn't have cracked/sore nipples and no mastitis either! It took a while for my milk to come in, but we've been going strong for the last 14 months!
I'm pregnant with #2 so I can tell my supply is dropping, but I think it's time to start thinking about weaning LO so it's okay!

I never had any issues, lo latched perfectly and immediately, I never had any soreness until she started getting teeth and tried chomping on me.

We did have a bit of a rough start but I successfully breast feed my twin boys for a year. I fel like it was a pretty big accomplishment.

My biggest problem was supply, but once I got it back up (domperidone and eating/drinking better) and let go of my fear that if I gave him a bit of formula when I was really low I'd never be able to produce, everything came together and now we're like old pros!
For me, relaxing, nursing a TON and taking care of myself made all the difference.

No mastitis, no injuries, no supply issues. My babe just knew what to do from day 1! I realize I was very fortunate but I had been so worried with all those horror stories. The most pain I've actually had with the latch is NOW that he is 18 months old and I'm pregnant, so I think a number of factors can be blamed.

I wrote a blog post about this a while back. I felt like everywhere (online at least) I read about breastfeeding it was "OMG. It's SOSOSOSOSO hard. It's the hardest thing ever. No one tells you how hard it is and it's really hard." and it started to freak me out. I was never reading about positive experiences.
I can say we're have a few problems (cracked nips and a brief battle with mastitis), but it's really been good overall. I enjoy it even though it's a lot of work and it's never been as awful as the stuff I've read made it sound.

I was a little sore in the beginning, one nipple more than the other, but otherwise have had no issues. We did 2 hours of skin to skin right after birth and LO latched and tried to nurse then which I think made a huge difference for us!

We had some latching pains in the first couple weeks but afterwards was fine until around three months. At that point I dealt with a constant clogged duct in one area which developed into a monthlong bout of mastitis complete with two rounds of antibiotics (and lots of probiotics to avoid thrush!). Now that that is over I'm so happy to be nursing pain free again!!! Love it and the first day I was able to nurse her again (had to pump and dump on second antibiotic), it was so nice to hold her close and nurse. It's a lot of work and dedication but I really love it.

We were on the 'trifecta' plan for the first week since LO had trouble with the latch. The lactation consultant told us to use formula for a few days because my husband was insisting that we make sure LO was fed and not starving due to her latch issues and waiting for my milk to come in. After that happened, I nursed on demand while LO was still learning to latch and I pumped so we could give her breastmilk in a bottle to supplement. So nurse, bottle, pump was the 3 part exhaustion plan until she got the hang of it. Here we are 16 months later...still going strong. Now, LO also drinks soymilk from sippee cups when I'm away. I work full time, returning around 4pm everyday and the supply is still going even with zero pumping since January. It was so nice to hang up the pump for good.

No problems here too except for the first two weeks of learning curve. I also had major engorgement issues when my milk started coming in. It hurts so bad to a point I thought I'd give up but luckily I didn't! After seeing a lactation consultant within the first 2 weeks (not the ones in the hospital) once everything went pretty smoothly. It's been 4 months now. No mastitis, no clog ducts, no cracked nipples.

My issues now is struggling with LO's behavioral problems eg. not wanting to eat, distraction, difficulty in nursing in public...etc. And he's not teething yet. We shall see what's down the road for us...