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@blackbird: For me, I had really bad latch pain (like, curl-your-toes, bite-your-lip pain) for a solid month. It started getting better after that, until one day it just stopped. I had also had DD's latch checked by an LC at our ped's office, and it was allegedly fine. Since then, (not like it's been a long time, she's 5.5 months haha) I have been telling all my childless friends not to listen to people who say "If you're doing it right, it shouldn't hurt." For me, I was doing it just fine but it still hurt like hell for a little while.

I hope you're at the tail end of it!

I had some issues with this, too. At first E's latch wasn't great and that was the issue. Later I had pain on only the left side for a few seconds after he latched on. I thought it was just soreness from all the frequent bad latching and tugging. I also have a crack in that nipple. I don't notice pain anymore, so maybe the crack healed? E is 6 weeks, hope it gets better soon.

I'm almost 9 weeks and it's stopped for me... I want to say 6 weeks. I had the exact same pain at the beginning though. I kept using APNO which I think helped.

@blackbird: For the first month I just randomly said that to just about any woman on the street who would listen. I'm kind of joking, but in my postpartum haze I definitely said it to friends who weren't really comfortable listening to me talk about my painful nips. Oh well. They'll thank me one day, right?!

I def had the tie-curling, spew expletives for 10 seconds latch pain. It lasted a few weeks. I have heard its normal the first few weeks and just when I was getting worried, it stopped.

@blackbird: What positions are you nursing in? You might want to try sticking with the cross cradle position, where you hold your breast while baby latching on and while he continues to nurse. Holding/compressing your breast during the whole feeding will promote a deeper latch and thus (hopefully) less pain.
http://www.llli.org/faq/positioning.html

@blackbird: hmmm it really sounds like he might not be opening his mouth wide enough. Does he have a wide open mouth when he initially latches on? I wonder if he may have a tight jaw and could benefit from seeing an OT or osteopathic treatment- ask the LC tomorrow!

@blackbird: Do you have any redness on your nipples or breasts? I was just going to ask if you think its thrush, but noticed you already mentioned that in your original post...if it is thrush you'll need to treat both your skin and baby's mouth- usually with nystatin.

Another idea- do you happen to have a strong let down? Maybe he is clamping down with the initial let down to try to slow the milk flow.

@blackbird: With Xander, that pain didn't go away until after his 6 week growth spurt. Then I think he was just a little bit and so he could latch correctly. In the meantime, APNO! Hope you're almost past it!

@blackbird: Can you tell when your initial let down is coming? Try delatching baby at that point and having your milk spray onto a burp rag. Then put him back on. Hopefully then won't be quite so overwhelmed in milk and clamp down.

This is exactly what I had with LO1, I had numerous latch checks along with tongue tie etc and then it was just gone one day. It was between 3-4 months that it was finally gone and completely pain free =\ I also had several LC's tell me it was worse with boys because they're "lazy" idk but I didn't have any of it this time.

I had super bad latch pain (can a baby tongue actually be made of razor blades and needles?!) For about 6 weeks or so. It was really just my nipples getting used to being sucked on. Positioning and working on the latch helps but it could just be your body getting used to nursing.

Yes, it hurt like hell every time she latched until about 7 weeks. Both of my girls had shallow latches. I wouldn't put lotramin on unless your doctor or LC says. But, I would go ahead and put breastmilk on it after each session, let it dry and then cover with lanolin. Also, the shells were such a big help!!

I hope you get some relief soon. I promise it gets better.

I was told that if the pain goes away within 10-15 seconds, the latch is fine -- it's just an adjustment period for you and baby in the first month or two. Mine felt like my nipples had ground up glass inside them! That sensation lasted about 6 weeks for me, worst around week 3. I got through it by being super vigilant about his latch (when I slacked off and let him have a lazy latch, it would get worse), air-drying with breastmilk on my nipples, and absolutely slathering on the lanolin.