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It shouldn't "hurt" but it is a little painful in the beginning - that was true with my 2nd

with my 1st it hurt like hell - bloody nipples and all - He did have a shallow latch though that took forever to fix!!

It only hurt at first because DS had tongue tie and lip tie, which made his latch super shallow. We had them revised and its been easy ever since!

@googly-eyes: It did hurt in the beginning for me, but that was because her latch was wrong. I was told if we were doing it right, then it shouldn't be painful. I've had friends who said they quit because it just hurt too much. Now I believe if they would have got help on their latch and position, they could have fixed the issue.

Both! I suspect that many newborns have trouble 'doing it right' in the beginning and either gradually latch better as their mouth gets bigger or there is help from a lactation consultant to remedy the issue.

Both, I think. Nursing didn't hurt the first few times, but did hurt after that. Then again, your nipples are being baptized by fire for a job they've never done before (if you're a first time mom). We also had issues with thrush (diagnosed at 10 days old and had it twice), which contributed to pain. At three months, it doesn't hurt at all unless she decides to look around and take my nipple with her.

I'm sure it's different for every woman and every baby, but I felt very very little pain bf-ing. At the beginning, engorgement hurt worse than the actual feeding, but that passed, fortunately.

I had pain that is for sure, but the pain I had was more due to the damage she did to my nipples.

Those first few weeks are TOUGH even if things are going well. I think there are lots of images and ideas that breastfeeding is a mom casually sitting on a bench nursing while chatting with a friend. Those first six weeks I couldn't do that. I had to be sitting perfectly up right, basically topless with one hand on her one hand on my breast. It was tough. But it got easier!

The first few weeks were excruciating for me. Then I adjusted and it hardly hurt after that or perhaps I was just immune to the pain!

I EP'ed with my first, and pumping hurt a lot. With my second I didn't know what to expect since I wasn't able to breastfeed DS1. The initial suck was painful but went away within seconds. After a month it was no longer painful.

@MrsStormy: exactly!

For the first couple of weeks it was uncomfortable, but I wouldn't say it *hurt.* Within a couple of weeks of religiously using lanolin, it was fine. The only time nursing really, truly HURT for me was when DD was getting her first teeth and changed her latch to accomodate for that. I got a blood blister and was in serious pain every time she latched - but that only lasted a few days.

I think it depends on the level of pain, how long it lasts, and whether other damage is being done. I also heard its normal for it to hurt and that prevented me from seeking help sooner rather than later. My pain was NOT normal, it was caused by a to gue tied baby, and I had bleeding, cracks, And scabs.

I heard that the pain should feel like a soreness--like a pulled muscle kind of. I think it's one of those things that unless you've been through it it's hard to know what is normal. I now know for baby 2 what normal pain feels like, and what not normal pain feels like!

@lawbee11: ha I read somewhere someone said she could drag her nips over concrete after breast feeding for a year. And it wouldn't hurt

@lawbee11: I'm sorry but your last sentence made me LOL!

I think it's normal to hurt at first, and the not hurting unless its wrong only applies after the first few weeks.

It was uncomfortable at first but after three weeks or so it was painless and has been for 99% of the 12 months since.

I heard all the time that it shouldn't hurt if you're doing it correctly and had high hopes. However, it hurt like hell for the first 8 weeks. LO had a crappy latch. Even now at 4.5 months it will randomly hurt.

@lawbee11: @hilsy85: I had to pop blisters a few times with a hot needle. Whenever I would talk about it, DH would about die. I was just like, "oh please, this hurts SO much less than anything else I've had to do!"

Here's my ground breaking theory:

A poor latch will always hurt. With a good latch, it will hurt for some women and not for others, for a few weeks.

I had inverted nipples that became everted. You're really going to tell me that's not a process that will leave you a little sore?

The first week hurt quite a bit, as we figured out what to do (LO popped off ALL the time, which was painful). Then, for about 2 weeks after, it hurt a lot when she first latched, but got better after 10 seconds. Now (4 months), I can't even feel it. But there is definitely a difference between good pain and bad pain.

I think they're both true, just at different stages. As far as I know, Rosie and I had everything right from the beginning, but every latch-on and nursing session from about day 2 to almost 3 weeks involved toe-curling pain and a lot of tears and crying. It was awful. I'm not sure when it would have gotten better if I hadn't started supplementing a lot more due to my chronic low supply (she was nursing constantly because she truly wasn't getting enough), but at 4 weeks, it's only a tiny but painful compared to how it was before.