It's all about the latch

When I hear "Oh my daughter latched on 5 minutes after birth", I want to scream! Getting your baby to latch, and latch properly, can be extremely hard! If the baby is latched incorrectly it can lead to sore and cracked nipples. They also may not be getting enough milk if the latch is not right.

The first thing you need to do is to get baby to open their mouth, and wide. I would brush my daughters cheeks with my fingers and she would usually open her mouth in search of food.

As soon as baby's mouth is open as wide as possible, quickly bring them to the breast. It is very important that you pull the baby towards you, and do not slouch down to nurse. This will result in an extremely sore back, and you do not need that extra pain while recovering from delivery.

You want to make sure you tuck your nipple and one inch of areola in the baby's mouth. Many women make the mistake of just inserting the nipple, this can be extremely painful and baby will not get enough milk. Also, make sure baby's lips are turned outwards, if not you can most likely tickle their lip to get them to evert it.

If baby is latched on correctly and sucking correctly, nursing should not hurt. It may take a while to get used to the feeling, especially with your first child, but it should not be painful.