probably too much information

My nipples hurt. (FYI: Yup, it's going to be that kind of post.) The baby seems to be trying to detach my nipples every single time he nurses, and I'm honestly getting a more than a bit frustrated, tired and sore. It's gotten so bad, that I even had a 'milk blister.' Yeah, that's as gross as it sounds. A big, raised, plugged spot on my nip that was blocking up all the milk behind it. If you think that sounds bad, (which why wouldn't you?), I won't even go into the things I had to do to try to resolve the issue. Bad things, man. It seems to be healing now, and thankfully all the milk that was pushing on the dam has been released, with much relief. Just to recap here, my issues are: previous blistery nipple now a trying-to-heal scab and a baby who breastfeeds many days (and nights!) at the frequency of a newborn, along with the added bonus of most feeding sessions featuring him arching his back like mad and pulling off while gripping my nip between his strong gums with such force that I inhale sharply. Nice.

So, I'm a Google kind of gal, and I thought I must be able to solve this problem by finding info online. I Googled "breastfeeding arch back pull on nipple" which brought up almost 4,000 hits, with some of the first ones actually appropriate. (I warn you, though, that if you take the word breastfeeding out of that search, you will come up with a VERY different set of hits.) Unfortunately, though, most of the sites that I've looked at from this search give advice about beginning to breastfeed- how to get baby to latch on, how to hold, etc. That's not the issue for me- C has been a champion at nursing since he was minutes old. (I guess a 10 lb baby needs to figure out nourishment pretty darn quick!) What I need to know is probably unanswerable-- how long is this going to last, and can I do anything to make nursing a little more bearable right now?? Because, to be simple and straightforward, this just ain't any fun anymore. I used to look forward to nursing sessions- time to cuddle, time to look at my serene little boy while he ate, time to actually sit down. Now it has become a time to repractice my natural labor breathing techniques just to get through the sharp pains that accompany every suck and pull.

Ugh. Sorry for the graphic nature of all this, but here's what I'm asking of you. If you have ever had a similar experience and actually made it through, please share this with me. Please let me know that I will survive with two actual nipples still intact.