I really feel for you, it's awful in the early days when it's painful, I had terrible problems breastfeeding for the first 8 weeks, including toe-curling pain that made me cry at times, so I know how you're feeling! It does get better though, And then it feels so worth it, and I was so glad that I persevered once it did get better.

Lansinoh is great on cracked nipples and helps them to heal really quickly, but as it is designed to numb the pain a bit it will also numb bubs mouth - personally I would try to only use it for cracks etc. I would agree with what everyone else has been advising about letting a little breastmilk dry on the nipple the rest of the time.

Another thing to consider is nipple vasospasm - I'd never heard of it before being diagnosed by a lc (and then confirmed by gp and paediatrician) but aparently it's a lot more common than is ever diagnosed. Basically it's caused by poor circulation, and lack of blood flow to the nipple, it's in the same family as Raynauds disease/phenomenon and if you have it the nipple turns purple while feeding then white after, as the blood slowly returns. It can also make your nipples erect painfully in cold air (mine used to do it when I opened the fridge!).

If you think that could be the problem there is a drug that can be prescribed to treat it, but it causes terrible headaches as it works by controlling the constriction of the blood vessels. I managed to treat mine very successfully by using breast warmers (available from ABA) while it was bad, and taking fish oil and evening primrose oil. That, combined with slightly tweaking attachment worked a treat.

It can be very disheartening when you're trying to get it right, but do keep asking for help, once you've got it you've got it IYKWIM, and there's no looking back. I went to more breastfeeding classes than I can count and saw 2 private lc's but it all paid off in the end and I'm so happy that the tin of reassurance formula (which also helped me coz it made me relax to know it was there if all else failed) is still sitting in my cupboard 5 months on

Well done for getting this far and good luck for the rest of your bf journey.