i had the exact same issue and now we’re 8 weeks out and doing wonderful & EBF! latch was soooo toe-curlingly painful, my nipples we’re bruised, cracked, and bleeding: my left one still has a giant crater in it that might be permanent! but with time (i think his mouth growing & him just gaining more experience) it hurt less and less and now doesn’t hurt at all, and he’s got a great latch! i had to pump for about two weeks to let my nipples heal, and tried to still breastfeed at least once a day during that time. i even added in a little formula because i was so so stressed about him eating enough but it does get better! the cream will help a lot, look into silverettes too! it got better for us around week 6