probably stupid questions + encouragement please

brenlo42

FTM here (as if you couldn't tell from the title). LO will be one month old tomorrow and we're still actively struggling with breastfeeding. I'm planning to make an appointment with a LC at our pediatrician's office ASAP, but in the mean time:

Question 1: If LO's latch is good, my nips should heal, right? Both of my nipples have what started off as cracks and have turned into wounds... they look like craters. They were quite bad, then I started using Lansinoh Soothies gel pads to keep them from sticking/partly healing to my nursing pads, and they were getting better but have now reached a point where they are definitely not healed, but no longer seem to be improving, so I'm assuming this is a sign that something in our latch is continuously causing them to be irritated.

Question 2: Do you all have any tips/advice on how to get LO to open her mouth nice and wide? I suspect that this is the problem with our latch, as I do struggle to get a nice wide mouth and she tends to tuck her lips under. I try to "fishy" them out, but even when I do, when she comes off my breast there's a clear line where her lips were sucked in. I know all the books/websites say wait until she opens her mouth wide, but she doesn't have the patience for lots of attempts, and even when she's first showing hunger cues, putting her on and taking her off a few times while trying to get her to open wider usually ends with her screaming.

Lastly, I feel like we've run the gamut of breastfeeding experiences in the past month... I'm past the point where I was dreading every feeding and considering EPing, but I could still use any words of wisdom/advice/encouragement you have to offer.