Thanks for all the feedback. I dived a little deeper into the finger pain and how to prevent and eventually get over it.

Apparently I was (also) pressing down way too hard on the strings, which in its turn had to do with the (in)correct positioning of the finger(s) on the fret. Another tip I got was that, when practicings only the chord grips and changes between chords, without strumming, you don't have to press hard either.

I'll make sure I won't get blisters and regarding the gloves, I have to agree with john of MT. Also the first time I have every heard of such a thing as practice gloves :p