Trouble Latching On

J.,
You've gotten great advice, I just wanted to add if you look for a nipple shield as some have suggested (it was a life saver for me) I got one by Medela at Target.

I actually had similar issues..large breasts and little baby are not a really good pair. I bought a breast shield from Medela, flexible... I used it for a couple of days while he nursed and after less than a week he was latching correctly. they cost about $6 money well spent in my opinion!

Hi J.. I am also a single mom with 5 1/2 month old beautiful daughter. Congratulations on breastfeeding. The first 5 weeks for me were not fun at all. But, I stuck with it with sore nipples, cracks and even an open wound. You are both getting to know one another, and if you just keep with it, you two will find your groove. In no time, he'll be gleefully nursing as he gratefully gazes into your eyes.

Keep doing what the lactation consultant tells you. I used lots of lanolin! Also, expressing a little milk before and after the baby eats, rubbing it around the nipple and letting it dry helped my wounds to heal more quickly.

Keep up the great work....you and he will be happy you did in such a couple of short weeks!

It is pretty typical to be sore the first six weeks of nursing. If it continues beyong six weeks I would get in touch with the consultant again. And if you have a friend who is nursing or has nursed you might have them watch you nurse to see if they see a problem. but soreness is very typical of early weeks. If you can get through the first two months it is all down hill.

Are your nipples slanted when you are done nursing?
If so he doesn't have a deep enough latch
hold him in the football hold tucked under one arm and then with the other hand cup your breast and make the letter c with your hand.

You want to make sure that his lips are flanges out like the bill of a duck.

www.Kellymom.com is a wonderful site for bf questions and also get in touch with a la leche leader in your area.

Hope this helps!!

Good Luck, you are giving your child the best start in life!

Jen

Feel free to email me a ____@____.com with any questions

Congrats! I have a 3-wk-old also and am breastfeeding her, which I'm thrilled about because my oldest DD had the "tongue-tied" issue that Liev mentioned and hers was so severe that we were unable to nurse. I think that everyone's given great advice (I've enjoyed reading it to make sure I'm doing things OK and haven't forgotten anything!).

I agree on the lanolin - religious application of it after each nursing session has helped me, I know!

Do you have one of the U-shaped pillows that helps lift the baby up and gives you a break to BF? I got one at WalMart (sure you could get it anywhere like that in the baby section) and it has been a lifesaver! It gets the baby up to a higher level and up to the breast better, especially when things are still at the "new" stage. Gives your arms, shoulders, and neck a major break as well.

I, too, like the football hold and the l.c. at my hospital said that it's really the best hold for getting the nipple up to the roof of Baby's mouth where it needs to be.

Also, make sure that for right now you have one hand cupping behind the baby's head, as well as having your other hand under/around your breast. This way you can "aim" them both in the direction of each other, which should help you in positioning.

GOOD LUCK! Feel free to message me if you have any questions or just need an ear!

**P.S. Check this out- http://dev.lllusa.org/AROK/norman/
La Leche League has a meeting in your town every 2nd Sat. at 10AM, and other things during the month, too, so you don't have to wait until Sept. (I'm jealous - the closest meeting for me is in Little Rock and they only meet every 1st Fri.)!

J., Congrats on breastfeeding! Its not as easy as you think it might be. My advice would be to keep practicing what the lc told you. You and you're baby are both learning something new and it takes time to get it all figured out. I've had moms tell me to put a little baby oragel on the nipple AFTER breastfeeding to help with the pain (if you do it before you will numb the babies mouth and throat). Also lanolin helps keep your nipples soft and moist so they don't get cracked. Just a little after nursing is fine, there is no need to wash it off before you nurse. If you can meet the the lc again or see if there is a la leche group in your area (http://www.lllusa.org). Don't give up, you both will get it!

Did the lactation consultant check to make sure that he doesn't have tongue-tie? That's when the little line underneath the tongue is too short, making it hard for the baby to latch right.

It's very simple to fix. You just need someone who knows what they're doing. (I've heard of midwives just pinching it with clean fingernails.) Get someone to have a look "under the hood" and see.

Meanwhile, what I was taught was, every time the baby latches wrong, you gently break the latch by inserting a finger between his mouth and your breast, and pull away, and then put him back on. But of course you can't put him back on till he's got a good, wide-open mouth, like a yawn. You can get him to make this wide-open mouth by tickling his upper lip with a finger or your nipple (nipple is better because his sense of smell is so acute right now and he can smell the milk on you). As SOON as he opens wide, very quickly but gently get him on that breast, and get a good, solid amount in his mouth. Areola sizes differ, of course, but you generally want about 1" all around or the average areola. Well beyond the nipple. As the consultant probably pointed out, he needs to have way more than just the nipple in his mouth.

Don't worry that taking him off and putting him back on again will hurt more. It's worse to sit through an entire feeding session with the wrong latch. Trust me on this!

Feed him frequently. Don't wait till he's really hungry, or he'll be so desperate to eat and easily frustrated. Look for rooting, rather than waiting till he's crying to be fed. Crying is a late feeding cue. Basically, whenever he wakes up, he's hungry, at this early age. Their need to sleep is so strong that only hunger generally wakes them (other than really loud noises, say). Always offer the breast when he wakes. When he's already been awake, look for signs of rooting like moving his mouth around, licking his lips.

It might just be an adjustment period for him. He spent 3 weeks doing it the wrong way and it worked for him ;) So, hang in there!

Make sure he's positioned comfortably, too. Always check to see that his ear, shoulder, and hip all make a straight line if you mentally "connect the dots" with these body parts being the "dots."

Random, but get some Lansinoh from Target. It's in a fat purple tube. It's very relieving to sore nipples, and is very pure and safe. And very cheap, too :)

well my daughter had troubal to before i swiched to formula and what i did was go out and buy a niple sheild. it a plastice niple that goes over yours and it helps the baby latch on better. it was a saving graice for me because it also helps with tenderness of your niple. you should deffenetly try it you can buy one at babys R Us thats where i got mine.

You've gotten good advice. Before the baby latches on, hand express a little milk so that the baby won't have to suck quite so hard, then use the labor breathing techniques so that you can make yourself relax and your milk will let down easier.I used a nipple shield when it got so bad (bleeding,cracks)that I couldn't stand it, but don't use it once you're healed or your nipples won't toughen up. Remember not to use soap on them. Around the house, try not wearing a bra under a soft t-shirt. (be prepared to change it when you leak). Persevere, it will get better and then you will fall in love with the whole experience:)

I breastfed my son, and he had the same problem. go to babies r us and get those clear nipple covers, it helps the baby to latch on and also keeps you from screaming from sore nipples. Hope this helps

I have nursed 3 daughters and it just hurts the first several weeks until your body gets use to the process. I'm sure that the lactation consultant's tips will help, but I also think that if you will just stick with it, it will get better.

I can't really add any additional advice, as so have received some great tips. Most important is finding support, lactation nurse, lll, or freind. Also, it helped me to set a goal. I set mine for two mo, I figured I could endure anything for two months. By the end of the two months, we had settled into a routine without pain or frustration. I am so glad that I set a goal, without it I probably would have given up very early. I would have missed some incredibly special bonding that I had with my daughter.
I wish you the best.

Both of my kids were a little bit like piranas, and within the first weeks my nipples were bleeding despite lactation consultants reviewing my latching. Part of the issue that lactation consultants who've never nursed just don't get is that even a proper latch on new breasts hurts - nipples just don't see this kind of action in normal life!

So, to fix the issue - make sure you express a little milk and let the nipple air dry for a few seconds after feedings - to develop a barrier between your breast and the bra. Also, always break the suction by sticking a pinky into your baby's mouth before extracting your breast.

If you've fixed the problem, but are still sore from prior feeding mishaps, you might try pumping and feeding with a bottle for a few of the feedings today or tomorrow to give yourself a rest. Because of my issues, I had to pump for a few days, giving only bottled breast milk, to give myself time to heal. My wise pediatrician's advice was that if I didn't take the time to let my breasts heal so that I could nurse comfortably, it wouldn't matter if my kid was confused about bottle or breast. For the record, we didn't run into nipple confusion, and the rest made it possible for me to nurse to beyond a year with each child. So, best of luck.

It took me five weeks with my first and then with the help of my lactation consultant I discover nipples sheilds and that did the trick. You just cant use them for long or your supply will go way down. Good Luck, please don't give it. It will happen.