I'm having issues with my newborn (5 days old) not latching deeply enough - specifically, I can't get him to turn his lower lip out. I have somewhat flat nipples. I'm working on pointing the nipple at his nose & "scooping" him on, but when I think I'm doing that right, he SCREAMS & won't latch. He has a tiny sore on his chin which started as a little pimple at birth & has gotten worse, which the LC in the hospital thought could be from pressure put on it while feeding, but she wasn't concerned about it. I'm not sure if it could be hurting him enough to make him not want to latch properly? The sore hasn't gotten any worse since we got home - maybe a little better. I've also tried some different positions, if only to try to save my nipples until we get it figured out, but he really only likes cross cradle. When I try a kind of upright football hold, which is easiest for me, he makes kind of funny gasping noises after he latches on & just doesn't seem comfortable.
I do have an appointment with the LC on Tuesday, but I'm starting to get blisters on my nipples & the appt is two days away! He sucks & swallows well, and is peeing, sleeping & waking up like I'd expect, so I think he's getting enough milk. Just thought I'd ask for suggestions since I've seen so much fantastic bf advice here. Thanks!
Medela nipple shields saved me! My LC recommended it after my daughter had a tough time latching. Little plastic miracles I tell ya! Good luck and keep trying!
I can't give you any specific latch advice, since I'm not qualified. But I can tell you that I had a horrible time getting my daughter to latch - we had regular appointments with LC's until she was seven weeks old. It turned out to be the shape of her soft palette that was interfering - but who knew!? My advice to you is if you can't get in right away to your LC, try somewhere else. Also, if you don't get it solved with who you see, keep going back, and try other LC's. They won't be offended - their main priority is to make sure your baby is getting enough to eat and that you are both happy doing it. Since I delivered at United Hosp. in St. Paul, I started off at their Breastfeeding Resource Center, but after I still had issues, and couldn't get in as soon as I needed, I called over to Abbott Northwest's Infant Feeding Program. Some of the LC's even work at both. If you're in pain, you should try to see someone right away - even if baby seems fine with eating and eliminating. I'm not sure where you've been going, but here are the web addresses for the two places I went:
http://www.allina.com/ahs/united.nsf/page/Birth_Breastfee...
http://www.allina.com/ahs/anw.nsf/page/infdgctr
Good luck!
Definitely see the LC - we had to with both of our children for different reasons! Use Lanolin Cream for SURE! It helps a great deal and might give you relief until you can see the LC.
Good luck! Hang in there - it's totally worth it!
My daughter & I had a hard time with latch too. I agree with someone else who said that if one LC doesn't help, go to another!! I think I saw 5-6 different LC's over the first 8 weeks. It took until she was 9 weeks old for breastfeeding to be easy, but I think it is worth it. I also had flatter nipples. One thing that helped was to pump just a bit before nursing, it pulled my nipples out and I wasn't quite as "full", so it was easier for her to latch. Another thing that I had suggested to me was to gently press down on baby's chin, timing it with his sucking, to allow more of the breast tissue to get into his mouth. It's hard to explain, I hope that makes sense. The advice that I think help me the most was to bring baby close, and as you latch him on, have his chin connect first, then nose, with both touching the breast as he is nursing. If he is farther away, he probably just has the nipple, not any tissue around, which is extremely painful-been there! A product that I found helpful for sore nipples was Medela's Hydro Gel, soothing gel pads. They are sticky, and you just put them on after nursing-they cool (but not as cold as ice!) Also, I used nipple shells (different from the shields) to help pull out flat nipples. They keep fabric from rubbing tender skin! I got both products at Target. Oh, and lanolin helped too.
I hope some of this might help you! Congrats on your new baby & best of luck with nursing!
If he's not a premie, and doesn't have an apparent developmental issue with his mouth, and he's getting enough to eat and seems to be gaining weight, there probably isn't a latch problem. For the chaffing and soreness, you can find relief if you try a natural remedy such as soaking cabbage leaves in cold water and placing them on your breast. There are certain properties in cabbage that can aleviate swelling and chapping due to breast feeding.
There are also products such as nipple shields that you can use while feeding that can help with chaffing. They are shaped like a nipple and have tiny holes in them so the baby can extract milk. You can find these at Babies R Us or anywhere that sells Medela or Lansinoe products.
Another product to try are breast shaped ice/heat packs that fit in your bra. I believe these are a Medela or maybe a Evenflo product and you can get them in the baby department at Walgreens.
Another helpful item is lanolin. Lanolin is safe for baby to ingest, and can provide quick relief if you're chaffing or even bleeding. Lansino and Medela both sell lanolin and Target carries both.
You may be dealing with a latch issue if he's just on the nipple, and not the nipple and area surronding it. Just in case latch is the problem, I'll try to explain one thing you can try until you meet with your consultant; The next time you feed, be sure to use a breast feeding pillow, and try what's called the "football" hold. This is where you cradle the baby like a football, feet facing you, his body tuck under your arm, his head resting in the palm of your hand)
Take the breast closest to the arm holding baby, and slightly squeeze it inbetween your thumb and four fingers (so sticks out a bit and the surface area around it is an elongated oval). Then, gently push the nipple and as much of the surrounding breast as you can into his mouth until he latches. Once he has a hold, you can release your breast, but sometimes it's helpful to hold it so that the baby doesn't get lazy and release.
As you're feeding, note if he's just on the nipple. If so, he's not latching correctly. You need to be sure that some of the area around the nipple is in his mouth for him to be considered properly latched. It will seem like you might gag him, or he'll choke, but it's okay. Doing this will help him to properly suckle because he'll be using the proper muscles in his mouth needed to extract enough milk. It also allows him to be able to stimulate the surrounding milk glands. If he's on properly, you should notice that he's no longer just biting or gumming your nipples(which is what happens with a bad latch). In short, his mouth should be full with no space for him to chomp...just enough space for him to apply mild pressure to your breast as he's in effect pressing or squeezing it to express milk.
The football hold is great for getting a little more control, and pressure which sometimes is needed for latch. This is especially good if you have a fuller shaped breast because "narrowing" the surface area will make it easiter for your child to fit his mouth around the nipple and latch on. Once he's latched on, you want to be sure his tongue is sticking out slightly under your breast as he suckles.
If you're having a hard time visualizing what I'm explaining try to track down a copy of "The womanly art of breastfeeding" published by the La Leche League International, or go to their website at www.lalecheleague.com. They should have good diagrams of how to get the baby to latch, and they recommend the best way to hold the baby to cut down on the sorts of issues you're describing.
HOpe this helps.
Have you tried gently squeezing the areola to slighly flatten the nipple area to the shape of his mouth? I guess this is a little hard to explain in writing... in the cross cradle hold you would use your right hand for your right breast (left hand for left breast) in a kind of "C" hold around the areola which would squeeze the areola/nipple making the shape of it easier for him to take into his mouth.
As an earlier response mentioned, cabbage leaves and ice can help relieve discomfort, but be careful not to use cabbage leaves too long since they can actually reduce milk supply. My LC recommended just 5-10 minutes at a time. Also, it's best to use ice only after feeding since it will cause constriction which will slow milk flow. You can use warm compresses (warm washcloths) before feeding to increase milk flow and ice afterwards.
Good luck. I'm sure the LC will be able to help a lot, I found the one I met with to be extremely helpful when I was starting with my little girl.
S.
it's such a wonderful and difficult time! my chiropractor, who i trust with my life, told me she could even come to the hospital and help us if our son couldn't latch correctly. she said it's the baby who needs help or an adjustment, it's not the mom. if that's something you're interested in, i'd be happy to give you her number. good luck!
I had the same trouble with my now 5 1/2 yr old. It took us a couple of weeks to actually get her to latch on. I went to a LC several times and ended up with a breast sheild. It saved me- I was SO stressed out about it but it was really easy to use and she was able to BF exclusively.
The LC's may not mention it- so go ahead and ask. The concern is that you may need to pump after using it. I never did and didn't have any trouble with the milk supply. I think they now sell these at Target.
My best advise is to stay calm and keep trying. Its so worth it and it will work- its just a lot of work some times.
