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Infant feeding

changing the latch of 8 week old?

4 replies

allyfe · 31/12/2010 21:50

Breast feeding ds2 was really straight forward to begin with, my baby latched on really well at birth and kept going beautifully so quite early on I stopped bothering to do much positioning. His at about 4 weeks I was aware his latch had gotten a bit smaller but wasn't too worried. We started giving him a dummy because he suffers from wind and he won't settle unless he falls asleep at the breast, and it is incredibly hard to have a limpet baby with a toddler as well.

We were also advised by the doctor to feed every three hours only because of the wind. But last week I hot worried because he wasn't latching on well and seemed hungry after a feed. The midwife suggested ignoring the doctor and going back to on demand feeding.

I have done that but am now more worried about the fact that the latch has shrunk down and is now a bit painful. I am also aware that that is probably why he is feeding so often and for so long.

So, my question is how can I change his latch? And do we have to give up the dummy? At some level I would like for him not to have one, but he sucks his hand and I would rather him have a dummy than suck his thumb.

Any advice would be really gratefully received.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 31/12/2010 22:12

allyfe I think if bfing is painful then you need RL help straightaway. Is there a local bfing counsellor or lactation consultant you could call, possibly tomorrow if you can wait.

I would tend to agree with your MW and ignore the GPs advice. I know its not the case for all GPs but the ones I've seen have been quite ignorant of bfing.

Well done for feeding for this long and have a Happy New Year .

Oh, and this might help on Kellymom

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sickoftheholidays · 31/12/2010 22:14

Firstly your midwife is absolutely right, go back to demand feeding!
I cant comment on the dummy thing, other than to say you should only use it to settle him to sleep when he has had a good feed. He should fall asleep quite quickly, if he's still going at the dummy hammer and tongs half an hour later, he may well still be hungry.
I would also look at going right back to basics with the latch - hold the back of the shoulders (dont touch the back of the head)
start nose to nipple and get him really eager with a wide open mouth before bringing him up onto the breast quickly from the shoulders. His chin should lead in and contact the breast first rather than his nose, so you are looking for his head tipping back.
Other good tips are to keep his tummy really close to you so that the nipple is straight in his mouth and his head and body should be in a straight line, not with his head turned. He may well be going through a growth spurt at the moment, but that shouldnt hurt, and as you say you have noticed his latch isnt brilliant.
Try to find a support group in your local area with some peer supporters - they should all be trained how to check positioning and latch, and you can access them for free - ours are based at local sure start childrens centres.

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TruthSweet · 31/12/2010 22:16

It can be done but would probably be easiest done face to face so is there a bfing group you can go to, to get help? Or if you post your county (or PM me if that would be preferrable) I could probably find a group near you.

In the meantime you could try watching these videos for tips on how to latch a baby on. They may help you tweak your technique which could help your DS latch better.