How to stop the crazed hands?!

[marzipanned]

I'm still very new to bf (DD is 11 days old) and think things are going okay - plenty of wet and dirty nappies and she's gained 13 oz since birth. However, getting a successful latch is still very hit and miss. Particularly at night, she tends to whip her head around and put her hands up in front of the nipple, sucking her fingers and clawing at my breast.

I do feed in a low light at night and was wondering whether part of the problem is her not being able to see. I try to trap her hands between her and my body but of course this makes her more distressed which exacerbates the problem.. just wondering if anyone had any advice/similar experience?

[ForgettableTampon]

I had success with swaddling with arms in, but this was many years ago

congratulations!

[GuineaPigMum]

DS is 10 days old and we also have the crazy hands problem! You could try putting baby in a sleep suit and tucking his arms inside instead of through the sleeves IYSWIM. We also struggle to get decent latch at night- I think it's because we are both sleepy. Good luck!

[fempsych]

Swaddle here

[sonlypuppyfat]

I fed all three of mine and I second swaddling I just used a muslin cloth.

[bakingtins]

You need the "straight jacket" swaddle. Fold a muslin or blanket into a triangle, long side goes underneath baby parallel to shoulders, point towards their bottom. Tuck the bits at the side over their arm and under their back, then latch on. You can loosen it once they are on and sucking. My DS1 used to flail around in frustration trying to latch. It's a short phase, they soon get better at latching quickly. I do think it can be a sign you are missing earlier feeding cues, by the time you are trying to latch they are a bit besides themselves.

[PinkApple86]

it's probably not the light as babies can't see a lot at that age. have you tried a bf pillow? we always use ours at night and still feeding at 20 weeks. it's still early days. it takes a few weeks to get the hang of it

[EeyoreIsh]

ditto! I swaddle.

Now I just need to get her to point her mouth in the right direction....

[marzipanned]

I was afraid the answer would be swaddle! She hates that. I think she'd have a fit if I tried to tuck her arms inside her sleepsuit :) But it sounds like the straight jacket swaddle would be good for us as only brief. I don't think I'm missing feeding cues as we co-sleep so I wake up as soon as she starts stirring.

I haven't used a bf pillow as my MW told me the one I was using (well, it was the dream genii so pregnancy/bf) wasn't helping. I'm quite strong so don't have a problem holding her in place for the time being, that may well change as she starts to weigh more.

Eeyore yes there is also the head flung over the shoulder problem...

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Sounds like you're both doing brilliantly.

I would try swaddling like others have suggested. Mine have all resisted at first but got used to it. It really helped me position them, especially with dc1 where I felt all fingers and thumbs. By the time dc3 came along I was more confidant in man handling them!

Remember she's learning a new skill and will get better with each feed :-)

[marzipanned]

Thanks ILike :)

[Superworm]

The hand everywhere, clawing finger sucking thing thing is totally normal it's just their reflexes that help them find their way. Biological nurturing can help if swaddling is difficult. They grow out if it and it gets much easier