help, day 3, milk in, engorged, can't latch

[Bugaboom]

My dd is 3 days old. She's my second but I've already started making some silly mistakes with bf and now in a bit of a mess. We had a rubbish latch immediately post delivery as I was a bit out of it and just wanted her on. She's fed really regular but both nipples have cracked. My milk came in yesterday evening, managed a couple of feeds but it was a struggle overnight with us both falling asleep rather than persevering. The feeds she has weren't great in terms of lots of clicking noises, gulping air and then lotsof wind.

So this morning I'm engorged, nipples dry and cracked. She's really struggling to latch and it's really sore for me. She either feeds briefly and gets upset and windy or she falls asleep! As lovely as a sleepy baby is, I really need her to take a good feed and try to get things more comfortable for both of us. Any advice would be great

[FunnyBird]

Express a bit so you're more comfortable and not engorged. Don't need to keep it, just hand express in the bath or shower if you like. If you're more comfortable, and not squirting high pressure jets into her mouth, your dd should feed better.

[time2deal]

I had the same problem. Massive engorgement and flattish nipples, and a premmie baby with a tiny little mouth. I imagine it was like trying to latch onto a bowling ball for him! Expressing even a little softened the nipple so he could draw it into his mouth and get started.

The bowling ball things lasted a good few weeks and DS was fed partially by tube and with some limited BF for a few weeks while in hospital. He was only 33 weeks when born so he was always going to be in hospital for a while.

However in the end I used nipple shields for the first 8-10 weeks. Made it so much easier for us both and I've never had cracked nipples etc. It took about a week to transition off them when the time came.

[Honeybear30]

To get her to stay awake longer you might need to strip her down to her vest. Also tickle feet and press into the palm of her hand. I used to feed in one side, change nappy to wake up, and then feed on the other side.

[RedKites]

Reverse pressure softening can also help when engorged. Also this page gives information on how many wet nappies etc you're expecting early on- it is possible she's just very efficient and getting lots of milk question quickly but if you're at all concerned your mw might be able to help or let you know where you can get more help.

[tiktok]

Call a midwife to come and see you (assume you are at home).

The self-help stuff here is good, but you need someone there to see you today.

Your baby needs to have your expressed colostrum if she is not transferring much direct.

Can't stress enough how important it is for someone to see you both.

[Bugaboom]

Thank you all. She's managed a better latch after I expressed a little. I'm encouraging her as much as possible and she's doing 10 minutes each side.
tiktok is it the drop off in feeding regularity that makes you feel I need a midwife today? Now that she's latching and I'm waking her to feed is that ok? She's has wet and dirty nappies and is alert when awake. The midwife I saw yesterday was not much help with the latch and I am going to a bf support group tomorrow

[MissYamabuki]

As above really:

Express to soften things

If you're too engorged to express, use a nipple shield to help your baby draw the nipple out and get the milk flowing (then remove shield)

Check baby for tongue tie (bad latch, cracked nipples, clicking noises and gulping air, wind, getting tired when feeding all make me go mmmmh)

Get it sorted today if you can. I was in the same situation as you with Dd (worst engorgement my MW team had seen) and help was delayed until the day after. My supply never recovered. With DS I got just as engorged but had nipple shields at hand - he was able to latch on despite being tongue-tied. Boobs became manageable within 2 days. He's been EBF for almost 6 months now

All the best xxx

[Bugaboom]

Thank you. Midwife is calling back.

[RedKites]

How are you getting on Bugaboom ?

[Mamab33]

Second the checking for tongue tie. There are different types. Not all HCPs can spot them.

[Bugaboom]

Ok-ish. Midwife coming tomorrow, spoke on the phone yesterday and they felt baby was ok. I went to a support group today and dd needs to relearn latch. Fast forward to a very stressful few hours at home encouraging a better latch this afternoon. Tears of frustration all round! She still doesn't feed very long but is definitely getting the milk. I'm going to express a bit before bedeparture for comfort and persevere with the re latching as nipples a mess
thank you for the support.

[SASASI]

I found holding boob in a c shape helped to get DS to latch on.
He was severely tongue tied, snipped at 10 days. I used nipple shields for 8 weeks & they really brought my flat nipples out & I've not had ny pain at all during breastfeeding (4.5months).

Good luck!

[tiktok]

Poor service, Bugaboom. I thought on Monday you needed to see someone straight away, and I still think so. At least someone is coming today.

They need to help you with the continued engorgement and difficulty with latching, perhaps help you hand express, and they also need to check your baby, ideally observe a full feed, and weigh your baby, assessing from all of this plus what sort of nappies she is producing, on how well she is transferring milk ok.

Hope you get good news and good help :)

[Bugaboom]

Hi tiktok. Midwife fantastic today, did all of the above. Dd is fine- weight dropped only 3% so no concerns about her getting milk and she checked her nappies. I have managed to more or less get on top of engorgement with the advise on here and expressing. She was quite concerned with my left side which is very sore and bleeding, couldn't get a decent latch there today so going to try a nipple shield. She watched a full feed on right which was better but latch gets poorer during feed. She's getting me a one to one assessment at home tomorrow with a breast feeding support worker as I think I'm struggling more with the latch after the advice from the group yesterday.
Thank you for all the support here.

[tiktok]

Sounds like you have turned a corner, and well done, that midwife, and well done babyBugaboom :)

[Bugaboom]

I hope we have turned a corner. The nipple shield was awful- filled with blood as she soon as she latched. So I've decided to rest that side and just pump. Overnight DD has wanted to feed constantly, rather than the short bursts, and suckle all night. So my "good" side is sore and i felt couldn't keep up. I hadn't been keeping the left milk, but going to today to feed her that too and give right a break.

My ds was tongue tied and was very similar to DD. She's been checked by a few people and there may be a very small tt but she can stick her tongue right out so nobody seems too worried.

Hoping things getting better soon, I felt like giving up in the night.

[QuietNinjaTardis]

Have you got any lansinoh? Keep putting that on to help the cracks not crack more. Sounds like you're doing brilliantly well with a tough situation. Hope the bf support worker can help you more.

[Bugaboom]

I havent checked in here for a few days as was hopeful things were improving but now I'm not sure. Dd had been thoroughly checked for tongue tie and definitely doesn't have it (she sticks her tongue right out). But my nipples are so cracked and pain is really intense on latching. It passes but I'm so scared of every feed and I don't think the cracks are healing. I've seen the lead midwife for feeding who was lovely and she has swabbed me. She also noted i had good supply and a fast let down so the noisy feeding is just dd coping with the volume. Dd's tongue is coated with white today so my midwife today said maybe thrush? The swabs will show if it is. I've also been told to put lanisoh on before and after a feed- does that sound right? I usually just do it after.
I had one good feed with a nipple shield but subsequent feeds have felt worse with them and I think the cracks were made worse with the shield.
any other tips? Do I just need to grit my teeth and hope it improves? Sorry for the rambling

[tinymeteor]

Yep lansinoh before too, does the baby no harm and helps prevent more damage. Sounds like you are doing great btw

[tinymeteor]

I found nipple shields pretty crap too. Best advice was to switch positions a lot so she's not always working the nipple in the exact same spot and making it more sore. Kind of a faff but got us through while her TT was sorted and latch improved

[Bugaboom]

Thanks tiny. I think extra lansinoh is helping a bit. I'm not great with different positions other than cradle and rugby ball. I'll Google some other options!

[tinymeteor]

Maybe try lying on your side and rolling baby towards you? May be easier when she's older and less bobble-headed but worth a try and it's a nice relaxing one. Get a pillow for under your head and it's dead comfy and cuddly