Concerned about 8-month old's latch

[dorisbonkers]

Hi all. I exclusively b/f my daughter until 6-1/2 months, when I moved back to the UK and started BLW, which is going great (not eating all of it obviously, but is eating some)

I have continued to feed her as normal. We co-sleep and I'm still feeding her in the night (early hours) and throughout the day, although she seems a little less interested in b/feeding in the day.

I am a little concerned that when she comes off (or I pull the nipple out -- much to the lactation nurse's gasping that I could do that without feeling pain) there's the slightest ridge on either side. I've read about the 'lipstick' signal possibly pointing to a poor latch. It's not exactly like a lipstick and is more or less round, just has that slight ridge either side. Maybe it's because I'm pulling the nipple out? Is the lipstick thing like this, or more a wedge (because it's not wedge-shaped)

I can nowhere near get the whole areola but then they are big (BIG!). At two months I hired a lactation consultant who said I was doing fine. My paed said the latch looked fine, and at the breastfeeding clinic in Singapore they said it was fine.

She's a tiny baby, born early and according to Singapore charts on the 25 centile when born. She doubled her weight very quickly in the first couple of months, with her weight gain then tailing off. On the UK charts she's fallen to just under the 10th centile. The HV who saw her for the first time never raised it as an issue. (She put on 430g in a month) She does pee and poo (constipated today though) but her pee doesn't profuse -- but then what's profuse? I have nothing to compare it to.

She feeds a lot and is snacky, feeding quickly and I always b/feed her to sleep so my nipples are getting stimulation.

She also seems satisfied. She never cries after feeding, in fact doesn't really cry much and smiles and giggles and looks the picture of health with a lovely complexion and colour, but is just little.

Surely if she were perpetually starving she'd be crying and looking a bit unwell?

I think I've had anxiety after giving birth which found a home in breastfeeding and every 4 weeks I tend to have a episode of worry that I've buggered it up. So I'm hoping that this is just me getting anxious again with no reason.

Thanks for listening. I had to get it out.

[Olihan]

I'm no expert but it seems to me that you're both doing exceptionally well. You really don't need to worry . I have 1 ds who is on the 99th centile and the other hovers between the 10th and 25th.

(Whereabouts in S'pore were you? My parents live in Kallang)

[Olihan]

Sorry, that makes no sense, the point about the dses was that dcs come in all shapes and sizes and as she is doing everything else she should be at her age and there are no other obvious indicators that there is a problem with your bfing, then she is just petite but perfectly healthy and well nourished!

[dorisbonkers]

Thanks Olihan. I was living in Chinatown on Club Street. I've been in SE London for a month now and am beginning to miss it!

Thanks for the reassurance. I have largely wandered through the past 8 months in a maternal haze and although I didn't get the PND (so far) that a psychiatrist told me I probably would develop, I have become anxious about her weight/breastfeeding from time to time. Irrational, I know.

Just read lots of forums on breastfeeding and tend to become fixated on an issue. Here it was the 'lipstick' thing....

Thing is, it's only got a slight ridge on either side but is still round, but I've semi-convinced myself it's like a lipstick.

Again, another reason/shame public b/feeding is so rare. I have nothing to compare my experience with.

[babyphat]

i heard something similar about how nipples shouldn't be a different shape after feeding - but mine sometimes are and my 9 months old is big and healthy and doing fine, and i don't have any pain, so i figure it's probably not a problem. The snacky feeds sound familiar too, apart from falling asleep feeds she will only be on the breast for a couple of minutes or so, ever since she was really young.

She sounds lovely and yes, I think you'd know if she was hungry

i think some of the well meaning bfeeding advice can cause more worry than it solves, i spent the first 12 weeks panicking because my latch didn't look like the one in the leaflet...

[dorisbonkers]

Oh yes babyphat. i sent myself bonkers reading kellymom when i should have been sleeping or just getting on with it.