Can I have some help re latching please + how am I going to breastfeed with a non-walking 20 month old after c-section?

[muppetgirl]

Having a little panic here ladies and need some advice.

I had gorgeous ds 3 on monday by c-section and my milk came in last night/today. My breasts are very sore as I have been feeding ds since monday for 1hr on 1 breast and then 40 mins on the other. My nipples are VERY sore and the left one is cracked. I very much want to breastfeed as I did with ds 2 and it was great for us both but I had no pain, no problems right from the start. Ds 1 was different and I had depression and couldn't bear him near me so it was lovely when things worked with ds 2.

Ds 3 doesn't seem to open his mouth wide enough and just takes in the nipple without the areola (sp?) and if I try to re-latch him he grabs on for dear life which hurts even more. The length of feeding has improved but by now my nipples are very sore from the feeding earlier in the week. I am beginning to dread the feeds as I did with ds 1 which I don't want to do.

I also have a non-walking 20 month old and I'm not sure how breastfeeding will happen and how I'll ever get out! I do fear the depression coming back so getting out/interacting is actually very important for me.

Any ideas re the latch?

Any advice as to how to breastfeed with a non-walking 20 month old?

Thank you!

[tiktok]

muppetgirl - lovely to have a new baby, understand your concern.

What has the midwife said? Have you had help with getting the baby attached?

Bottle feeding would be harder with a non-walking older baby...at least you get to have a hand free with bf.

Have you tried putting him in a 'biological nurturing' position where he can self-attach? This normally encourages the wide open mouth you are right to be aiming at.

[NotSoRampantRabbit]

muppetgirl - I followed some of tiktok's advice re biological nurturing and it completely sorted out my cracked, agonising nipple.

no idea re 20 month old. am struggling with fully mobile 4 year old. although at least 20 month old won't roundhouse ds in the head as my delightful ds did to 4 week old dd earlier.

[ilovemydogandmrobama]

Do you mean that the 20 month old isn't walking, but crawling? I'd get a playpen.

The difference in age between DD and DS is 19 months, and she was happy coloring some of the time, reading, and other times, I'd put on a DVD.

[muppetgirl]

Hi, sorry I disappeared due to feeding and sleep!

Tiktok - I haven't tried biological nurturing , is there anything you can point me to to show me how? Re the midwife she's coming today so I can ask her to watch me attatch so she can see what he does. She did say nose to nose and then tip his head slightly back as then he's more likely to open his mouth wider. I do think it'll be more of a case that ds and I have to demonstrate what we do for it to be corrected.

As for my lovely ds 2 there is no physical problem why he doesn't walk, he can do around 6/7 steps but that's it! He just doesn't want to as he bum shuffles around very quickly. I used a wrap sling with ds 2 and found this great for b/f so are going to do it again with ds 3 and hope this helps once we've sorted the latch -and I can use the sling after about 2 weeks says the physio.

Last night I expressed to give my nipples a break and see that ds 3 still got breast milk. I've expressed again this morning and my right nipple is much better already though this wasn't the cracked one but was incredibly painful. Both breasts are lumpy and painful in the 'touch these boobs and I'll punch you' kind of way. I am getting 3-4ozs expressing both breasts and this seems to satisfy ds 3 so far. I know this isn't the perfect solution but I feel my breasts/nipples are getting a break and ds still gets breastmilk. My 2 eldest are away for the week so hopefully I can just concentrate on the latch.