Breastfeeding

[Familyiness]

Hi my daughter had a baby by emergency c section a week ago. Baby has tongue tie, she is most definately trying to latch on and seems to have a good instinct.
Also daughter has large boobs, currently gg, are their any tips for getting a good latch. We have had a few tears regards the feeding and she sometimes feels she's failing the baby, I've reassured her she isn't. She's pumping every 2hrs and is trying power pumping twice a day. Her birth was traumatic and the feeding was the only thing she had left that she wanted to do. So I'm really trying to help her, we have tried nipple shields. We are still waiting for a phone call regards the tongue tie. Health visitor is coming on Tuesday, do you think she might be able to help with getting a latch. She's very worried she's going to dry up. This is her first baby, and I'm supporting her and reassuring as much as I can, as she is currently staying here atm. I've took control of all the washing so she can focus on herself and baby.

I always watched a YouTube tutorial on it before every feed which helped. I found it really painful for 5 weeks and then my baby grew slightly which meant his mouth was bigger and it was no longer painful.

I personally didn't find my HV helpful, but definitely YouTube vids helped

Nipple cream after EVERY single feed/ every shower and every couple of hours if baby hasn't had a feed- keep plastering it on even when it seems it's not needed or there's some still on from previous.
I swear this is what stopped my nipples feeling sore.

Put baby's chin on breast and as baby opens mouth almost help by putting nipple in at the same time as baby goes to take hold. If latch is wrong stop feed and try again. Remember chin must be on breast.

Not sure if it would work this early but while baby feeds one side, one of those boob sucker things on the other boob (not a pump) works well- I couldn't pump more than 1-2 oz but that took 3-4 oz at a time- I think baby feeding made other boob produce.

Sounds like you're a brilliant support for her well done.

You sound like a lovely mum ☺️ sorry it was a traumatic birth for your daughter.

You could try looking up local breastfeeding support groups - there is a group here of breastfeeding mums and support volunteers that meets every week at a lovely community cafe. You could also Google local lactation consultants. Her HV might not be able to help with the latch, but she might be able to refer your daughter to a BF specialist.

Has she tried calling her midwife to ask for advice?

Hopefully if she's pumping lots her supply will be fine. Lots of mums exclusively pump and bottle feed - with my son I pumped most feeds until he was 4 months. Then he was big enough to latch properly without a shield. It's really hard work, but my supply was good. If anything I had an oversupply.

Unfortunately I think tongue tie can be a tricky one. Both my kids had one. My little girl's was snipped at hospital when she was a week old, it made a huge difference. No more sore nipples! And a baby who gained weight fast. If you can, I'd definitely consider going private if the NHS is being slow.

Best wishes to your daughter!

Stay hydrated my supplies always
take a nose dive when I don’t eat or drink enough

breast milk works wonders for nipple sore as does
taking a break for a length of time. Could do breast milk from a bottle for one feed in the afternoons I did it for the first month then got into the swing of things

use a hakka

the first month for me for baby 1 was so draining but then we got into the groove and I never looked back for baby one or 2 ( who was easy from feed 1) so if she is keen it might not be long before she is In a rhythm. At 2 weeks I could not see a light at the end of the tunnel at 6 weeks I was crushing it

m also doesn’t need to be binary can add a little formula at the beginning baby one had 6 formula bottles made when I needed a helping hand

good luck

I would personally recommend seeing a private practitioner, rather than rely on the NHS when it comes to tongue tie. The following website will help you find someone who can help. It cost me just under £200 for an assessment and division for my baby, but was worth every penny. I remember the mental agony of not being able to feed my baby properly. Your daughter is very lucky to have your support.

www.tongue-tie.org.uk

You sound wonderful.

Have you got any groups near you? I'm a volunteer for the breastfeeding network; there are a lot of drop ins, and a phone number to call.

Also; Facebook groups are wonderful! Some of them allow you to message privately with a video etc and they can help you with the advice you need. It could be just positioning to get a good latch.

Please feel free to message me.

At the moment; is she feeding the baby a bottle? Only, this can be confusing for baby. We don't recommend you pump for at least 6 weeks as this can cause over supply and then unfortunately mastitis.

You sound lovely and your daughter is doing a grand job.

I also had a tongue tie baby by C section, and big boobs.

Ask midwife /HV for referral to local feeding specialist team.
Agree try going private for tongue tie if she can afford it.

She needs to stay hydrated and well -nourished. Oats are excellent.

How is the baby being fed just now? Worth doing paced bottle feeding (videos on YouTube) also getting the baby to practice sucking reflex by letting him suck a clean finger, slightly pulling it out and making him pull it back.
We used finger tubes rather than bottle to avoid baby getting confused about the nipple.

https://globalhealthmedia.org/video/breastfeeding-attachment/
This video explains positioning.

Is your daughter on codeine? It can make baby drowsy.

Lots of skin to skin cuddles.

I still remember crying because I couldn't feed my baby. It took a couple of weeks after his tongue tie was cut but after that he became a fantastic feeder.

Oh - and for pumping what pump does she have? The hospital grade ones are excellent.
Cutting holes in an old bra to pump hands free was something I wished I'd done from the start.

She's very lucky to have you supporting her.
If she can put baby on a cushion to the height of her breasts so she's not bending over and has arm support. Then turn baby on its side rather than expecting baby to turn its head. Bring baby to the breast rather than breast to baby.
Baby's nose is beautifully upturned to will be able to breathe.
Lastly, encourage baby to open its mouth (maybe stroke the chin/cheek gently), bring baby side on onto the nipple and areola (as wide a latch as possible) and relax. Taking a larger amount of breast in will stimulate milk ducts and prevent baby clamping on sore nipples.
Cream, shields etc are brilliant.
Main thing - always bring baby to breast, never breast to baby.
Best of luck to your daughter - and congratulations 🎊 💐 !

1. get tongue tie sorted
2. cranial osteopath - they can help with babies movement after traumatic birth and increase movement that's limited by the tongue tie to help with latch while sorting out tongue tie
3. HV will be useless. Local breastfeeding charity is what you need. There is one near me that has daily groups and peer supporters going into hospital to help. If you can find one near you they're worth their weight in gold.

Help for your daughter with feeding won’t work if the baby can’t breastfeed. There are two people your daughter and the baby who need to play a part. It doesn’t matter how good her technique is if the baby if fighting itself and the tongue tie.

Chase up the tongue tie referral, don’t wait for a phone call (what good is a phone call?).
In some areas there are no available nhs practitioners or appointments within a useful timeframe.
you may need to go private.

Every 2 hours is a lot of pumping it will work. If it isn’t does she have a decent pump, some are a lot better than others. With a good one she should even be
i do recommend pumping at lease 6 times a day though including around 2am (most effective at night) but she needs sleep too! if she needs to keep supply up temporarily. It is exhausting and she needs a more permanent solution, I.e private the tongue tie,

This

Get the tongue tie sorted asap

The first few weeks can be tough, but it gets SO much easier.

I paid £200 to see a lactation consultant when baby was 5 weeks as she just wasn't "getting it" like my first did, and wasn't gaining weight properly.

That fee included the snipping of a tongue tie if it was present, which it wasn't in our case.

Basically, baby was petite with a small mouth and she was finding my nipples too large!

We were taught some new positions/ techniques, but what really helped was time.

We topped up with formula for a few weeks, and i was pumping too, but we got there in the end.

Once DD was about 7 or 8 weeks old, it clicked. She is still feeding now at 15 months as she refuses to stop :/

@Mulledjuice have just made her some flapjacks and some oat cookies aswell. She's not a porridge fan. The pumping seems to go OK. Just worried about her mental state and her wearing herself out mainly. Baby does definately seem to prefer breast milk and is more settled on it, less gassy.
I took the baby out for a walk yesterday, so she could get a nap as she was exhausted and had a head ache.
I am very proud of her and her determination. Unfortunately the early part of her pregnancy was really stressful due to a housing issue, so she moved back in with us. She was made redundant just before she found out she was expecting, and didnt have enough time in current job to qualify for maternity pay, so she is only on maternity allowance. And isn't entitled to anything else, so going private isn't an option for her, any money she has is for moving crew and other stuff she needs when she gets a place.
She currently waiting on isa money she has but the bank is taking ages with it, process started in June. She now has an appointment for the tongue tie division 3rd march.
We are putting a huge complaint in anyway due to her treatment during pregnancy, labour and post natally.
She was told she had dissolvable stitches, they turned up today to remove her dressing to find she needed sutures removing. And the midwifes hadn't been told about it and neither had my daughter.
Im actually shocked at the lack of care she's recieved as a first time parent.