BF 4 day old with thrush and latch ishoos! help!

[bouncingblueberries]

thankfully we spotted the pretty quickly and are both being treated but I know I've got lazy over latch again and need to sort it out pronto (poor latch = damaged nipples = thrush here!). Trouble is, his arms are everywhere, I can't see properly and he goes into meltdowm if I try to swaddle him. He seems to have forgotten how to open his mouth wide despite doing it beautifully to start with

Anyone have any helpful tips???????????

spotted thethrush pretty quickly

one handed typed while feeding - sorry

doh!!! typing

must proofread more

Anyone? He's starting to cry as soon as I hold him to the breast now

can you get someone to hold his arms while you latch Him on? my husband used to do that for me sometimes in the early days. getting him to open his mouth wide isn't easy but if someone else looks after the arms you will be quicker. maybe try another position like rugby ball? have you tried tickling his nose with your nipple?

I used to clamp the baby's underneath arm under my armpit if you see what I mean.

Not sure if I'm explaining it very well! You position the baby so his arm is down the side of your breast, kind of hugging you, and then you clamp it in place with your own arm.

It stops the flailing and means that they can't pull away so easily.

I also found that "stuffing" worked for me - though it doesn't for everyone - I used to kind of compress the breast to fit his mouth better and shove it in - which seemed to work for us.

Hopefully other tipsters will be along soon though. It may be that if he's in discomfort from thrush it's affecting his ability/willingness to latch, so you may find that it improves by itself as the thrush improves. Certainly when my two had thrush it made their latch weirdly shallow.

I used to hold DD2's neck in the "v" of my hand (opposite hand to the breast she was on) so that her head would tilt back. Her chin would touch my boob, her head tilt back and her mouth open wide, then I used to sort of "hook" her mouth onto the nipple.

You may be able to do that and to tuck his top arm between your bodies.

Alternatively have you tried sort of lying back, putting him on your chest and letting him latch by himself?

If he's getting very frantic perhaps both go in the bath for a snuggle and skin to skin?

This video is good for when you have more time. Reminded me of what I needed to do when it got a bit blurry.

Thank you - it is getting a bit frantic and latch us suffering. Spent the afternoon in bed together but bath is the next step. Doesn't help that baby blues have kicked in and I just couldn't stop crying this evening. We started off so well and it's all just gone pear shaped

don't worry! The good thing is that you know what you need to do and you're putting it right. It will come, and I'm sure that sorting the thrush will help.

Are there any bfing workshops you can attend to get tips in person?

I had the same problems with dc1 (thrush, wild arms bashing nipples etc). Now with dc3(4 weeks) I lay her on a couple of pillows on my lap and gently line up the nearest arm next to my body and then roll her over towards me so that arm is now either tucked under her or just hanging. That's sometimes enough as one wild arm is easier to dodge, but i also sometimes fold back the cuff on her babygro to give something to hook a spare finger into for the 2 secs needed to latch her on. Having thrush doesn't help and you'll find things a lot better once it's sorted.

You poor thing. The good thing is that you're getting the thrush sorted - my DD2 and I had it for weeks and I used to struggle not to scream when she first latched on each feed. This will all get easier if you can bear to ride it out.

Can you call a BF adviser and get them to come to your house and sit with you through a feed? If you can manage a calm feed or two he might begin to settle.

Thanks for your support, think we've finally turned a corner with the thrush and the arm thrashing seems to have calmed down - phew!