Ouch - 9 day DD is clamping nipple with her gums!

[staineshunt123]

Hi there

My DD is 9 days old and although she initially latches on correctly she manages to work her gums up so that she is clamping my nipple with them and I end up very sore with ridges! There is no other damage but I reposition her time and time again but she always works her way back to the gum clamp! Does anyone have any suggestions cos by the end of the day (when she starts to really feed) they are so sore!

I had this too with dd and it was terribly sore. After 8 weeks of suffering I finally saw an LC and it turned out that it was due to the way I was holding her.

I was holding her in a cradle position but not horizontally against my chest. I was letting her bum and legs lie lower than her head so she was feeling like she was slipping down and anchoring herself by clamping on.
When I supported her more with both hands for a couple of days and kept her lying horizontally, the latch changed and I was pain free.

The position for holding is important so have a look at yours too.

I had only really seen bottle fed babies before so was holding her the same way.

I hope this helps.

Oh thank you that actually makes sense. I have been doing the rugby ball position but her legs are defintely lower than her head so I will look at that. Midwife is due today so will ask her too. Thank you very much SlighlyBonkers!

Legs lower than head is fine - the issue can be if they feel they are falling/slipping. Cradle hold was a breakthrough for us, but DD does sometimes need supporting with both hands so she feels secure.

I'd also get LO checked for tongue tie as slipping off and gumming can be signs of this (as they can't stick their tongues out properly with TT).

Could you have a fast letdown? My letdown seemed to speed up and it can be too much for DD if she's tired (and she's now 3 months old so a lot stronger) and she then sometimes clamps on the nipple to slow the flow. Feeding leaning back can help if this is an issue.

I have been told she is not tongue tied. She does choke a lot as it seems to come quite fast! They actually advised me against the cradle hold and to use the rugby ball hold which is better. I have tried to keep her in a straight line today and it does seem a bit better and not quite so painful but she is still doing it. MW just agreed with what SlightlyBonkers said. I will try the leaning back as I have a recliner which may help (Will probably help with the backache I get as well!).

I certainly know she is getting enough because at 10 days old she is 7oz heavier than her birthweight!

My 5mo DD has always done this (not every feed thank goodness, but throughout her life on and off!) I think it is partly because I have a very forceful letdown and also teeter on the edge of over-supply. She usually does it at the start of a feed or when she is finishing so I think she is trying to slow or stop the flow. I can usually identify when she is about to do it at the end of a feed now, and get her off before she starts clamping down - so maybe start to watch for her slowing down or looking like she is about to come off and get her off before she clamps down.

I think it is a positioning thing too - she's DC2 so my immediate prior experience was of breastfeeding a chunky 1 year old who could support himself on my lap with just my arm. So I was more relaxed about just holding her with one arm or whatever so she was probably not feeling secure enough.

It is worse when she is feeding sort of under my nipple - usually when I get lazy about holding her. I find getting her into the tummy to mummy position, held quite snugly against me with both hand when cradle holding really helps, as does feeding when I'm slightly slumped so she is a bit more on top of me. And never had this problem when I feed lying down. It is better now she is nearly 6mo but do still occasionbally have feeds like this.