4 week old is it too late now?

[alittlebitcountry]

DD was born by emergency CS 1 month ago. She was healthy although on the smaller side and she struggled to latch as it turned out i have very inverted nipples.
I have expressed as much as possible since that point but after 24 hours prescribed formula top up as she was dehydrated. Had loads of support in hospital and since from local BF support %26 midwives - includung sip cup and medela finger feeder so there is no bottle cofusion BUT she is still not latching and I'm wondering if she ever can/will by now.
When they have visited at home we are apparently doing the right thingsin terms of skin to skin and trying to position.......she will root and I can get her to try a small sucks - but she gets frustrated and angry so fast the attempts are very short lived - not long enough alone to overcome the inversion on by herself. The breast pump helps with this but it doesn't last long and she still gets frustrated.
I don't know whether to go on as we are wih the combination of formula and expressed or accept its not meant to be and move to bottles and just formUla.
Any advice at this point would be great.
I will add that there is an advantage as DH can share the feeding - but constantly expressing is frustrating me no end and its a weird but very emotional feeling not to succeed at all.

I don't think it is too late. When I attended the brilliant BF clinic at John Radcliffe there was a lady trying to get a 10 week old to latch and it was thought it would be possible.

Have you tried a breast shield? Might this help initially to get a successful latch? Maybe this would be helpful in your case.

I know my Mum found nipple shields hugely helpful with inverted nipples.

I don't have this issues, but did struggle with DD's and my frustration when trying to get her back to bfing after a scbu-tube/bottle-fed start. I had to give her some ebm by bottle to take the edge off her hunger so we could try for a bit longer.

Thanks for your replies.
DrChristian - 10 weeks is good to know , i have been feeling like time was running out.
Japhrimel - keeping calm for both of us is something i have to work on - i'm sure i was too anxious and she picked up on it early on
Thats a good point about using shields, we tried them the first week but at the time they were just making her have to work even harder. They might be worth another go now she's grown some.
Thanks again.

keep trying. Well done for you effort so far

sounds like you're doing fantastically well, alittle.

I don't have any experience, but I met someone at a bf group when my babies were small whose baby also hadn't latcjed on at 4 weeks. she was doing much as you are, and also somehow expressing small amounts directly into her baby's mouth. I next saw her at the local baby cinema 2 weeks later (so her baby would have been 6/7 weeks) and she said her baby was now feeding directly and it was amazing. It just happened one day, and once she got it, her baby fed directly from then on.

I was so impressed that she had worked so hard to get there, and by you too. Hope something clicks for you both soon.

I had a loooooot of problems with BF in the beginning,DS1 didnt feed much coz of that but with DS2 i was determined to succeed.My nipples were also very flat and the baby had a very difficult time lactching on.One of the things that really helped me MEDELA NIPPLE FORMERS also known as breasdt shells by some.it was recommended by my midwife who sed it was well worth a try.Basically u have to wear the shell in between feeds which really helps to draw the nipple out gently .So when it is time for a feed ur baby can actually latch on directly without anythng lese.it is well worth a try as it really saved me and my baby and now at 8 months we r still going strong and my nipples are no longer flat.Mothercare does thm,so does Amazon.of course there are some downsides like milk leaking a bit more but it serves the purpose well.

HTH.

Cranial osteopathy can be good in this situation.

I really admire your persistence, you are doing so well!

Have you heard of "biological nurturing" otherwise known as the "breast crawl" ? The theory is to go back to basics, and let the baby crawl up your tummy and figure out how to latch on for herself. If you can speak to a breastfeeding counsellor, they should be able to help you with it. There are a few videos on You Tube although I could only find ones from other countries.

Can you get to see an NCT or La Leche League counsellor in your area?

Thanks to everyone for taking time to reply - a bit of moral support goes a long way. I'll look into all your ideas - in particular never come accross the nipple formers or cranial osteopathy before.