problems BF

[Snowy27]

Hi
Wondering if anyone has any advice- my LO is 17 days old and I thought we were doing ok with BF- he feeds about every 2-3 hours for 30 minutes ish except for a cluster in the evening, one breast and then offered the other, sleeps well and looks 'stuffed' after a feed, lots of wet and dirty nappies . The only problem is his latch- midwives in hospital tried to help but he just can't seem to get on and stay on, was getting really worked up and kept bouncing off my nipples, licking and 'chewing' at them. Anyway I tried a nipple shield and voila- on, sucking and content. Infant feeding co-ordinator came out and said technique looked fine and to just try him without the shields each feed and hopefully he'll get it sooner or later.

The only problem is he's only put on 3oz this week, which is apparently not enough and the Midwife thinks the shields are the problem, but I can't feed him without them! He just gets so worked up and hungry.

Any ideas? I have a fairly fast let down, and with the shields there's always a pool of milk in them? Baby quite often stops for a second when feeding a dribbles a bit of milk out as if it's too much in one mouth full?

Now feeling very down about the whole feeding thing.

Hi Snowy
I'm no expert, crikey, I'm struggling myself, but has anyone checked for tongue tie. Some of the symptoms you describe seem to fit the bill and it can go undiagnosed. It might be worth ruling it out.
www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly/Parents/Problems/Tongue-Tie/Division-of-tongue-tie/
Best of luck and keep going :) Someone else will be along who knows a lot more than me.

Hi snowy. First of all congratulations on your new baby! It sounds like you and baby are doing vey well (you say LO sleeps well, has lots of wet and dirty nappies and generally looks contented) except for:
1- the fact you can only bf with shields
2- he's put on 3 oz in a week which midwife thinks is not enough. Right?
You don't say if baby has regained his birth weight? Assuming he has, why has he been weighed again? Babies don't grow in linear ways. Rather they have growth spurts and can gain more or less depending on the week. It''s important not too weigh too often to avoid unnecessary worry. Your red book should say that healthy babies shouldn't be weighed more than once a month. You may find that next week for example he gains more. If he hasn't regained his birth weight yet how far off is he? Even if he hasn't got his birth weight back, most HCP regard, 3 oZ per week as ok but may advise to keep checking weekly. I'm assuming he was born at term and there are no other health concerns here.

1. The shields are probably not to blame for the allegedly low weekly again (bot low at all IMO) but can create problems with supply later on. In the mean time carry on using them if they're the only way baby can latch on. You don't give a lot of info regarding why latch doesn't happen. Can you explain a bit more so that I can get a better idea and make some suggestions?

If you have a fast letdown, have you tried feeding laying down or biological nurturing ('laid back') type feeding positions and if so, do you find these help with the bobbing off?

I agree it might be an idea to rule out tongue tie too.

Thanks everyone- I've tried lying down but my nipples point downwards, and I have pretty big boobs so he finds it hard to get to them!

He has regained his birth weight +1oz by Friday- On Monday he was 2oz off his birth weight.

When he tries to latch on without them he seems to struggle to open wide enough- I keep trying to get him nose to nipple and come from the side so his head drops back and he opens up but he doesn't seem to be able to get a big enough bite and suck it in- he might have his mouth over the nipple but then doesn't 'stick' just tries to lick and gum at them?
(not sure if that's a good description at all!) Where as with the shield he doesn't need such a big mouth, comes on more square and sucks the shield in and then starts sucking straight away which sucks the nipple up the shield and the milk starts (often my milk starts to flow before he starts sucking- especially if he's crying/fussing) He did manage to latch on once today- and sucked away quite happily for a few minutes before I moved, he let go and I couldn't get him back on! No idea what I did differently either!

One MW in hospital did say he had a little bit of tongue tie, and he doesn't stick his tongue out? But other MW's weren't sure and didn't seem to think it was a big problem?

I'd get a second (or fourth) opinion on the tongue tie tbh snowy.

It doesn't matter if it's 'only a little bit' of one, but if it's causing you problems then it could be worth getting it snipped.

So yesterday- he was one oz over his birth weight. Is that right? So he had gained 3oz from Mon-Fri?

You could also have a look at biological nurturing to see if that is any help in getting him latch on.

HTH

Also, if you have bigger boobs, many women find the football/rugby hold is easier.

I agree with crikeybadger. DS2 had tongue-tie (despite 4 diagnoses to the contrary) - I had to go to a tongue-tie specialist bf counsellor. Your HVs may know one or local NCT/LLL might have that info. Rugby hold helped a lot for me too (also larger in the boob department).

It sounds like it could also be the fact that he's tiny and still needs to learn to latch on properly and perhaps your nipples are big for his mouth. Keep trying, so lots of skin to skin and in the mean time please do use the shields if that's the only way he feeds. I think it'll get better as he gets a bit bigger f you keep trying. Keep up the good work!

Hi
Thanks for all the help
Yep he'd gained 3oz in 5 days.
Gave the rugby ball hold a go- managed to latch on for a few minutes and had a good suck, then started getting stressy so i popped a shield back on and finished up, the he had a few sucks again once he'd finished feeding, so some progress!
I'll give biological nurturing a go- he loves to 'sit' in a kangaroo style on my tummy once he's fed anyway, so maybe this'll help? We did miss out on skin to skin when he was born as I had a haemorrhage and he was whipped away!
Who would be the best person to ask about the tongue tie? Doctor or HV?

Thanks!

Snowy http://www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly/Parents/Problems/Tongue-Tie/Locations-where-tongue-tie-can-be-divided/ here is a list of hospitals that divide tongue-tie (it doesn't appear to be exhaustive as I went to one not listed). They will diagnose too. You may need a referral so definitely speak to your HV and explain the difficulties you are having. Or give your nearest one a ring and see what they say.

Sorry here you go