Help - latch has gone to pot

[CommanderShepard]

My daughter is 2 1/2 weeks old and up until a couple of days ago was a great breastfeeder - but now her latch is shallow and nothing I try is helping to fix it.

It is worst on my right breast - I have a really overactive letdown on that side and it's so painful that anything brushing past my nipple makes me cry. I've got a breast pad and jelonet inside my bra and have started using lansinoh, but there's no obvious damage other than my nipple being pink and hurting like hell. I'd avoid feeding her on that side except then the whole breast hurts...

She just doesn't seem to want to open her mouth wide enough for anything but my nipple and if I do get her on properly she disengages, screams blue murder and then I accidentally spray milk everywhere :( and I leak through every breast pad I've tried!

Anyone any ideas? Pretty desperate here. Would pumping help until that side has healed, or would I just completely sabotage the feeding?

I had a DS1 who wouldn't open his mouth enough and know that pain. Lansinoh was my saviour but it was weeks before I got him sorted. At least you know what a good latch is like so will know when she gets it right again.

I can make a suggestion about the leaking and protecting your nipples in clothes though. Try breast shells, they'll catch the drips (or jets!) and hold clothing off the sore nipple whilst they heal. if you sterilise the shells and change them regularly then you can keep the 'expressed' milk from them if you fridge or freeze it quickly. I used my frozen milk for mixing oatmeal etc months later when we started playing with solids! I used the shells on the breast I wasn't feeding from whilst I was feeding too. At least an ounce of milk every time!

Keep using the Lansinoh. Apparently nipple skin is like lip skin and needs to be kept moisturised when chapped. It will help with the pain once you can get your nips healing. Be prepared for healing skin to be a bit itchy though.

Do feed from both breasts (not necessarily at the same feed if LO doesn't fancy both) or you risk blocked ducts, mastitis etc. It's hard when it hurts but if you take her off every time she doesn't open up enough you'll heal in a few days.

You're doing great getting it all going over the last couple of weeks! Pat yourself on the back and I'm sure you'll get some great advice to go with my few ideas. Well done!

dd had the same problem.

you've got to keep taking her off and trying again.

are you right-handed? often babies find it harder to feed from that side because you're not able to hold them as well with your left arm as you could with your right. (not the holding bit, but the getting them into position) - i'm a leftie, and it took a very long time to get DD to feed properly on my left.

You could try the rugby ball hold - where you hold her in the same direction as on the other side, so she's mostly tucked under your armpit.
then she's got the same side of her head resting, and should follow the same cue.

Letting the baby self-attach while you're in the laid-back position can be a life-saver in these situations - it works as a sort of 'reset', triggers all the basic latching instincts that they have at birth. Also, gravity helps the baby get a deeper latch and lessens the force of your letdown.

There's some basic info about how to do it here

Have you checked inside your dd's mouth? Could you both have thrush? Would explain poor attachment now as would be painful for her to feed. Also explain colour of nipple but no obvious damage. Just a thought.....

Sounds like it's the overactive letdown - if you were being waterboarded you'd be wary of attaching too deeply too. Does she gag/splutter/choke on letdown?

Try hand-expressing a few drops (depending on letdown and supply - I can't do just a few drops!) before feeding. If you're engorged she won't be able to latch on deeply. Also try taking her off when you get letdown, letting a muslin soak it up and then reattaching her.

I feel your pain. I have 14w DS who latches on very shallowly - in his case due to tongue and upper lip tie - and my nipples have been macerated :( The suggestions above worked with DD though and I BF her till 12m.

by the way, the HV kindly phoned me up after DS's check-up last week, to pass on the recommendation of hydrogel pads.

I don't know if they work yet - bought some in Boots today. Medela, Lansinoh, Tommee Tippee etc all do them - I've bought a couple to try! Anything for some relief.

Have you been to a BF group? Ask your HV for details- may also be able to recommend a BFing Advocate/Counsellor. I had mastitis at 6w this time round, you really don't want to get that...