6 days in... How to get more boob in the mouth?

[Crabapplebobbin]

Bottle fed dd1. DD2 is 6 days old and I'm really trying my hardest to breast feed but have only managed 3 feeds without pain. Others have been bearable but uncomfortable - but some are downright toe curling.

Thing is, I can't tell what I'm doing differently at each feed and why one hurts and one doesn't. I suspect it's something to do with not getting enough boob in her mouth but I'm at a loss as to how to get more in there without it being pure fluke. Any suggestions from veterans please? I'm determined not to give up but the anticipation of pain is making me anxious before feeds... Which thinking about it probably isn't helping.

As soon as she smells milk she goes wild and starts writhing and flailing and making a face like a hungry shark so it's difficult to coordinate limbs, mouth and nipple at the same time.

You really need to find a great bf counsellor, keep trying different ones till you find the one that clicks, can be very demoralising.

For me, with dd2, the technique of exaggerated latching got more breast in her mouth. Hard to describe, but if feeding from right boob, I kind of used right thumb to pull my nipple out of the way, to right, by pressing/pulling to the right of it, then holding dd in left arm, brought her bottom lip to correct place, waited for her to open, then kind of flipped/stuffed nipple and boob into her mouth.

All this with a background of sitting comfortably, shoulders supported, relaxed back and not holding clothes under chin!

I got to this with help from the unbelievably awesome specialist who came out to my home from our hospital. Watching a full feed is essential as initial latch can look good, but go wrong. Good luck, it's lovely when it's fixed!

kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/latch-resources/ has lots of tips on latching

Also, if you Google "Flipple" or "exaggerated latch" you can get some videos which may help.

I think this is pretty common to begin with so it's great that you have had some painfree feeds, you know what it can be like.

What worked for me was wrapping a towel or muslin round his arms to cut down flailing (you can loosen it once they are on right) and taking him off again and again until it felt painless. Then we started to get more painfree than painful feeds and then after a few weeks it was a doddle.

Thanks for the advice and the links - really helpful. Had quite a good day today so far. It seems to hurt for the first few moments then become just a little uncomfortable rather than painful- i think its just uncomfortable now cos my nips are a bit raw. Spoke to a really helpful feeding support person and got midwife to check latch. They couldn't find fault, and just said sometimes it's a case of trial and error with each feed. My aim is to make it to Friday when there's a bf support group in the area to go to. Starting small with my goals haha.

If your nipples feel raw, buy some Lansinoh and slather it on after each feed, it will help them heal.

lansinoh is all i can say i remember the feeling your describing well when feeding dd1 and lansinoh and looking at pics of good positioning got me through. i found the rugby ball hold easier in early days.

Please do call a bf helpline. Sounds crazy that you can get help over the phone but a bfc can describe different positions and tips and tricks to help open mouth wider. All bfc are volunteers in their own home so keep redialling if you don't get through.

Also look up salt rinse on Kelly Mom, an easy thing to try to help heal sore nips

LLL helpline is my preferred its
0845 120 2918

Also, Google 'biological nurturing' It can often help baby get better latch

Make sure you get checked for tongue tie can cause lost of pain and mine kept getting and worse.