6 day old DS suddenly refusing to latch after TT snip

[SayCoolNowSayWhip]

DS had his posterior TT snipped today. It went fine, he fed straight after and has just eaten and slept since. He had a good long sleep on me between 7.30 and 11 - woke at 11 for his feed as he is jaundiced and needs feeding every 2 - 3 hours.

I was quite engorged and I couldn't get him on at all. He was crying and turning his head away from the breast and milk was leaking everywhere and it was just a nightmare. I eventually got him on after about 15 minutes of screaming. Same thing happened just now.

Any tips? My boobs and areolas are massive, and he seems to have a real problem opening his mouth for a good wide gape.

I was told by the health visitor to express a bit when my boobs were like that. They can sometimes be too hard for the LO to get a latch easily so if you can make them a tiny bit softer your LO might find it easier. Good luck a million times over. Those days are so hard.

Thanks for the reply. I did try expressing a little but he was still having issues. He didn't seem to want to open his mouth wide at all.

My Dd struggled a bit after her tt was snipped at 10 days. It's probably just to do with it feeling a bit different & unsettling, she got used to it pretty quick. Did your ds bleed much when they did it? If still slightly bloody, maybe it's making the milk taste funny?

Agree about releasing some of the milk off though, when mine was tiny she could never latch properly when I was that full - it's a skill they have to learn.

We had this after DS1's tie was divided. Fine for first 24 hrs, but 24-48 hrs after were a nightmare! Then things settled back down, and I fed til 12 months.

Things I did - don't know if they helped or not, but at least I felt like I was doing something:
expressed the massive engorgement into a doidy cup, and let him lap it up - and yes, at 3 weeks, he could do it (or hand express into a bottle if you have one?)
Stripped me to the waist, and baby to nappy, and took to bed for several hours - a baby moon
stopped offering boob if he really didn't want to latch - it was really painful when he only took a tiny mouthful.

Thinking about it afterwards, it was like he was learning to feed again, and took both of us a little time, but the end results were well worth it.

Have you got any other kids? My second was also tied, and we got it divided sooner as it was diagnosed at about hr old (I demanded it be checked and referred)

Congrats on your new baby

Thank you everyone - that's really helpful. The reverse pressure thing looks great, will give that a go.

I am motivated to bf - was ready to quit a few days ago but struggled on, got his TT sorted (DD had one so was alert for the signs).

I just really hate my boobs! They're so massive and I'm sure he's scared of them. I need 2 hands to bf as they're so big so am completely stuck when feeding. Wish I had nice normal small boobs that I could pop him on one handed....

Sorry, having a whinge. But thanks so much for the support.

How has the feeding been going today Saycool? I'm sure he's not scared. You're mummy and you smell safe and warm and comforting to him. It just takes time for you both to learn the techniques as I'm sure you remember from before. I had a horrendous time with my DS2. I thought because I had fed DS1 until 7 months it would be easy but it was the opposite. I got mastitis twice following cracked and bleeding nipples and I was SO close to giving up because I was in a huge amount of pain but I carried on and now he's 7 months we're experts!! Ds2 is high needs so I'm doubly glad I continued as I don't know where I'd be without it.

Have confidence in your magic boobs! They know what they're doing! Please don't worry about them being too big. I've seen lots of really massive chested women bfing successfully. It will all settle down. You're doing a great job!

Hi Natmu, thanks for your post, really supportive and encouraging So sorry to hear about the issues you had with your DS2 - glad they are resolved now and well done for persevering.

Feeding is better today - seems to be latching better and feeding for longer. The latch still isn't 100% as he still doesn't open his mouth wide enough sometimes, and he does get quite frustrated, turning his head away from the breast and crying. But a definite improvement on last night!

Thanks again for asking

I'm glad things are improving saycool. I just mentioned my experience because I wanted to show that things do get better. Good luck with it all and post again if you're still having issues. Is there a bf counsellor in your area that you could see? I saw someone who was attached to my health visiting team and it really helped.

Sounds mad, but if he's not opening his mouth wide enough, try talking to him "DS, you need to open your mouth REALLY wide, like this..." And then show him by opening your mouth really wide
Newborns are really good at mimicking their mother's facial expressions

Good luck

Also, try feeding in the bath, as its nice and relaxing for both of you

Haha TanteRose, I have been encouraging him - 'That's it DS, nice wide mouth, on you go...' Even if he doesn't understand I think the soothing tone of voice helps.

I'm seeing my mw tomorrow for the discharge from midwifery care so will ask about a bfing counsellor. I really want to get this cracked!

Thanks again everybody