2 week old refusing my inverted nipple

[LetticeKnollys]

Hi, I hope someone can give me advice about what to do with DS and my right nipple!

We had a rocky start to breastfeeding, DS was born with a tongue tie which stopped him being able to suck properly at all (I could tell it was having a big effect because when it got snipped there was an immediate dramatic change). Until a few days ago he still hadn't been able to latch on properly but then I went to a breastfeeding clinic and had some fantastic help which got him feeding from my left nipple perfectly fine. Before then I had been giving him cup top ups of expressed milk to stop him from getting malnourished but direct EBF seems to be going alright now.

The only problem now is my right nipple, which is quite inverted (it is inverted not flat, it turns in). It pokes out when it's been pumped for a few minutes, but it is fat and flat even then compared to the other one and when I put him on the best he can do is a couple of sucks and then pulls off screaming. I have tried cradle/cross cradle, rugby ball, lying down facing each other, 'koala hold' and biological nurturing - I have managed all of them with my normal nipple with no pain but he screams on the inverted one. He even seems to try and flip himself onto the other side. He seems to really hate it!

It gets painfully engorged so I have been pumping and storing the milk from that side. It's early days (since we actually got BFing working for us) so my supply on my left boob alone is struggling to keep up with his demand meaning that he is always always hungry for more, always rooting. He does seem to be producing lots of wet and dirties though, so it seems like he is getting sufficient amounts it just takes a lot of sucking to get it.

I'm not sure what to do about my right side. Should I let it dry up and allow him to feed off the normal nipple all of the time? I know this would possibly make me look lop sided, and I don't know how long it would take for my boobs to work out what's going on and adjust their supply fully! Or should I consider expressing and bottle feeding the EBM, or possibly using a nipple shield on that side? The bottle option possibly seems like more hassle than it's worth.

I would appreciate someone else's input on this, or if anyone has any advice about encouraging him onto the inverted nipple then that would be welcome too!

DD couldn't stay latched for the first couple of weeks, and nipple shields really helped us. She was able to feed without them within 3 or 4 weeks. I don't know if the problem was the shape of my nipples- the explanations given by the midwives included too small nipples, too big nipples and too flat nipples.

Maybe pump for a minute to get it to poke out first, then try with a shield on?

The kellymom website can be helpful. Don't despair. It's v early days.

this is going to sound crazy, and I'm not suggesting it, but I had the exact same problem. in a haze of craziness re bf and pumping and a bad delivery, I pumped at to high of a level and bled a bit. turns out I untethered the milk ducts and my nipple is no longer inverted! I still used shields on that nipple fora week after his tongue tie was divided, but now he's latching on. so strange.

The engorgement may be the issue not the nipple.

I had this with feeding my daughter, and it took a while (she eventually learnt how to do it) but I remember the first 3 weeks been very difficult. I would hold my breast /nipple for her , almost pinched between my fingers and direct it towards her mouth .... and it was a bit of trial and error. I think that been very engorged will make it more difficult for her to latch, perhaps you can express a bit off as might be easier. I wish I could remember exactly how we did it (there were lots of tears on my behalf!) but after a couple of weeks we both grew in confidence, and I breastfed for a year, after 6-8 weeks it was just a matter of putting her head in the direction of my nipple - but I do sympathise with you as the early days/weeks were difficult.
Nipple shields might be a temporary help (I used them as mine were so sore, but they did affect flow, but might help in the short term)
good luck .....