Help! One side is great, the other is crap

[jabberwocky]

Ds2 hasn't wanted to take the right side from the start. While I was in the hospital I had visits with the lactation consultants every day. The day my milk came in we got him to take that side with a nipple shield (nipple is a bit flatter than the other) and I thought things would be fine.

After a week or so I started trying to get him to latch on without the shield and more and more he will do so.

Now he is 2 1/2 weeks old and in the last couple of days the pain on my right side has been almost unbearable when he latches on. The nipple on the left is a little sore, but it's nothing like the right. Also, the right side is sore to just pasr the areola. It is sore to the touch unlike the slight sensitivity on the left.

I've been using lansinoh and yesterday started those gel soother pads which help a little. I had mastitis with ds1 and am hoping I'm not starting down that road again. This seems different though.

Any ideas or suggestions gratefully received.

jabber

ps It's 3:00 am here and lo just fell back asleep so will be checking in again in a few hours

Lay him on his back on the floor and see if he lays with his head facing one way rather than the other, and try turning his head the non-preferred way.

Both of mine had neck problems which caused them pain whilst feeding and made them latch on badly - we went to the chiropractor with them both and feeding got better after just a couple of sessions.

I was lucky in some ways - DS had exactly the same problem as DD so I could spot it just a couple of days in, and fix it much earlier.

I had similar problems - he wouldn't latch properly as nipple is quite flat compared to other side and the bottom of my nipple got really rubbed by his tongue. I find using breast pump and/or pulling out the nipple a bit before feeding helps as makes the nipple stick out more and easier to latch on to.
It also gets easier as they grow and their mouths get bigger.
HTH

I had wondered about the size of ds's mouth. He's a preemie, so getting a good latch is tricky even on my "good" side.

Very interesting about the head turning. Will have to check that out.