latching on help needed.

10 replies

karen01 · 25/06/2004 23:54

Hi DS is a week old and still will not latch onto the breast I have tried everyday with nearly every feed. I am expressing almost everyfeed for him at the mo but this is very time consming and DD is feeling a bit left out/ neglected ( she is 7.5 yrs old), (which is going to get worse come wednesday when DH has to go back over seas to work till August when we will join him)
I have tried using shields also, he does prefer breast milk to formula but no matter how hungry he is he just screams when I try to get him on and becomes hysterical. I had the same trouble with DD so expressed for 3-4 weeks with her but put this down to her been born at 36wks and was small and boobs v.v.v.big.

Can anyone offer me any advice as i would really love for DS to latch on and feed that way.
Thanks in advance and hope you can help.

OP posts:

Poppy1978 · 26/06/2004 00:10

Hi,
Soemtimes anything is worth a try. My first wouldn't latch on in an acros the body position, i ahd to support her on a cusion in a rugby type hold with a body curved around my side. Or, in bed, with us laying side by side. She got the hang of this then after a few weeks i could feed her the normal way.

suedonim · 26/06/2004 00:10

Karen, I don't have experience of this but there might be something on this thread to help, at least until someone more knowledgable than me reads this thread in the morning and posts. Good luck.

kbaby · 26/06/2004 14:53

Is there a breast feeding counsellor at your local hospital. We have one at ours and when we were having problems I visited her and it was excellant. It was much better for her to actually see what I was doing and help me correct it. I also agree with the below that a rugby hold may be better as I think its easier for babies to latch on if your bigger breasted..

twiglett · 26/06/2004 14:56

message withdrawn

eddm · 26/06/2004 15:12

Agree re b/f counsellor, kbaby's right, someone who can actually show you physically what to do and see what is happening with your baby is better than all the advice in the world. I got mine through my HV, hope you can find someone similar.
In the meantime, correct position is suppose to be 'tummy to mummy' so baby is on his side with a straight neck (don't let him turn his head round to get at you) and 'nose to nipple' so they open their mouths nice and wide. Rugby ball hold described by Poppy is supposed to be good if you are well endowed although I personally didn't find it particularly helpful.
Also try: LaLecheLeague
And NCT
both organisations have breastfeeding helplines with trained counsellors and may be able to find a counsellor who could visit you.
HTH

tiktok · 26/06/2004 16:01

karen - the sort of situation you're describing is often consistent with a history of some manhandling of baby and breast in the hospital.....this is a well-meant attempt to get the baby on, but the result can be that it turns the baby off, if you see what I mean.

Babies like this need to be lured back to the breast with gentle, relaxed and soothing skin to skin contact, co-bathing and co-sleeping. Give EBM in a bottle or cup so you know he is well-nourished and just keep him next to you, not even attempting to feed if it looks like a struggle...let him come to the breast on his terms as he shows he has forgotten the 'pushy' stuff.

Does this sound as if it might work?

Original poster

karen01 · 27/06/2004 01:34

Tiktok- with both DD and ds I have felt that it is the manhandling (quite rough) off others that has put baby of the breast but I thought it was in my head. I am going to try skin to skin again then if nothing I think I may go to the bf clinic at the hospital on tuesday. He is enjoying the bottles and does prefer ebm to formula.

Thanks everyone for your replies it is much appreciated.

OP posts:

tiktok · 27/06/2004 13:00

Not in your head at all, Karen - please tell them at the breastfeeding clinic about your experiences. They need to know that what seems to staff to be a firm and decisive 'push' of the baby on the breast feels to the baby (and often the mother) like an invasion.

Some babies don't like it - and I can understand them

There is hardly ever any need for someone other than the mother to hold or even touch the breast or the baby.

JulieF · 27/06/2004 23:12

Hi Karen, I don't want to repeat myself as most of it is on the other thread and tiktok has given great advice but one thing babies hate is having their heads held. Make sure that you are just supporting the back of his neck but not holding his head or pushing it on to the breast.

I understand about your dd being a bit neglected (I felt the same with my 2 years old) but she is likely to feel a bit like that no matter how you feed with a new baby. Maybe try seeing if she will come and sit next to you and read to you whilst you are feeding/expressing and devote some time to her when the baby is asleep.

One position I found helpful was a hold they sometimed use with prem babies. I hope I'm not going to be too bad at trying to describe this or someone like tiktok will recognise what I am trying to say but I brought ds to the breast from underneath me, either between my legs or to the side. I supported his bottom with one hand and his neck with the other. He remained almost vertical during a feed.

SofiaAmes · 27/06/2004 23:55

I had an emergency cs with my first who latched on with no problem at all, but his favorite position was me on my back with him draped across my chest spreadeagled over one breast and face down on the one that he was feeding from. Since I couldn't sit up this was quite convenient for me. I fed like this for many months before he just became too heavy. This position involves lots of skin to skin and lets the baby sort of squirm into position on their own. It might be worth trying with yours if he's a little freaked out from being pushed around by strange hands and wants to find the breast on his own.

Flip