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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Baby won't latch or suck

27 replies

Cheeseandapple · 22/05/2018 22:36

My baby was born on Saturday and has had difficulty feeding since then. She doesn't have tongue tie, midwives checked that in the hospital. Midwives also said I was producing loads of colostrum and my technique was good. She does all the feeding signals but when I put her to my breast she becomes really frustrated and grizzly almost immediately, tries to latch on but only gets a bit in her mouth and then sort of sucks 2-3 times before she cries or occasionally falls into a light sleep.

She's had 1-2 poos a day since we got home on Sunday night so I assumed that the little drips she was getting from my breast would be enough. I'm really worried though because today I read she should be having up to 40 ml per feed, every 3-4 hours. She's had nowhere near this much.

Does anyone have any experience of this? Any advice welcome, I'm desperate to get this right for her.

Thank you

OP posts:
ghosting · 22/05/2018 22:38

Congratulations on your new arrival! Have you had a midwife out to visit you at home? Is she having wet nappies? I would try and get some specialist bf advice ASAP. Is baby properly awake when she latches on?

icclemunchy · 22/05/2018 22:49

I would Suggest getting some specialist bf advice. Do You have la leche league close to you? Or your. Midwife should be able to put you in touch with the infant feeding coordinator. You could also look for a IBCLC (but would likely need to pay for that)

Unfortunately midwives often have very very little bf specific training (as in as little as 2hours worth sometimes!).

In the mean time, bring the baby to the breast often, offer both breasts at every feed. There are some links on the la leche website which are worth a look but nothing beats good face to face support.

www.laleche.org.uk/is-my-baby-getting-enough-milk/

www.laleche.org.uk/unhappy-baby/

Phoenix76 · 22/05/2018 22:49

Congratulations! Bf can be a tricky one. Agree it’s best to either get your home visiting midwife to check the latch, I found they generally had more time than those at the hospital. I’m not sure the 40 ml thing I should right though, sometimes it can take at least a week before your “full flowing” milk comes in. Have to tried squeezing a bit of milk out first to encourage her to take a bigger mouth full? I found sites like Kellymoms particularly helpful and maybe have a look on YouTube for some latch ideas. Definitely ask mw for help or get in touch with local bf support groups.

icclemunchy · 22/05/2018 22:51

Also bare in mind the 30/40mls is. For artificial milk which needs to be fed in those quantities in order for baby to get the nutrition they need. Breast milk is completely different and colostrum especially is very very nutrient dense a little goes a long way. Thats why it's often called liquid gold :)

Reaa · 22/05/2018 22:51

Have you tried pinching your nipple and getting as much in her mouth as possible before she latches on?

Original poster
Cheeseandapple · 22/05/2018 22:56

Thank you @ghosting . We had the midwife visit yesterday. She asked about feeding but didn't seem worried. She's had 2-3 wet nappies today and yesterday (each day) and she's usually fully awake when I try to feed her.

I'm worried she developed breast aversion in the hospital because the (amazing) midwives were really well intentioned but became quite forceful to get her to feed properly within 24 hours, forcing her head to my breast for 20-30 mins a time. When the breastfeeding midwife came to see us she said we shouldn't worry as she probably wasn't hungry yet.

I've got that midwives number so will call her tomorrow.

Thank you

OP posts:
Original poster
Cheeseandapple · 22/05/2018 23:02

Oh wow, thank you so much for all your replies!

So much great advice to make a start with and I'll definitely get on the phone with the midwife tomorrow.

OP posts:
Saturdayselling · 22/05/2018 23:08

How many wet nappies OP?

My first was very sleepy but probably lasted a minute or three each time. I did cup feed her formula as she was hungry and worn out and not sleeping and my milk took 5 days to come in. I successfully breast fed her exclusively after a few of those initial top ups.

Once my milk came in, it was so much easier.

LA Leche are amazing. You can ring them or the National Breastfeeding line.

But as others have said, make sure your midwife comes and checks baby's weight and output is OK. And just keep feeding and feeding and feeding even if it is tiny each time.

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 22/05/2018 23:09

Congratulations. I agree with getting some expert help from LLL or similar. Also don't forget that although bf is natural it is still something both you & baby need to learn to do & as with any skill, it takes time to perfect it.

Saturdayselling · 22/05/2018 23:10

Sorry, cross post!

Haudyerwheesht · 22/05/2018 23:24

You might’ve tried this but how I got my kids to latch on was sort of pointing the nipple just above their top lip and then sort of flicking it under their lip and under their palate.

Original poster
Cheeseandapple · 22/05/2018 23:56

@Saturdayselling that's really reassuring to hear. I've had to give her some formula this evening as she's so hungry and was in tears over it.

Is LLL free? I've heard of them before but not sure what they do/ who they are. Lots of calls to make tomorrow.

My breasts have both gone almost rock hard and sore today - does that mean my milk is coming in? Anything I can do to relieve the pain?

Also wanted to ask whether the shape of my breast or nipple could be a problem? She was fine drinking formula so can suck with no problems but my breasts are suddenly massive but nipples quite flat!

OP posts:
Haudyerwheesht · 23/05/2018 00:02

Try and see if you can hand express some before a feed and it might make it easier to latch on.

Main thing is don’t worry and stress about it. You’re doing fine: honestly I made myself in such a state over breastfeeding and I regret it now.

Mammatron · 23/05/2018 00:07

Have you tried the 'rugby ball' hold? The breastfeeding consultant got me to try this position and if really helped mine latch better. After a few days of doing the rugby ball position my son was able to latch in any position. Hand express some milk out, it will relieve ease some of your pain and also make it easier for her to latch- the fuller they are the harder it is for babba to latch on. Also your nipples will adjust too the more you feed, mine started off fairly flat and ended up looking like a bottle teat by the end of a good feed! Persevere as much as you can and don't feel bad about topping up with formula if you have to!! I really struggled in the first week but by the second week it was vastly improved and a doddle by week 3!

icclemunchy · 23/05/2018 00:09

La leche is completely free. There is a national helpline or you may have a local leader to you who you can call directly. Most leaders run meetings but some will come out to you 1-1 they'll often know where the other local drop ins etc are too. www.laleche.org.uk/call/

Pebblespony · 23/05/2018 00:13

I had to use nipple shields. Couldn't do anyrhing without them. Flat nipples.

FairfaxAikman · 23/05/2018 00:15

DS initially had to be given formula as I was ill immediately after his birth.
Later when I was better he would latch but not suck and was getting very frustrated (he used to wake in full on scream mode - it was like he had a literal on/off switch - there was no warning)

Were it not for a lovely midwife suggesting nipple shields (which in my health board they are not supposed to do) I would have given up. He's now three weeks old and completely breast fed using shields and I plan on weaning him off the shields entirely.

DoubleRamsey · 23/05/2018 04:45

I had the same problem, so what fixes it for us was doing skin on skin (on the advice of midwife) strip baby down to nappy and take your top off and try again. I did this for a few feeds and she got the hang of it and it worked really well

Saturdayselling · 23/05/2018 10:47

Hurrah! Sounds like your milk is in! It should be much easier now.

Saturdayselling · 23/05/2018 10:52

And skin to skin and let the baby root about is great. For my last baby the midwives were much less bothered about me getting positioning right and were encouraging me to let the baby sort the latch out by lying on me.

But just feed loads now that your milk is in. You could squeeze a little bit out to encourage her.

And LLL and the National Breastfeeding Line are free and lovely! So kind when I rang up with the baby blues and a starving baby and couldn't speak for sobbing for the first few minutes!

Saturdayselling · 23/05/2018 10:53

Feeding will help your boobs feel better.

ghosting · 23/05/2018 22:59

How’s it going op?

Original poster
Cheeseandapple · 25/05/2018 03:32

@ghosting we're getting there slowly. Moving over to nipple shields and supplementing with expressed breast milk. We had day 5 midwife home visit yesterday and she'd only lost 5% which was a relief and midwife is going to send the breastfeeding consultant over too.

Thanks again for all your help - who knew milk could be so emotional! 🥛😭

OP posts:
ghosting · 26/05/2018 20:55

That sounds really positive, well done!! BF can be a very emotional journey, but I hope you have turned a corner and things are easier from now on

Original poster
Cheeseandapple · 27/05/2018 08:28

Just wanted to post a final thank you to you all for your supportive replies and suggestions. DD breast fed all day yesterday, had a bottle of expressed milk before we went to bed and slept for hours. Been breast feeding all morning so we've really turned a corner. Thanks again x

OP posts:
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