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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Latching help needed please!

39 replies

RGPargy · 08/12/2007 15:23

Hello oh wise women of the BF boards!!!

I was wondered if anyone could help me with my latch please? DD (3 days old) is very happy with BF and i have even conquered her favouring one side over the last few feeds. However, I really dont think she is latched correctly. She has given me a lovebite on my right boob which indicates to me that she's too high up on my boob to be latched correctly. Plus i can feel that her bottom jaw needs to be lower under my nipple when she sucks. Thankfully i'm not sore (yet!) but i can feel that it's just not right.

I've looked online and understand about waiting for her mouth to be nice and wide, then bringing her towards the breast. I have also read that you have to make sure both lips are curled outwards (IYKWIM) around the areola. However, my norkage are quite big (not through engorgement) and i cant see her bottom lip/chin to be able to judge her positioning on me.

Can anyone of you lovely BF counsellor ladies give me any pointers as to what to do to improve latch? She feeds for at least 30 mins now but is suffering from colic too and i'm wondering if her excess wind is also due to a poor latch.

Any help would be great.

TIA!

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BrandyButterGalore · 08/12/2007 15:28

ahhhhh

congrats.

just making sure you know you can call one of the bf'ing helplines and find a local counsellor who you can either go and see, or perhaps they could come to you. is maybe easier to sort this in person.

but hope you fond the answers you need here as would be even easier to know right now, eh?

Original poster
RGPargy · 08/12/2007 15:43

Thanx Brandy! I will call someone on Monday to get personal help, but just wanted to see if i could sort it (or semi-sort it) before then. I would hate for my DD to be not getting enough food, although i'm sure she would soon let me know if she was hungry!!!

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tiktok · 08/12/2007 15:46

Have you thought abot self-attachment, RG? Just placing your baby downwards (feet towards your feet) as you lie back, with her in between your breasts, slightly underneath them...babies respond to this by getting themselves on as it elicits instinctive behaviour. It's great for learner mothers and babies

Original poster
RGPargy · 08/12/2007 15:49

Oh that's called breast crawling or something isn't it? I had thought about it but my boobs fall to the sides. Surely she'd fall off, wouldn't she?!!!

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BrandyButterGalore · 08/12/2007 15:50

fwiw - it sounds liek youre doing a fab job.

i am v reluctant to give advice as im not a trained counsellor so please disregard if doesnt feel relevent.

if you want to make sure her mouth is open wide enough, you can coax it open by stroking the cheek with the nipple, squeezing a little milk out and wetting her lips or the nipple, and wait until she gets her gob really wide open... then kind of shove her on. sounds a little alarming, but thats what i was shown

also - you can wait till monday of you wish, but do know that you can call a counsellor any time 24/7 if you are in real difficulty. its the middle of the night crises which really used to upset me... maybe get the numbers together and have them handy for moments of need.

BrandyButterGalore · 08/12/2007 15:52

gosh tiktok, that sounds wonderful. does it only work when they are v new then?

Original poster
RGPargy · 08/12/2007 15:53

Thanx Brandy. She's good at opening her mouth wide, i do just think it's my positioning. I didn't realise that you could call someone 24/7 although if i want to see someone personally then i should imagine they wouldn't be open til Monday??

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EdieMcredie · 08/12/2007 15:55

Which positions have you tried? This happened to me resulting in baby making my nipple a strange shape. I still have some problems but my favourte position for being able to sort latch is lying side by side. I put pillow on sofa with it lying horizontal next to arm (of sofa) and me and baby lie on pillow (without it she was rolling into me). It's also great for being able to get a good view of what's going on and im guessing good for larger breasts too as the pillow is taking weight and you can direct breast into her mouth. Is she opening her mouth wide enough?

BrandyButterGalore · 08/12/2007 15:55

well, they are usually volunteers who give up their time for nothing, working around family and work commitments... doing shifts iyswim. so there shopuld always be someoen on the end of a phone, and a local person will always try to see you within a day or so... ime.

EdieMcredie · 08/12/2007 15:57

...If not can MW come and help you?

BrandyButterGalore · 08/12/2007 15:59

www.nct.org.uk/breastfeeding/phone.html

www.laleche.org.uk/

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/

abm.me.uk/website/index.htm

all the above have helplines. worth a quick look thru the sites and noting the numbers down for middle of night crises.

EdieMcredie · 08/12/2007 16:08

Sorry-my post sounds quite complex. I mean side by side lying down, then just work it how you have to for comfort. It's lovely and restful.

BrandyButterGalore · 08/12/2007 16:12

i agree edie. i used to loooove feeding lying down (in bed for me)

EdieMcredie · 08/12/2007 16:16

Yes I started off doing it in bed. But because she likes to graze in evening (don't they all) I find it's just easier to lie down and let her get on with it. She goes off and on and I just stay there. Watch TV, read, chat etc. Get DP to bring me food and drink!

Original poster
RGPargy · 08/12/2007 16:23

Thanx Edie and Brandy!

My MW is coming out on Monday so i will mention it to her. A different one came out yesterday and we tried to get Ellie to latch while i was laying on the sofa but Ellie was getting hysterical so we gave up and stuck her on the right boob instead lol. DP is going back to work on Monday so maybe i will practice the sofa method then.

OP posts:
EdieMcredie · 08/12/2007 16:46

It's easy to give up. We are trying to get my 3 month old to take a bottle and it's torture.

Original poster
RGPargy · 08/12/2007 16:58

Thankfully i have no intention of giving up as i love feeding her!

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EdieMcredie · 08/12/2007 17:41

No I meant with the latching on thing! You said 'we gave up and stuck her on right boob'. I remember doing this so many times-plus they get so annoyed it's not worth it in end. It's the same with my problem at the moment. We try her with bottle and I say 'im not going to feed her'. Then she starts really crying and I can't do it anymore!

You sound like you are doing really well and you will get over this im sure xx

tiktok · 09/12/2007 18:36

Not all the helplines are available for middle of the night crises - NCT's isn't, and BfN's isn't, and I'm not sure abut LLL and ABM.

I am from NCT. We have to protect our volunteers, all of whom have their own families, and many of whom have small babies at any one time. Helplines are great, but they are best not seen as an emergency service and we cannot undertake to visit people either - we often do, but most of the work is done on the phone and not in the middle of the night, thankfully

Self-attachment with breasts that fall to the side is not a difficult challenge - self-attachment does not mean you don't help the baby at all, and an arm, or a hand, at the side of the breast to prevent it falling to the side is perfectly ok

EdieMcredie · 10/12/2007 09:44

Hopefully MW will be of some help today. Mine was great

EdieMcredie · 10/12/2007 19:16

How is it going RGPargy?

Original poster
RGPargy · 12/12/2007 09:00

Morning

It's not going too well i'm afraid. I've just got through night number 3 of feeding every half hour, each feed lasting for about half hour too. I'm exhausted and very tearful!! I have concluded that she cant be getting enough milk at any one feed because she is not latched correctly. Having said that, she does sleep for 2-3 hours during the day, it's just at night that she is constantly feeding! The MW i spoke to yesterday told me how i should be feeding but no one's actually showed me how to latch properly and i've pretty much been left to it. The MW on Monday observed DD feeding and said that it was fine but if that were the case, she wouldn't be keeping me up for 3 nights on the trot being constantly hungry...... would she?!!

OP posts:
EdieMcredie · 12/12/2007 09:23

Im certainly no expert but Millie was the same at her age and I think many are. It seems a lifetime ago now but she sleeps at the moment from 10pm til about 8am in the morning so the hard work can pay off! In the early days I was feeding most of the night like you.

Did you try self-attachment?

I found BFing particularly difficult when DP went back to work. Hell, I found everything difficult back then!

I remember having an awful time and so nearly reached for formula so many times. I also cried down the phone at various counsellors! You will get through this, you are obviously so determined which is great.

EdieMcredie · 12/12/2007 09:25

Also, although it doesn't feel like it, it can be a good thing that she is suckling all that time in the night as your bady is learning how much milk she needs and will only do this by her sucking

Original poster
RGPargy · 12/12/2007 09:34

Thanx Edie. Why doesn't she do this during the day too tho? This is what i dont understand!

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