Latching help needed please!

[RGPargy]

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!

Im not sure but I remember me and DP wondering the exact same thing. We used to say we wouldn't mind her feeding all day long if we just got a bit of sleep!

They don't know night/day this age I guess. It will come right, you are doing the right thing by just going with it. Does she co-sleep?

I remeber one particularly bad evening when she was about a week old. She had been feeding for about 3-4 hours and didn't seem to be getting any milk. She couldn't settle. I decided to stay downstairs with her all night and just have her on my breast sucking pretty much constantly. It paid off, my supply now is great and on the odd occasion she does wake in the night for a feed, she only has to be on for about 10 mins and she is full again

Yeah i know they do get night and day mixed up, which is understandable! She doesn't co-sleep because i'm terrified i will squash her in my sleep but she does have her little moses basket at the end of the bed in our room.

As for staying downstairs with her, i've done this for the last two nights already and will also do it tonight (dont want to get infected with DP's chicken pox!). I know it will ease off but it's pretty soul destroying when you're doing your best for your DCs but things dont appear to be going right!

Still no poo since Saturday morning either. It's day 4 now!

It is soul destroying. But I promise it will get better.

Did the MW say anything about the poo?

i have to call her today and she'll come to weigh her.

I will keep this bumped for BFing counsellors. Meanwhile Jack Newman's videos can be helpful for sorting latch.

Thanx Edie. I have seen Jack Newman's stuff and they are very good. I still dont know if it's my latch or if Ellie just isn't a pooey baby. I'm waiting for the mw to turn up now as they said that if they weigh her and she's not lost any more weight, then they will not worry at all but if she has lost alot of weight then they will want to get her fluid levels up "one way or another".

Feeding checked, all fine. Weight checked, all fine (40g increase in 2 days) so i'm doing it all correctly!

Oh well done Im so pleased. So now it's just getting through these nights you have to concentrate on

But remember, it will get better, with any luck soon enough she will be sleeping through like mine does most nights xx

Thanx Edie. Just knowing that i'm feeding her correctly and she is gaining weight and (finally) pooing is enough to make me more relaxed about it all. Sleep deprivation is a nightmare for making you worry!

Thanx for your support - you've been a star.

just seen your thread - DS1 was exclusively breastfed - he poo'd quite alot until the meconium had finished then about every 3rd day for ages.
Good to hear she has put on weight - When you posted originaly was your milk in? is it now?
the colostrum that they get in the first few days is such superfood that the smallest quantity is brilliant.

Sounds like you are doing really well!!

Thanx Jen. Yes my milk was in at the time of posting. She's a little cracker and i'm soooooo proud for BF her!!

You should be. How do you feel your latch is now? Are you sore? Over the past couple of days mine has been pretty bad on the right side. Might ring HV at some point. Keep in touch xx

Hi Edie

I know that my latch is and always has been absolutely fine. It was checked and re-checked by a competent MW. I think i'd convinced myself that it was meant to be sore first before it got better and the fact that i've never BF before and only had MN for guidance, plus a couple of videos i've seen, i just thought i must be doing it wrong.

It just goes to show that MN is a wonderful place as i wouldn't have found any of that info out if it weren't for coming on here!!

But in answer to your question, no i'm not sore at all, thankfully! Hope you sort your soreness out - how annoying!! x

Sounds like you did well to get it sorted quickly and on your own!

Good luck x