Struggling so much

[MamaaB]

Hi all
i’m really struggling with breastfeeding DD3 who is 1 day old
I have flat nipples and she did latch on from first feed until last night but since the morning ish she wouldn’t latch onto my right breast and now she won’t latch onto either my right or left and I feel so downtrodden
my husband has given her formula and I have syringe fed her some colostrum also for now
my nipples are so sore already just from when she was latching on (ofc this indicates a not great latch lol but at least it felt like we were doing something!).

I can’t afford an IBCLC but I really really need in person support. I’m in south east London. Does anyone have any ideas or anything from where I can get some help 😢 really struggling.

Does your trust have an infant feeding team? Can you call the midwives today and ask to be referred for support?

If the baby isn't latching the main thing is to hand express/start expressing and keep the milk flowing so your supply establishes. You can cup or syringe feed right now as she only needs small amounts.

Also look up the sandwich technique, it's great for flat nipples.

Did you have issues breastfeeding your previous babies?

Give your midwife or health visitor a call OP! I know in my area there are support teams for breastfeeding so someone can come to you or you can pop in to see them to get support with latch, assuming there will be similar everywhere or at least something to try?

I know I also had my midwife come at 2 days old and she helped me with my latch herself at the time so if you also have a 2 day visit that may be a good time to mention it x

I have flat nipples and could only feed my DD using nipples shields. Might be worth a try?

@renthead

So - yes and no (?). I was with Kings college hospital for antenatal and birth who do have an infant feeding team, but for my postpartum care I'm with guys&st thomas because I'm no longer in Kings catchment area for postnatal care (I've only been moved recently by the council 2 months ago).

The midwife came to visit yesterday but she was one of those midwives who don't really know much about breastfeeding themselves either lol and her watching a feed meant sitting across the room from me watching () rather than seeing exactly how I'm holding baby etc.

I did struggle with my other two yes! So this isn't surprising or new in that sense. With my first I combi fed her, and when I would BF I would use nipple shields as my nipples were inverted at that time and that worked great and I used them till she was 10/11mo when she self weaned off boob as a whole.

With my second I had flat nipples at this point as DD1 kinda pulled them out a bit lol and I somehow managed to EBF her for around 16 months I think, she never took to a bottle and BF was painful for literally 4.5 months and idk how on earth I somehow powered through that.

With DD3 thankfully I've managed to latch her onto my left breast for the past day now but she isn't having it on my right, maybe because that's the flatter side? But even my left is quite flat so I'm not sure. Although I am trying the sandwich technique and attempting all the things to get a good latch (chin first, wide mouth, bringing her to breast, etc)

@Mrsttcno1 thank you lovely for your help. A midwife did come over yesterday and unfortunately she was as useful as a chocolate teapot 🤣 she was lovely but just not trained much in breastfeeding (as most aren't!)

I've managed to find a IBCLC near me who is so very kindly willing to give me a discounted price for a home visit due to my low income so hopefully that will help me out loads! She is coming on Tuesday so I just need to get through one more day and night

@muddlingthrou thank you for your reply
Ah yes I could only feed DD1 with shields as well and that worked great

Atm I'm not sure if shields would help because colostrum is too thick to move through the shield but my mature milk is coming in now so I could get some and give them a try but I do really want to breastfeed without them this time too! I've managed to get a home visit for tomorrow (Tuesday) with an IBCLC so I'm praying that helps

You should have been given details of your local infant feeding support clinic with your discharge notes. There is one at Selhurst Children's Centre on Wednesday afternoons at 2pm if that is anywhere near you

Lansinoh do a tool that pulls your nipples out, which you can use before a feed to encouragevthem a bit. Nipple shields did the job in my case, butncouldnbe another option to avoid sterilizing and the faff of shields. Just using your fingers can help too.

I was the same when I had my child many years ago. I was told to bottle feed, which was disappointing to say the least. His blood sugar level had dropped and I felt I had no choice to follow their advice. I hope you get better support and you can feed your baby however you want to. Good luck with the specialist. 🌺

Thank you all so much for your help. I am so so grateful and pleased to say that we did figure it out, I did manage to see an IBCLC who very kindly discounted her services for me due to my low income/benefits. And now at 6 weeks I am exclusively breastfeeding once again and it is MUCH easier than it was when I was EBF DD2. I can't believe this time around how quickly I got the hang of it compared to last time. Thank you all so much for your replies and support