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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Mouth not opening wide enough - help

10 replies

catwoman75 · 02/05/2008 14:30

Having a few probs adjusting to bf and any advice would be welcome.

I'm trying to bf and sort of managing but dd often falls asleep as soon as she is on the breast and it is often quite hard to get her on at ll due to not opening mouth very wide.

At the hospital they said she had a small mouth and her latch might just take the nipple and not much of the aeriola. Not entirely convinced. I'm trying to get her on when she does a big cry or yawn in a sort of shoving movement as this seems to work best - but it's rather difficult. Then I have a struggle keeping her awake when on the breast. Have tried blowing her face, tickling her toes and changing her nappy half way through but she is obviously a lazy/sleepy feeder.

Help - any suggestions from all of the bf experts out there.

OP posts:
smallwhitecat · 02/05/2008 14:34

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andiem · 02/05/2008 14:35

catwoman I think the key is to try to move very quickly when the mouth is open easier said than done I know there are some good videos here that might help here

kellymom also has good info as well

well done for getting this far the early days can be the hardest

gagarin · 02/05/2008 14:40

Lie her on her side so that her nose in about level with your nipple and then brush her top lip with your nipple - that groove under the nose is where is best!

She should then look up and start opening her mouth and the nipple can then slide in - you hope. Keep practising and she will get better.

kiskideesameanoldmother · 02/05/2008 15:59

strip her down and yourself, do skin to skin contact as much as possible to encourage feeding.

i have large nipples and found that in the early days (with a sleepy baby too) I would 'post' my nipple into her mouth to improve the latch.

fym · 02/05/2008 16:07

gagarin has it - 'tickle' her top lip until she opens her mouth really wide then pop it in....

another tip that helped me is feel in you own mouth where the roof of your mouth becomes soft (very far back sort of level with or even a bit further back than where wisdom teeth are) that is where your nipple should be in her mouth.... I was worried about choking DS but you can also post the nipple in as kiskidee says...

Also undress her she'll be less sleepy if a bit cooler (but obviously not cold)

crimplene · 02/05/2008 16:46

I agree about posting your nipple. I used to squash behind the areola (holding it further back than the substantial part you're trying to get in there) it so it was flatter and a bit more mouth-shaped and then run it down the groove below DS's nose to convince him to open up; then stuff in firmly if/ when he opened wide enough. I still have to flatten my nip for him to latch on confortably even though he's nearly 2 as I have huge norks.

Make sure your DD is tucked in really close and facing you squarely with her head tilted very well back; that will help her open her mouth more.

Don't be afraid to detach and reattach a few times until the latch is reasonable. It's a matter of timing, like picking the right wave to surf and being ready to catch it, so it's better to take your time and tickle/ tease a bit and keep waiting for her to open her mouth really wide and be ready for that moment, quite a bit harder to get a reasonable latch if her mouth really isn't open enough. It does get much easier with a bit more time.

I don't really know if newborns do this, but from quite early on DS would push the nipple forward so he didn't get more milk/ didn't have to work so hard at at when he was drifting off or just comfort sucking. He still does it and he looks like he's puckering up to peck someone on the cheek instead of feeding. Does she have a better technique when you know she's hungry?

Or is there any reason why she might be especially drowsy? (other than being a small baby!) Is she producing a convincing amount of wee?

Pollyanna · 02/05/2008 16:50

my ds2 has a similar problem (he is 3 weeks). I have found that letting him self-attach is a good solution (basically put the baby on your chest and let them crawl to the nipple and latch on themselves), alternatively you have to position the baby so that it has to reach up to your nipple - I find this quite difficult - can you see a breastfeeding counsellor who could help you?

Original poster
catwoman75 · 02/05/2008 17:03

Cheers. Have taken the advice and she just fed for about 35 mins and nipple feels okay now so fingers crossed she is getting the hang of it.

Guess it's just a case of trial and error.

OP posts:
bluegrey · 02/05/2008 21:04

I had trouble with my baby not opening her mouth wide enough and it persisted to a smaller degree until she was 3 months old. I found that when I really couldn't seem to get her mouth to open wide enough, the "traditional / classic" bf position seemed to be foolproof. It's basically where you have your boob in one hand and your other hand under their neck ... a BF counsellor showed me this and I know another friend who had the small-mouth problem with her baby also found this position successful... Good luck.

Original poster
catwoman75 · 03/05/2008 07:09

Yeah, that's the one that seems to be most successful at the moment. Think I'll wait a while before trying anything more adventurous

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