Colic, Shallow Latch, Confused.

[JustMePlus3]

Looking to see if anyone's had a similar experience..

Currently exclusively breastfeeding my 4 week old daughter & having trouble with latch, she feeds well & regularly, is gaining weight really well, however always 'clicks' when feeding, I breastfed my son and never had this issue,

iv seen many lactation consultants, tried different positions, tried letting down some milk first etc and nothing seems to help, her latch doesn't hurt but due to the colic she had she is often latching on and off throughout feeds and is extremely uncomfortable when trying to pass stool/colicky.

Iv been told her mouth my simply not be able to open wide enough right now and she will get a better latch as she gets bigger, however due to her painful gas I was hoping to resolve this as I'd like her to take less air in when feeding so she is more comfortable throughout the day,

Is this something that can be resolved/helped or do I really just have to wait it out? Like I mentioned above I breastfed my son for 8 months so felt pretty confident that I knew what I was doing and in my technique but I just can't seem to resolve this.

You need to see the breastfeeding support people again because this is not right.

Has she been assessed for tongue tie?

Are you shaping your breast when she latches? With your thumb parallel to her top lip to make it smaller in line with her mouth? If you are already doing that, are you keeping that hold throughout the feed or releasing as soon as she's first on?

@CocoPlum I have to maintain the hold throughout her feed with both hands or she slips on and off due to fussiness/gas, would I go to the gp to have her assessed for tongue tie? It was something I'd mentioned to the midwife but she said it's rare they'll do anything about it anymore especially with her gaining weight so well, just at a bit of a loss as I know her latching correctly would help so much with the colic but nobody else seems to be concerned but I expect that's because they're not having to console her when she's so uncomfortable ☹️

HV, GP or you can go private- look for a tongue tie practitioner in your area. An IBCLC will also be able to refer you but private options = pricey.

In my area, tongue tie division is prioritised for babies who are not gaining weight - but if your baby literally cannot maintain a latch and the gas is making her uncomfortable they need to do something. Without being able to see you feed (am a long term v experienced BF supporter) I would say first thing is contact HV and ask for someone to assess her tongue function.

Sounds very much like tongue tie. Unfortunately NHS is not very good at diagnosing this, especially when the baby is putting on enough weight (FWIW my baby gained “enough” weight with a tongue tie as I had oversupply, but then gained a lot more once TT was cut).

Private trained lactation consultants usually are able to diagnose, and some will also cut it, but it’s ££ to see one. You might get lucky and find a breastfeeding counsellor at a drop in who knows what to look for…