Sore nipples 12 weeks in! Help!

[ellideb]

I'm still experiencing problems with latch with my 12 week old son and its driving me bananas as my nipples are sore and I think it's high time we cracked this breast feeding malarky so please can someone help us.

His latch on my left nipple is generally fine, it's the left that is never right. He always closes his mouth down after latching on so he just ends up sucking my nipple. I try and try but just give up in the end and let him carry on.

The other problem I have is when he wants to suck for comfort, he will just want to suck on my nipple and no matter how many times I try to get him to latch on he just makes his mouth close onto my nipple!

I've spoken to the health visitor about it and she demonstrated with a doll and a fake nipple, and recommended the rugby ball hold but my son weighs 15lbs FGS I cannot hold him in that position for long and I much prefer the cradle hold. I've scoured Kellymom website, watched the videos and know the theory off by heart but we still can't get it right.

I'm at my wits end and hvae arranged a visit with the local breast feeding councillor but she is very elusive and God knows when I'll get an appointmnet with her. Can anyone give me some advice on this please or has anyone experienced the same problems?

i would persevere with tracking down a BFC. I found when having troubles with both my babies that although the advice I got online was spot on, nothing really helped like having someone there, watching me and telling me how to make it better.
sometimes it can be the tiniest thing that can make the difference.

has your son been checked for tongue tie?

Thats what I'm holding out for, I'm hoping its something small that I'm doing wrong that she can point out with her expert eye that I'm just not seeing. He hasn't been checked for tongue tie I don't think but from what I can see it doesn't seem to be affected.

What was the problem you had, if you don't mind sharing?

both mine were tongue tied. with ds1 no-one checked and we had painful feeding for abnout 4.5 months before I gave up. he was also a breast refuser though and very reluctant to breastfeed at all

ds2's was picked up when he was a couple of days old and snipped within 3 weeks. after it was done the feeding was better but I was still sore.
saw a BFC in person and she said, hmm, just try turning him more towards you when you feed, so his tummy is up against yours.

it worked! he was just twisted around too much and pulling on the nipple as he fed. twas a simple as that and we're still feeding 13 months later

deb - if you cannot get hold of a local BFC go to a BF group. In most areas there should be some that run at least once a week.

Good luck.

beware going to a bf group though, ther emay not necessarily be a BFC there.
our local BF cafe is run by peer supporters, all of whom are lovely and quite knowledgable, but not the same as a proper BFC

sorry you are having so much trouble, I think seeing a breastfeeding councellor (or a breastfeeding peer supporter who are for the record the same thing) is the way forward, there couldbe some tiny adjustment to the way you position him that you just cant see yourself.
personally I would advise to take him off everytime he isnt latched properly or just nipple sucking and start again, i know that can be tiresome but it will get the results in the end and cause you a lot less pain.
Did I mention that a breastfeeding peer supprter and a bf councellor are the same thing.

peer supporter and breastfeeding counsellor are NOT the same thing.

to train as a peer supporter is usually a course of around 10 weeks or so (the LLL based one is)

most BFC's train for around 2-3 YEARS and get a diploma at the end of it.

very different things.

my DS had a "non-visible" partial tongue-tie that was found by my BFC/lactation expert running her finger around under his tongue. I kept asking about it because DH has a tongue-tie and I know it can be passed on. DS had it snipped at ~3wo and it did make a big difference, even though the consultant didn't think it would necessarily.

My visiting MW (senior and also a lactation expert) wanted to watch us feeding, and she made the referral to the consultant on the basis of what she saw.

In terms of cracked nipples, a friend of mine made me a herbal ointment which was WONDERFUL! Her details can be found here.

Ok I apologise, however I think you will find that breastfeeding peer supporters are very experienced and will have done an awful lot more than just 10weeks training, experienced helping with many problems and possibly be a lot more available.

i am not saying they aren't experienced. but they generally are just trained to offer support to bf mothers.

the LLL peer supporter program is 12 2/5 hr sessions of training.
i just looked it up.
the bfc course takes around 2-3 years as I say. as does the NCT course and ABM.
they are a LOT more in depth.

am sure there will be more people along in a bit who can better explain the differences.

I am a bf peer supporter, we recieve constant on going training about all issues to do with breastfeeding and I have 4 years experience. I have been doing this voluntary for 4 years and have an interview tommorow to take a full time paid role doing the exact same role.
I find that most of the lerning involved in this role comes from hands on experience and me and my colleages have an awful lot of that, there is a lot more to the role than serving the tea at the breastfeeding cafe.

have you tried positioning the breast before you put him on? hold the areola between finger and thumb, tip the nipple up aiming for the roof of his mouth...i think its called exaggerated attatchment. could try googling. have you tried la leche league? can HV drop in to see you/you get to her? ive heard that carrot juice helps with the soreness. grate a carrot into a thin muslin, just put it in your bra. hats off to you for keeping going with it....15lb, hes getting something! i found a breastfeeding cushion really helped too, raising baby to optimum position. best of luck

I realise this xmasstocking, I am not saying that a peer supporter is not a fab source of support for a breastfeeding mum.
just that an actual BFC will have a lot more in depth knowledge of all aspects of breastfeeding, that's all.

Thanks for al your replies everyone, an appointment for the BFC came through the other day but it was her only appointmnet until feb, 9.30 next thurs morning about 40 miles away in her clinic! it's unbeleivable! I will try as txsmod suggested and relatch him until he 'gets' it and I have tried something similar to what you have suggested moonincancer it is easier to do when I am nursing him lying down and I do find it is gentler on my old nipples.

I'm off to grate me some carrots now and hope for the best!

another question though, and maybe I am just a worry wart but he only feeds for 4-7 minutes at a time, every 2-3 hours, is this enough? Well as you've pointed out moonincancer, he is quite some weight! Maybe he is just a very efficient boobaholic!