Problems getting my baby latched on.

[cracknips]

Can anyone give me advice on ways to get my daughter to latch onto my breast.
My nipples both have cracks and are very sore, with feeding becoming a real battle.
Baby is 8 days old and I really need advice as I don,t want to put her on the bottle.

Swapping hands worked for me. Hold baby's head with the hand the same side as the boob you're feeding from (left hand for left boob etc) and use opposite hand to squish boob from the top and bottom till it is as flat/narrow as you can manage Nipple should end up as a long oval aligned with your baby's mouth - imagine the way you would fit an ice lolly in your own mouth!

She should be able to get a good mouthfull this way with most of the coloured bit of your nipple in her mouth.

Once she's on, swap hands back so you're more comfortable.

I hope that at least made a little sense! I remember being quite shocked at how rough the midwives wanted me to be with my boobs but the squishing really did help DS get latched on well.

Let me know if it's all gobbledygook and I will try explaining again...

cracknips it took ds 5 days to latch on and then his position was not good and i got cracks too. it is really horrible but can be overcome, i went on to feed ds no problems.

has midwife been any help? or have you tried to ring a breastfeeding counsellor? also you could google biological nursing positions but i think you need some real life help here.

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time. Plenty of air and some Lanoish will help your nipples heal. Can you get a breast feeding counciller to come and see you? That would be ideal.

In the mean time it would be well worth your while trying biological nurturing - basically it's lying reclined, putting the baby on your tummy and letting her find her way and latch on herself. Babies usually latch really well this way.

Have a look at this film, this leaflet is handy too.

ah thank you norktastic, nurturing not nursing (although you'd probably get some american results there)

This is actually a much better film.

I second the recommendation to get a midwife out to you - they should still do that until day 10 or 11, just phone the hospital (you should have a phone number for the midwives office/labour ward)

This is a good video.

Give it a look.

If it's really not going well speak to your midwife or HV, don't give up!