help need to find bf counsellor or lactation consultant

[greeneyed]

hi there

I am so close to changing to formula but I really don't want too. My LO is 4 weeks 5 days and feeding is is so painful. also he is feeding every two hours for up to an hour. I am fed up and exhausted and not sure how long I can continue. I am fairly sure we have latch problems especially with one breast. the nipple goes pointed and sometimes blanched. every morning that breast is swollen under the nipple my boobs are gigantic (34K) and the nipple is quite flat so it is like trying to latch on to a balloon he has been ebf until this last week when he has had a couple of bottles of ebm and a couple of formula to give my nipple a rest once a day and also because I have terrible toothache and I need him to be able to take a bottle so I can go to the dentist tomorrow.

there is a breastfeeding cafe near me but I am not sure I would feel comfortable going there. I would like to find a lactation consultant who I could see 1 on 1. I don't want to call the nct bf counsellor - any ideas where else I would find someone - many thabks

where are you?
why don't you want to call your nct bf person? (I assume you mean your local one)

you could try your local la leche?

Where are you?

I went to a breastfeeding drop-in at my local childrens centre/surestart centre and they were very good indeed - have you got on of these near you - they see you 1-1 for however long you need.

Hi

I found a lactation consultant here www.lcgb.org/ . Quite pricey and TBH could have saved myself a lot of money if I'd known who my NCT counsellor was.

What was good is that she came and spent three hours with me 1 - 2 - 1. Although our nct lady will also visit you at home.

thanks everyone. I am in Leeds. I may call nct lady it is nothing personal at all but during our nct breastfeeding session I wasn't too keen on the approach. rather than practicle tips and advice the focus was more on convincing us to bf (we were going to anyway that's why we were there) and scaremongering about bottlefeeding. I am looking for support but don't want to feel like a child abuser if in the end I don't manage to continue with BF

baby cafe is this place to go!

check if there is one in your area. they usually have a breastfeeding counsellor and/or lactation consultants

I go to one which is absolutely fantastic. although it's a group thing you do get to see a lactation consultant 1-2-1. they generally have a private area where you can go to talk and she can watch you feed. it isn#t all out in the open.

either that or call your local la leche league

greenneyed, has he been checked for tongue tie?
also, for the short term, if you can hand express a little off before you try and latdch him on then the breast won't be so engorged and hard for him to get on and hopefully you'll get a better latch

thankyou - no he hasn't been checked. am struggling with expressing too as it still hurts and when I am engorged is usually five in the moring so I can't summon the energy to try it. Blimey I sound so negative don't I think being so tired zaps your motivation but I do want to BF and I was enjoying it for the first week until it started really hurting so I must get off my backside and try everytjing I can. I will go to cafe this week xx

Hi,

I'm no expert but there may be some useful info here:
www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/nipple-blanching.html

Hope you get to see someone soon.

I know just how awful everything gets when you're that tired. You're doing a great job, though!

If you can't get a private BF consultant or a LLL one, do reconsider trying the NCT helpline or better still, ring your local branch and see if there's someone local who can come out to you. There's a branch finder on the national site. The official NCT policy certainly isn't to bully you into continuing to BF - a counsellor will be specially trained to listen to you and to assess the way you and your baby are feeding, and so suggest ways to improve matters.

I wonder if this list of groups might be useful to you? Most have contact numbers you can call, and they would most likely know about experts who are local to you. I don't think anyone has mentioned the other 2 major national breastfeeding charities: the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers and the Breastfeeding Network. Both run their own helplines, but also they jointly run the National Breastfeeding Helpline on behalf of the Department of Health. The number is 0300 100 0212. If you call then someone will be able to put you in touch with the nearest ABM Breastfeeding Counsellor or BfN Supporter. Calls from landlines are routed to the closest available volunteer geographically.

Mostsupport groups are run very informally, and the experts running them will take time to speak 1-2-1 with each person that comes -it's not like a class or group therapy . If you need more privacy then in my experience volunteers are good at tucking you away in a quiet corner or separate area/room. Usually groups provide refreshments and are very welcoming. I'd encourage to give your local one a go.

THANK YOU

thanks everyone went to baby cafe saw hv and nct bf lady. it was helpful he does have tounge tie. x

Glad you managed to get to see them. Just having answers sometimes helps.

I don't know anything about tongue tie. Is it something that you can work around / do something about?

greeneyed, glad you went to the cafe.

do you have a plan of action for the TT now? have they shown you ways to improve his latch?
and are you getting a referral to have it snipped?

yes and yes - I am going to counsellors house tomorrow to practice techniques and I am seeing GP this aft to see if it would be beneficial to have him snipped xx

excellent. my eldest 2 both had tongue tie. eldest wasn't snipped and i gave up BF as a result.
second was snipped at 3 weeks and it was immediately better feeding him and we carried on until he weaned at 16 months!

it's definitely worth doing. if it's causing problems feeding then of course it's beneficial to have it done