Please help me improve bad latch in 12 month old to get rid of these milk blisters!

[kitpuss]

I've been having ongoing problems with blocked milk ducts and milk blisters for the last 6 months. I finally got to speak to a breastfeeding counsellor face-to-face today, as a new drop in session has opened near me. She told me that DS does not have a great latch, and that is probably what has been causing me all the problems.

I can't believe that's all it is, all the agony I've been through for all these months caused by that!! I just never thought about his latch being a problem after feeding for the first 6 months with no probs.

Anyway, I really tried to do what she said when feeding him tonight about trying to get him to have more of the breast in his mouth, but all that happened is that I had to cut the feed short because his teeth were so tightly clamped down on my breast that it was agony.

Does anyone have any tips on how to make the little blighter open his mouth wider and to keep it open wide while feeding?

I often adjusted the latch on mine by 'stroking' their lips out. This automaticaly makes them suck more breast in. So pull down on the chin for the bottom lip and stroke the top lip up towards the nose. The aim being that both lips are curved out from the boob.

I'm interested to read what replies you get on this, both my dd & ds (who I'm currently feeding) have rather shallow latches & I have never found any ways to improve them. Both mostly do little mouths :-? when I want them to do big ones :-O !! If I get more boob in ds's mouth he just pulls back again.

Really, does no-one else have any ideas??

No matter how wide I get him to open his mouth before he attaches, as soon as he latches on he closes his mouth right up. He also pulls on the nipple and pushes on the breast with his hands so resulting in a nice stretched nipple. I am left with discomfort for a couple of hours after each feed.

I think I need a completely different strategy than with a small baby, he has now just got into bad habits and I just don't know what to do to help stop this.

I think I will just end up stopping feeding if I can't resolve this, and I really wanted to carry on for a few more months, so any help would be gratefully received!!

Stretching the nipple by pushing away was what my DD did - and it is horribly uncomfortable. I think she did it because I have a fierce let down (think Niagra Falls!) so maybe it slowed the flow. Giving her something in her hands for distraction helped - like a nursing necklace or something. Also feeding more frequently so there was less engorgement.

Feeding somewhere quiet and boring was also a good way to focus on the feed only and get it over and done with quickly.

Sorry to hear you are having problems, hope you find a resolution. If your nipples are sore I'd definately reccomend Lansinoh - it's not just for newborn issues.