Really struggling with four day old

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Hello, DS3 was born on Thursday weighing 8lb3oz.

My milk is coming in with a vengence and I am struggling. My nipples are bleeding, he feeds for ages and clearly the latch is wrong, but where is my first stop for help please?

The midwife came yesterday and I told her I was struggling, she didn't look at my boobs or watch him feed even though he was crying for one when she left. She told me just to re-attach him when it hurts, but I can't see how I can do that constantly when it hurts whichever way.

My right boob feels much better overnight and he had a comfortable feed from it, but I cannot get the same from the left.

Would a nipple sheild help do you think? What about expressing from the left for just a couple of days and feeding from the right only? Is that bad?

Really sorry for garbled post, am typing quickly as he is starting to stir.

Thank you.

Call le leche league and finda breastfeeding counsellor locally to come and give you a hand - keep the faith though - it is just a learned art and you just need someone to show you the ropes

and many congratulations on the birth of your son

Congratulations! You're doing a great job I agree with tartyhighheels call le leche league, they helped me so much in the early days. Have you got any lansinoh nipple cream, this is fantastic for healing so once you get the latch sorted your nipples will recover quickly. It can be a bit of a hard slog in the early days but once it falls into place it's well worth the effort - keep at it! and good luck

Ok - well midwife sounds useless. Can you ask her to send whoever they've got who is specially trained to support breastfeeding women - or call the NCT or LaLecheleague for advice?

From my own experience I would say though that nipples do bleed a bit. They've basically never had to do anything, just sit their in cosy cotton and now you're subjecting them to something akin to an industrial hoover! It's not surprising if they feel the strain a bit. Again ime once they've 'toughend up' they will stop hurting if your latch is ok. Feeding for a long time isn't necessarily indicative of a problem. Dd1 fed for 45-minutes to an hour until she was 3 months when she suddenly started taking 1/2 the time.
It is hard to get them on the boob when you're milk is coming in but persevere and just keep offering, the boob will feeel quite hard and heavy if you go too long between feeds so I think little and often. You cannot overfeed him and your supply will sort itself out in a day or two when he finds a rhythm. YOur job for this week is to sit and feed and sleep NOTHING else. Good luck

Oh dear....midwife could have helped a bit more It's possible she was running late for other mothers?

I think you need real life help from someone who knows how to help - another midwife, perhaps? Be assertive, 'I would really like you to watch me latch him on because I'm finding it very painful'.

Sadly, you can't assume there is a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor in your area - there are only a few hundred of us round the whole of the UK and none of us can promise to be available straight away though we do our best

At this stage, where you need good help now, in person, your best bet is a midwife.

Thanks for replies. We are not due another midwife visit today, but I think I will phone and request one and state the reason why.

I think the midwife yesterday was running late.

How long should I leave him on each breast for? He has just fed practically none stop for two hours, I can hear him swallowing milk so I assume he is getting some. I am generally swapping him to the other breast after half an hour, is this the right thing to do? He never spits it out when he is finished he just stops sucking and starts chewing!

I am fairly desperate for this to work out.

Thanks again.

sounds like you are doing all the right things - except maybe the latch! have you got the number for the health clinic yet, they should have a breast feeding councilor that could come out to you, mine was lovely and v helpful. also have you tried biological nurturing? it's when you lay the baby face down on your chest and let them find your nipple and latch on themselves, sounds scary, but done right this was a real turning point for me, maybe google it? it's best to do when baby is not starving, poss strip the pair of you off go to bed and when he starts waking up give it a go, you really do have to leave them to it though, no interfering (that's easier said than done!). anyway just wanted to give you a boost and say your doing a great job, in my experience i would say nipples shouldn't bleed though - that's not normal even if they aren't used to the abuse they get (agree with the industrial hoover bit tho!)

You defintely need someone to watch you. Fingers crossed a midwife will come and see you asap.
I would phone the nct, la leche helplines and also see if there is any baby breastfeeding cafes near you. I had awaful problems with my 1st son's latch and did all 3!

Also google Jack Newman, he has got some great videos on latching a newborn. There might be a link on www.kellymom.com (which is also a great site for bf advice) or search it on youtube. I found them a great help.

Also to give your nipples some protection are you using lanoish cream or something similar. It might soothe a bit whilst you get your babies latch sorted.

Hope it works out well for you.

How has today gone?