Gave birth yesterday. Breastfeeding difficulties

[birthofawoman]

Every midwife has told me that my baby's latch looks "perfect", but I'm having a number of difficulties:

1. The pain! "Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt if the latch is correct", so either my latch isn't correct (which goes against what every midwife has told me) or my nipples are sore and swollen, with broken skin, for some other reason (which could be what?). The sucking motion literally feels like daggers to my nipples.

2. Baby doesn't feed for long - only in bursts of up to about 7 minutes (usually around 5, though). He'll latch on, suck for a few minutes and then wriggle off.

3. He's constantly rooting and putting his hands in his mouth. Does this indicate that he's constantly hungry and I'm not feeding him enough, or it is something that babies of his age just do anyway?

4. He only produced one wet nappy today (much earlier). Second one was just poo.

My baby is the greatest gift ever, and I am so, so overjoyed that he is with me, and I'm finding myself already feeling like a failing mother - as though I'm starving him 😣💔 It seemed like all the other mums on the postnatal Ward had their hang of it. Meanwhile, I felt like an imposer...

I'm going to my local breastfeeding support centre tomorrow.

Sorry, I'm just feeling really disheartened and in need of advice!

Join a facebook breastfeeding group - sooooooo helpful!

One wet nappy is worrying - would tell midwife about that.

Sounds like latch issues (tongue ties?). Look at some youtube videos. Ask again and again and again and again about feeding. Can you see/hear the swallowing of milk? I had 3 days of hell with a terrible latch, don't be scared of asking again and again. Can take time to get it right.

Hands in mouth, sounds like common behaviour however could be that baby needs more feeding -

Do you know anyone who breastfed who could help advise?
Do you have any lactation/breastfeeding support numbers you could call for advice?? Sometimes in your maternity pack?? Great that you are going to a support group tomorrow. Have you tried laying down with baby in bed and feeding from that position. Baby seems quick to come off breast, is baby sleeping when he/she comes off breast or crying her/his heads off when coming off breast. Don't worry too much about starving baby, if you have to give a little formula. My little one had eight hours of formula when she was 3 days old (felt like I was being chewed on by glass!!) and yet still managed to breastfeed for 4 years, but just remember supplementing will effect your milk supply so I would only give a bit if worried about baby starving or need a nipple break before being seen tomorrow at support group.

Constant rooting and using hands in mouth, babies like using you and their hands as dummies. Can be perfectly normal.

Breastfeeding is not easy in the beginning - people LIE - but it does get better once you get the hang of it. Hang in there, you are not a failure, it is bloody hard!!!!!! Keep asking for help, research!! Join that facebook group!!

Try feeding whilst laying down. I found our little latch problems were partly caused by me being awkward holding and ending up uncomfortable sitting for so long. Here's an article, and I'm sure there are loads of helpful videos on YouTube that can help you with some tips -

www.bellybelly.com.au/breastfeeding/breastfeed-lying-down/

Get as much help as you can and if it feels wrong don't let them tell you the latch is perfect. I had 8 horrendous weeks of that culminating in pnd and giving up on breastfeeding. You know your body, if it feels wrong it is wrong.

I used slightly different positions and not as many pillows, but this had some good advice about air ways to help get the correct latch. I liked the videos even though using a doll.

Congratulations! Here are some tips from me...

1. Even when latch is perfect, it hurts. At the beginning. Your nipples need to get used to the constant attention. Some people say it doesn’t hurt, but it did for me, for all 3 of mine. Lansinoh is your friend here.

1. You’re feeding colostrum at the beginning, not milk. This is highly calorific and concentrated so they don’t need much.

1. Milk will come in 3-5 days after birth.

1. Eating hands, normal. Rooting all the time, normal.

However. Do keep asking questions, do seek help, do join groups, etc. It is hard.

For me, the first 6-8 weeks are really really hard. Cluster feeding and evening feeding especially. But after 8 weeks, growth spurts aside, it gets A LOT easier.

Good luck and enjoy your little one x

Another voice for lansinoh. I found it really rather unpleasant for the first week or so, despite everyone saying "it's not supposed to hurt" it jolly well did. But it got better.

Also nurses said "perfect latch" but DD turned out to have a tongue and lip tie, so worth getting checked by someone who knows breastfeeding.

It took me a while to get the hang of breastfeeding. My baby was also pulling off and rooting, and not filling enough nappies. Turned out I wasn't producing enough milk and I was sent back to hospital. Please speak to your midwife asap and get the baby weighed regularly as he will rapidly lose weight if he isn't getting enough milk.

This is a brilliant guide to what you should be expecting for wees and poos in the first few days:

www.nct.org.uk/sites/default/files/related_documents/What's%20in%20a%20nappy%20(ENGLISH%20VERSION)%20FINAL%20WITHOUT%20BLEED.pdf

One wet nappy day one, two on day two, three on day three, four on day four then five or six each day plus wet poo which starts black and turns to mustard around nd day 3 or 4.

As for latch if it hurts it’s not right. If baby is rooting can you have him lay on you chest and try and attach him self?

Hello OP
It therefore a fortnight until your nipples toughen up.
Lansinoh lots of it.
Oatmeal, fenugreek , breastfeeding tea
Supply and demand - milk might not be in til day 5/6
In bed with baby for a week if at all possiblep
Cluster feeding is normal
My third had only wet nappies for 5 days - he was fine, just sleepy, not eating much but was fine
congrats x

It hurts for

Congratulations!

Breast feeding is really really hard at the start - or was for me. I also used to look at the other mums on the postnatal ward and later in shopping centre feeding rooms doing it so apparently easily and want to cry. For me it was agony and he didn't seem to be sucking properly, but everyone said the latch looked perfect. I knew it wasn't.

Google the "Flipple" technique - there's a YouTube video. This technique totally turned things around for me. It was taught to me by a lactation consultant I saw in desperation after 10 days of agony and bleeding nipples, a constantly screaming hungry baby and me living in dread of him waking up and wanting a feed.

Sorry that's long! Short version: see a proper lactation specialist midwife if you can, meanwhile google the "Flipple" technique. It saved my life! Or certainly my sanity. Good luck!

Find out if there is any breastfeeding support groups in your area with a lactation consultant. Get Baby checked for tongue tie. I had the same, latch looked fine but so painful and DS had tongue tie. A quick procedure and all was fine.
My DS is 7 months and still only feeds for a few mins at a time, so don't worry about that. At least you're not stuck in a chair for 45 mins!!!!

Congratulations!

Some people think they are the work of the devil, but nipple shields were the only thing that got my fair skinned nipples and small mouthed baby through the first few weeks of bf - I needed a bit of protection to go through the toughening up stage, and he needed help getting enough nipple in his mouth. Don't discount them out of hand

And lansinoh is expensive but amazing and lasts for ever

Similar experience myself and as everyone is saying breastfeeding can be so tough so please don’t feel disheartened this early on.

Can a midwife or health visitor not come to you tomorrow to help you with this? It seems incredibly early for you to be going to a breastfeeding clinic tomorrow 2 days after having your baby!

It does take time though and means very sore nipples and lots of frustration and emotion.

The most important thing about Anything else is your baby getting enough so if that means mixing formula with breastfeeding (at some stage) then please don’t feel like a failure if you need to do this. I did with both of mine due to various issues.

Good luck and try to stick with it but not so much that it affects your experience.

What Gluteustothemaximus said. Fucking agony for a good week with both of mine (even though I was very confident with dc2) .

Lanisoh worth every single penny even though it's crazy expensive.

Breastfeeding can be fucking hard to start with op but if you are keen to keep going it soon becomes 2nd nature.

Well done so far!