Latching difficulties at 7 weeks

[Benjaminsmommy]

Hello all, my LO is 7 weeks old but was 4 weeks early. I have been exclusively breastfeeding and based on his weight gain (going from 6lb 1oz after he lost weight early on, to 9lb 4oz at 7 weeks) he is thriving. However I am experiencing pain after most feeds and white strips down the middle of my nipples resulting from poor latching. I have consistently had difficulty getting him to open his mouth wide and initially I thought he could have a tongue tie but in the last week or so he has started to stick out his tongue more etc. I have tried the nose to nipple and various positions but I don’t seem to be able to get my nipple deep enough and he seems to end up nipple feeding not breast feeding.
I have read lots of posts on here about latching to try and get tips and last week I sought help from a Lactation consultant but I am still experiencing pain and the strips of white on my nipples after feeding. I even bled for the first time a couple of days ago.

What I suppose i would really like to know is will this get any better with time? And does anyone have any similar experiences?

I am very close to giving up on breastfeeding as it is making me stressed and miserable. My LB also has reflux which is adding to the stress

How are you getting on now? If you’re still BFing, I’d give one of the BFing Helplines call this morning. Have you got the numbers?

I think it’s also worth getting him checked for tongue tie properly, especially given the reflux symptoms. Even if you switch to formula, tt can affect feeding, sleep, Weaning, speech and even facial development.

Try waiting for him to really cry before you start a feed so his mouth is wide open. That might take a good 5 mins to let his hunger build up.
Then once his mouth is as wide open as it can be put the whole nipple and aureola right to the back of his mouth.

If you don't get the whole lot in try again wait for his cry to build up again until his mouth is wide open.

It's quite comical when their cry is suddenly stopped by your boob! This worked for me. Hope it does for you.

The bf counsellors are v good.

Yes I would get some help.
Other things I found helpful were using a pillow to support (as the baby gets a bit heavier you can find they slump which affects attachment) and the waiting for a cry trick above.

Yes it does get better, and quite quickly. As their mouth muscles get stronger they latch more easily and do the whole thing more efficiently. Hang in there!

I have persevered and I’m getting some good latches and some bad, he also fed less yesterday which was a bit of a relief for my boobs!

I went to my breast feeding support group/drop in and spoke to the support workers. They were lovely and let me rant about all of the struggles. After everything I spoke about they too suggested that I should have him assessed for a posterior tie and they pointed out other signs/symptoms that link to ties which I didn’t know about such as the white residue on his tongue, he sometimes gets lip blisters, my fast let down that he coughs at sometimes and they noticed that his tongue his heart shaped. They also suggested that if it gets cut we could see improvement with the reflux and his wind. I have now got an appointment next Sunday to get him assessed but have had to go privately as NHS has a three week wait.

Hi. I had this issue with one of mine. My fast let down I thought was key. Also it quickly became a habit that he sucked directly on my nipple rather than take in more. Incidently he had reflux too.
I did bf up to 5 months but couldn't manage bf him any longer. I found when I felt let down I pulled out and caught a bit of that fast squirt (sorryhaha) and then tried again it was a little better.
Listen to all advice and choose what suits you. Good luck mummy you're doing great

So glad you’ve got an appointment for the Tongue tie. I know you’ve had to pay but it should be worth it.

Did you get a chance to call one of the Helplines?