Baby cannot latch

[Smurf1993]

My 10 day old baby is literally unable to latch on the breast to feed. She doesn't open her mouth wide enough to get the breast in and latch properly, she only gets the tip of the nipple in her mouth.

We are waitinf for a tongue tie referral and a lactation specialist recommended cranial osteopathy to loosen up her jaw to allow her to gape her mouth properly to latch. Has anyone ever tried this? It sounds like a load of rubbish but will pay for it if it really works, I'm desperate to breastfeed my baby, pumping and bottle feeding is exhausting and my supply is low as we aren't getting established properly, I'm desperate!

Yes to both. Had tongue tie cut at 5 weeks along side two sessions with a cranio osteopath and latch was better after that and feeding became effortless. See a cranio osteopath who specialises in babies and breastfeeding.

Yes. Absolutely worth it. Were there any problems with delivery? Awkward position, cord round neck or anything?

She was a planned c section, it took a bit of tugging and forceps to get her out because she was wedged in there apparently. I have stage 4 endometriosis and lots of adhesions so I assume that made it awkward as I've never heard of needing forceps for a c section before!

Forceps are common with a x section I think, they're a surgical tool and it's surgery. Look up other IBCLCs online and try their.tips for latch. Get a private tongue tie appointment to speed it up. May as well try the osteopath.

You could try nipple shields OP, they can be easier for the baby to latch onto. They’re not really a long term solution and people say they can hinder breastfeeding, but I used them for the first month with my tiny baby who couldn’t latch and went on to breastfeed for over two years. If you try them and she can feed with them just remember to keep trying her without them from time to time. One day, at a month old, mine just suddenly got it. It could help tide you over till you can see someone about tongue tie at least.

Would a different for the money, I just wanted to say that 40 euro is not enough Tongue Tie Practitioner be able to see you sooner?

I had this with my son. TT missed multiple times by MW & HVs. Finally diagnosed as posterior TT at NHS TT clinic. TT snipped at 5 weeks, so slight improvement but also a regression since my son had to relearn how to feed using his tongue properly. I was advised following snip to do regular exercises and full body physio movements to ease any tension in his body. Was also advised tummy time best thing to help ease any tightness in his body which affects his jaw and tongue movement contributing to his trouble latching.

we did also see a cranial osteopath who advised he had a lot of tightness on one side of his body, likely from his forceps birth. I did see an initial improvement but it’s hard to know whether it was just natural development as they grow so quickly in those early weeks / months.

I saw a lactation consultant who observed feeding and advised I use a more natural feeding technique (can’t quite remember the name used) and was also advised to use the flipple technique for a deeper latch.

poor latching also contributes to gas. Gas = unhappy baby. Unhappy baby = disturbed sleep. So tummy time and exercises to help them move the gas through their body will help if you experience any fussiness with your baby. Fussiness I found started around the 2 week mark and resolved around 4/5 months.

most important thing is to speak to your HV to ensure that however your baby is feeding they are gaining weight. Though we had difficulties my baby did gain weight though he had a poor latching technique.

we had a difficult journey, latching was bad and he slipped off a lot. However, it got easier as he grew and had a larger mouth / more neck control and could latch himself. I’m now still breastfeeding him at 18 months and from 6 months on it was super easy. So it does get better!

OMG. Why can't I post properly tonight? So sorry OP. The details for the TT Practitioners is here.

I used nipple shields for the first three months until my baby could latch properly. I found it tough going but it enabled us to feed until she was over one year. I would say that not all nipple shields are created equal - I found Medela ones really effective.

I remember a lovely old midwife helping me in the early days. DS was 36weeks and jaundiced so spent time in MICU after c section delivery.
They have tiny mouths and if you have a large areolar area it is impossible for them to get their mouth round the whole area. When you look at photos of babies bf they are usually 6+ mnths old and twice the size of a newborn.
DS only just managed to get his mouth round my nipple but once they start sucking the nipple extend along the roof of their mouth. If you keep trying to force more of your breast in they get frustrated.
The midwife taught me to look at their jaw, you can see the muscle at the angle of the jaw contracting when they are sucking. She also suggested waiting until they are yelling with their mouth wide open then “just shove it in”. If you can see the muscle contracting and they are swallowing it’s working.

As they grow they will gradually take more of the areolar into their mouth.

The other bit of advice was from my sister “ it bloody hurts like hell for the first 4wks but then gets better”. I always had a painful let down even when I eventually fished when DS was 2yrs old.

I had a routine after feeding, I cleaned my nipple with water, thoroughly dried it then covered with Lansinoh and breast pad. I never had any problems with my nipples.

I should also add, quite importantly, my son had a high palate. This was actually more the issue than the posterior TT for us. Your LO may have a normal palate, but it may be worth asking when you get them assessed as the high palate contributes to latching issues. I was given exercises to widen the palate