Trouble Using Lact-Aid

[binspired]

I am so frustrated! I was so excited to receive my Lact-Aid today (that I spent over $60 for) and now am SO frustrated that I am having such trouble using it! I just cannot get that little, flexible tube in her mouth!! I've tried holding it to my nipple (and taping it) before she latches and it just points in the wrong direction and won't lay flat against my nipple. I've tried inserting it once she's latched and it's just too flexible and won't go into her mouth. I've gotten it in once or twice, but she inevitably wiggles it out or it isn't in far enough for it to work. Through all of this, she gets mad and cries and doesn't nurse well. I really want to make this work, so that I can get my supply up while I have to supplement with formula (and get my money's worth!). But I don't want to have her associate nursing with such frustration either. Any tips???

[happyhousewife06]

I had to use this in the begning and I had so many problems with it also. the best thing that I did was tape the tube down to my breast really sturdy and leave the tube a little extra long.... and then once latched I would sneek the tube in his mouth and you can feel the cold rush from him or her sucking the fluid out of the tube and then just hold it there. its a long process but worth it!! good luck!

[Megan73]

Keep trying – you will get the hang of it, I promise. I found it took about a week to get totally comfortable with it.
I found it helped to let my LO nurse "bare" first then take him off, hold the tube to my nipple, with the end extending about 1/4 past the end of the nipple, then wait until he opened really wide to pull him onto the breast.
I stopped even needing to use tape after the first week. I wish I could stop supplementing but I'm happy my son hasn't had a bottle since I got the Lact-Aid.
Good luck!

[dollyanna]

Yeah - they are frustrating - hang in there!

I used the Medela SNS, not the lactaid. I did notice that when my LC had me try it out, she had me tape the tubes UNDER the nipple with tube kind of pointing up, but the directions said tape over the nipple pointing down. I thought it was much easier to tape it under and then you just kind of make sure baby's mouth is open over the tube and then onto the nipple, if that makes any sense...

[binspired]

Well - I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, but it's still very fussy! And I feel like her latch has gotten worse since using it. I have a hard enough time getting her to open wide enough and this seems to be making it worse. And it's so SLOW! I know it needs to be somewhat slow - like the breast, but it takes her a half and hour to get barely an ounce... It's still very frustrating. And my nipples are really starting to hurt, too!

[khanni]

If you think the flow is too slow, you can move the bag up higher, and it will flow more easily. I don't think that to start a 1/2 hour for an ounce at your child's age is probably all that slow. I remember it being that slow with my son, too, that early on.

I don't really have any tricks I can think of to help you, but I know your frustration. I SWEAR it gets easier and is sooooo worth the effort. My son and I are still using it, and he is 9.5 months old now. I didn't make it past a couple of weeks with my daughter, and she completely weaned herself by 7 months. If it weren't for the lact-aid, I'm sure I would not have much of a breastfeeding relationship with my son.

So, my one piece of advice is Rescue Remedy. I took some before each time I tried to feed my son with the Lact-Aid. It helped cut the frustration and allow me to just flow with it and get the tube in his mouth. Part of the problem was me starting to panic and him panicking more because I was, etc, etc, etc. So, it really helped to keep my cool and get me through the rough patch until we got the hang of it.

Also, I sometimes have a lot more than 1/4 inch of tube past my breast. I do find that helps a lot. I don't use tape anymore either. And as for the tape, if you have sensitive skin, use a band-aid and thread the tube through. All that putting on and pulling off of tape gave me horrible rashes.

Good luck and know there are many of us mamas out there who have BTDT and are pulling for you!

[binspired]

Originally Posted by khanni

So, my one piece of advice is Rescue Remedy. I took some before each time I tried to feed my son with the Lact-Aid. It helped cut the frustration and allow me to just flow with it and get the tube in his mouth. Part of the problem was me starting to panic and him panicking more because I was, etc, etc, etc. So, it really helped to keep my cool and get me through the rough patch until we got the hang of it.

Good luck and know there are many of us mamas out there who have BTDT and are pulling for you!

Thanks for the support. I will definitely look for some of that. I need some stress relief right now!

I'm also wondering...

Should I nurse first without the lact-aid, then add it once she has stopped actively sucking? That's what I have been doing, but it seems to be turning into a 1 1/2 hour ordeal (which my toddler does NOT approve of!).

[khanni]

Originally Posted by binspired

Thanks for the support. I will definitely look for some of that. I need some stress relief right now!

I'm also wondering...

Should I nurse first without the lact-aid, then add it once she has stopped actively sucking? That's what I have been doing, but it seems to be turning into a 1 1/2 hour ordeal (which my toddler does NOT approve of!).

I think it depends. I had heard that advice, and also the opposite--to begin right away. I usually just give my son the Lact-Aid right away out of laziness.

The argument for giving just breast before Lact-Aid is that the baby will only start to get the supplement after he/she has drained you of your milk. This makes total sense, but it can take forever.

The arguments I have heard to just give the lact-aid right away are that sucking can exhaust some children, so that they are expending too much energy trying to eat and do not have the strength, then, to form a really good suck in addition to burning too many calories. Therefore, you should give the supplement right away to not tire the child out and also so he/she can build a stronger suck--then you can wait to give it later. I think this depends on your breastfeeding situation.

I have also heard it is okay to give the supplement right away because as your supply increases, the baby will naturally wean itself from the supplement. I'm not entirely convinced.

And my reason for giving it right away--time. Plus, now he comes to expect it right away. I thought he wouldn't breastfeed without the lact-aid at all, and I actually forgot the bags recently when we went on vacation. I panicked. But, he would actually breastfeed at just my plain breast for quite some time anyway. It's a different story when he sees the tube there...then he wants it right away.

[Megan73]

How's it going, mama?

[prettypixels]

Keep trying, you'll get it. The LA and SNS are both super frustrating to use! I would try doing it WITHOUT tape, I found that much easier, and I had such a rash from the tape! (Tried eighteen zillion different ones.)

I think you should just use the LA right away, then when babe finishes, let him finish at the breast. Google "Finish at the breast" for more discussion of this method. :

[binspired]

Originally Posted by Megan73

How's it going, mama?

I'm getting the hang of it. We used it with each feeding since yesterday morning. She took less formula than usual. Hopefully that means that she is getting more breastmilk, right? And she seems to be falling more into a bfing pattern - eating every 2 or so hours instead of 3 hours.

Originally Posted by khanni

The argument for giving just breast before Lact-Aid is that the baby will only start to get the supplement after he/she has drained you of your milk. This makes total sense, but it can take forever.

This is what I've been worried about. I just want to make sure my suuply stays up. But I have adding the Lact-Aid from the beginning since yesterday and my breasts do feel like they are getting emptied alright. I just can't really tell as well when I have a letdown. So also for the sake of time, I think I will continue like this.

Originally Posted by prettypixels

Keep trying, you'll get it. The LA and SNS are both super frustrating to use! I would try doing it WITHOUT tape, I found that much easier, and I had such a rash from the tape! (Tried eighteen zillion different ones.)

I am having an easier time without tape, too. I just slip it in after she latches on. This might sound gross, but I figured out a trick to make this easier: I lick the end of the tubing to sort of lubricate it. That trick was my saving grace with the LA!