How to stop the clicking?!

[Curlyfry7]

Hi all! I have an 8 day old DD that I am determined to BF...I did not have good luck with my DS....

anyhow, we have been having LOTS of trouble with clicking while nursing.She initially had a shallow latch, which is gradually improving, but with in the 1st 2 days she made my nipples VERY sore, cracked, etc. I saw a lactation consultant, who checked and found her to have a high palate- not extremely, but still higher than normal. She is NOt tongue-tied (checked by many people) She gave me a nipple shield to allow for healing and also we worked on latching her better. Also she gave me some exercises to do to help her keep her tongue down.

Well, the shield helped my nipples feel better, but her latch over the shield is terrible. She still clicked with the shield. Trying to do the exercises was a nightmare- she wouldn't do what she was supposed to and would get so furious it would make nursing afterwards terrible.

I wore the shield for 3 days when nursing, and then went back to not using it. Her latch is better- once in a while it's great, often it's pretty good, and sometimes it's not so good or terrible. But the clicking!! I am already getting sore again after only 24 hours w/o it, but when I tried to alternate it, she would not even try to latch onto it, and she HAS to eat! I am not going to supplement- I know better than that!

Any advice as to how to get her to NOT click?? Or something to do for my poor nipples in the meantime? Will they eventually toughen up? DD has a prtty decent eating pattern I think for a newborn- sometimes cluster feeds, sometimes will go 3 hours between feedings, plenty of pees and starting to have poops (she wasn't pooping for a few days) and acts satisfied between feeds (as long as she is held, but that's another subject! LOL)

Since I had such a bad experience with bfing DS, I am very sensitive to this working out, so any advice is welcome!! Thank you!

[happyhousewife06]

My two month old still clicks.... after a few different LC's we determined that hes just a noisey eater and that the clicking will forever be there. good luck it drove me nuts too.

[Curlyfry7]

Hmmm....I wouldn't care about the noise, but it HURTS!!!!!! If it would stop hurting I wouldn't care if she did it forever.

Anyone have any ideas on things to do to stop it?? Please please please!!!

[TopazBlueMama]

I thought that it was connected to yeast/thrush? Does your baby have a problem with that? I wonder if it also is a sign of a lack of magnesium. Just a guess, and it would hurt you to supplement with Natural Calm!

[hipumpkins]

My son was a clicker. It drove me batty.

[smanore]

clicking

Have you tried another position? The football hold might work well. Babies tend to get further onto the breast in that hold. I'm thinking that might get the nipple back further into the baby's mouth (so it would be less painful), and that might ease up the clicking as well.

Try dabbing breast milk to the tender, cracked areas after feeds. You can also use a 'normal saline solution' which is mentioned on www.kellymom.com. Use 1/2 teaspoon of salt with a cup of water. Soak the nipples for a couple of minutes after each feed. Change the solution daily. It's very soothing and helps to heal the nipple. Of course, you need to get to the bottom of why the cracks are there in the first place.

Another thought, check to be sure the baby's lips are out laying on the breast, it can really hurt if they're tucked in. You're looking to have the baby on so close that the cheeks cover the corners of the baby's mouth and that the baby isn't drawing the cheeks in while feeding. I hope you're feeling well soon.

[Lydiah]

My DD clicked until she was 3 months old. I did have a fast let down and it was hard for her to keep up. Expressing milk before feeding her helped quite a bit but she would still click occasionally. She just had to grow up a little to be able to handle my supply.

[Curlyfry7]

I don't think it's thrush....she's been doing it since day 1. I also had thrush last time with DS and it doesn't feel like that....at least not yet.

We've tried the football hold....really no difference in the clicking, and it seems the latch is worse then. We get a good, lips-flanged-out latch as well- cheeks "hiding" the mouth, chin and nose touching the breast. (well, most of the time!)

I will try the saline solution. I have been letting some breastmilk dry on them as well, also using gel pads between feeds when I can.

I wish she didn't get so fired up before feeding- from nothing to pissed in 30 seconds, so that we could do the exercises the LC recommended, which are supposed to be done RIGHT before nursing. I'll have to try again with those- it's been a couple days.

[LadyCatherine185]

I have heard that the clicking usually means that the milk is coming too fast for them and they do the clicking to try and slow it down a bit?
DS still does the clicking every once in awhile now, and it is usually right after I feel the letdown, so it makes sense to me....

I was sore the first few weeks with DS, and putting Lanolin on my nipples after every feed REALLY helped. Also, airing them out whenever I could (which was tough because he nursed NONSTOP and I was very leaky) helped them to feel better.

Congrats on your new LO!!!

[smanore]

re: clicking

If your baby is irritated with trying the exercises before she's hungry, you could try doing them either between feeds, or just before switching to the 2nd breast. I don't blame her for getting annoyed at doing exercises before feeds. When I'm hungry I just want to eat : lol

[indeospero]

This absolutely sounds like a posterior tongue tie. Everything you describe, particularly the high palate (which tends to form that way in the case of posterior TT because of the way the tongue moves as it is developing), points to it. Many, many LCs do not know how to evaluate for posterior TT, and check only for "classic" TT. Posterior TT doesn't have anything to go with the front of the tongue, or how far baby can stick out tongue, etc. It is very frequently missed even by experienced LCs and doctors.

If you can't find someone locally to deal with a type 3/4 TT, the experts are Catherine Watson-Genna, a LC in NYC, and Dr. Elizabeth Coryllos, also in NY. They are goole-able, and they do respond to email.

I'm sure if you search MDC for "posterior tongue tie" you'll find some other mamas' stories, too!

Good luck! Hope things are better very soon.

[Jackies Ladybug]

the clicking may not be linked to the soreness, my dd clicks and i have never had a problem with sore nipples. i think mine is linked to strong letdown as well, also she does it if her nose is stuffy.
i would get an opinion from a second LC though, the first one may have just missed something.

[FullMetalMom]

Any chance that the soreness is just a normal part of starting breastfeeding? I was a little sore for a couple months just because it was so much stimulation from nursing (dd had a good latch from the beginning).

[paulamc]

No good advice here, but possibly some hope for the future. With my DS the clicking happened early on (first 2 to 2 1/2 months or so) when his slightly shallow latch would slip. He's now 3+ months - the latch no longer slips and I don't hear the clicking. I suspect the change is a combination of his improving nursing skills and growing mouth. Nursing was painful for me the first few weeks (and after that as well, due to a problem with thrush), but know that it does get much, much better, and at times it can be pure bliss - so hang in there! Consider taking some ibuprofen for the pain in the meantime.