I need help NOW with nb latch!!!!!

[elephantine]

I am no newbie to bfing.. I am still nursing one of my three year olds. I just had a baby a few days ago and I have tried every position I can imagine and inserting as much of the areola as possible into his mouth.

Granted I have large nipples and very large areola and he is very tiny, but he is tearing my nipples in half!!! I am in sooo much pain I can not take it anymore and am cracking and bleeding. Somehow no matter how much areola I shove into his mouth, he is suctioning hard only about 1/2 a nipple back into his palate and above his tongue.

When I finally unlatch myself, you can see how just half my nipple is formed to his mouth and the other half is sort of flattened. I'm using lanolin inbetween sessions, but there is no relief... omg it hurts so so so bad! And I just had surgery so I am telling you I am not exaggerating this pain in any way.

I am about to give up and just try to pump whatever I can get and give it to him via bottle and give &^*^#@ formula for the rest... I hate formula so I am really really desperate.

I asked for a LC at the hospital but there wasn't one -- I won't be able to drive for another 2-3 weeks. I need help and don't know WHAT TO DO!!!

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

[tinyblackdot]

Are you making sure that his lips are curled out around your nipples instead of in?

What about making sure that his mouth is wide open? Try gently rubbing your nipple against his lips and waiting until he opens really wide and then kinda hold your nipple horizontally like a hamburger hold and put it in....does that make sense?

[elephantine]

Yes, I make sure his lips are not tucked in and like I said I put as much of my breast tissue as possible into his little mouth -- I wait till his mouth is as far open as possible.

The bad news about pumping is -- my body barely responds to a pump, I would be lucky to get an ounce per size in pumping 30 to 40 minutes although my breasts are freaking huge and get full of milk. I NEED to be able to bf this baby.

[tinyblackdot]

Well if worse comes to worse you could always get a nipple guard.

There is no way you have thrust is there?

Do you have a LLL around?

[elephantine]

There is no way I have thrush, he was born 3/2 and the pain began that very day and is just getting worse for the stated reasons. He latches on hard, but sucks in just half my nipple into his palate no matter how much breast tissue I put into his mouth.

I don't know if there is a LLL around here I am in Shreveport, LA... I can't drive for another 2-3 weeks due to surgery however. The hospital did not have a LC consultant.

[mum21andtwins]

what about tongue/liptie? there is a sticky in the bf forum.
LLL has a phoneline not sure wat the USnumbber is but try calling that they should b able to tell you if there is a leader nearby. maybe try posting in tribes if anyone know a leader nearby?

good luck!

[Love_My_Babies]

Our local county dept. of health has a traveling nurse/LC that will do home visits. I quickly checked LA, and here is a number you can call to see if there is someone in your area that will do the same...

1-800-251-BABY

http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/?ID=267

[bella99]

I had a similar problem. On day 2 after my daughter was born, I already had blisters on my nipples and a few days later I was cracked and bleeding. She had a very shallow latch and would just suck on my nipple. And when my milk came in, I also had a slightly overactive letdown and she would clamp down on my nipple to control the flow.

We used a nipple shield for 2.5 months. I hated it, it was messy and inconvenient, but it saved breastfeeding for us. I tried several times over the course of that 2.5 months and she wasn't ready.

Then at 2.5 months, we tried again, and her mouth had gotten bigger or she somehow figured it out and we have been nipple shield free since then (she's 4 months). I don't have ANY problems anymore. I thought I would maybe need lanolin to get me through the first days of nipple shield free nursing, but I didn't.

The nipple shield didn't affect my supply and she has transitioned away from the shield just fine.

[thepeach80]

Check for a tongue tie, I'm pretty sure there is a sticky w/ info. You could do a nipple shield too, but those can be hard to get off of and you'll need extra stimulation (it helps you're still nursing your 3yo) since you don't get as much while using it. It might help protect you some though and still let baby bf.

[Rosehip]

There's a Shreveport lactation consultant listed here:

http://www.kellymom.com/lcdirectory/usa/la.html

A lot of LCs will make housecalls. I'm sorry. There is nothing worse than the "bad latch" pain. Hope you can find help. Have you tried manual expression? I hate it, but it helps in a pinch.

[clutterbug]

Here is Shreveport LLL info
http://lllalmsla.org/support/index.p...0g4&topic=27.0

I hope you are able to get someone to have a peek at what's going on and help you troubleshoot. Take care

[AutumnMama]

nak
Shield! Saved us this time round!

[sunflowergirll]

Does your nipple look like a fresh tube of lipstick when your dd is done? Slanted?

That was one of my many problems and in that case, dd tongue wasn't pushed far enough forward. She did not have tongue-tie, but was just "lazy" about it.

It helped to push my finger against the roof of her mouth/base of her tongue first. She'd curl her lip out and then I'd quickly insert nipple. I experimented to see which worked better (roof/tongue) and I can't remember which worked. In any case, that might be something to try.

Good luck!

-sunflowergirll

[Toolip]

I've heard people suggest letting the babe self-latch. Maybe worth a try. They talk about it in this thread. Here is a video of a newborn doing the "breast crawl" but I've heard older infants can too.

[lifeguard]

Using the hamburger/sandwich hold when latching helped us hugely to get a good latch.

[buttercupmama]

Wish I had words of wisdom here. My DD also had a shallow latch. I re-latched her till the cows came home and it hardly ever got better until she was 4 1/2 months old. My nipples are small, and she was as well, but my breasts were huge, so I'm guessing she just couldn't open her mouth wide enough. But she has since become a pro.

The only position we could use with the least pain and discomfort for me was the football. That basically still stands.

[AbbieB]

Check out DR Jack Newman's website. There are great videos to help tweak latch. I had to change the tiniest thing and it made a huge difference with my son's nursing.

http://www.drjacknewman.com/

[elephantine]

Thank-you to everyone who responded, I'm sorry for not updating sooner. My scabs have healed and most of the pain is gone now. I really think ours is a case of larger nipple vs smaller mouth and possible slightly receding chin.

Whoever mentioned that 'used lipstick' nipple effect was right on -- ouch! I've studied the tongue-tie descriptions and photos and do not think he has it.

I try twisting my areola a little bit when he latches(so it isn't the exact same part that gets flattened each time) and with two fingers I keep it from sliding out of his mouth while bfing. I really think as his mouth grows a bit bigger, we will have an easier go, but for now it is manageable for me and judging by the dipes he is getting plenty to eat.

This is my first EBF baby since I had no choice but to supplement with my twins, and it is so amazing watching him get chubbier and changing all these diapers realizing that it's all coming from *me*. It just feels so special and I'm so happy to not have to be in the exclusive pumping/low supply tribe this time around. Thanks again for the helpful responses!

[sarahfred]

Nipple Shield

My baby and I had trouble with latching and a nurse gave me a nipple shield at the hospital, which was wonderful. My daughter was able to nurse well and it helped my sore nipples. We saw a lactation specialist at 2 wks, who told me to try to stop using the nipple shield ASAP. I tried but it was really frustrating - baby was frustrated, I cried because her latch was so shallow it hurt my nipples so much. After two days of that, I decided that it wasn't worth it to force the transition off the nipple shield. So we continued to use it, and I trusted my instincts to know that when she was ready, we'd be able to wean ourselves. And it turned out just fine. I used the nipple shield until 5 weeks, at which point baby's mouth was big enough to latch better. I'd put the shield on for a few minutes and then take it off and she'd keep eating. By 6 weeks, we were shield-free. She still has trouble latching sometimes on one side, but at 9 weeks I now feel confident that it will only continue to get easier. Babies R Us sells Medela nipple shields. They come in different nipple sizes. Good luck!