Why will my newborn latch on my finger but not my nipple? Help!

[Nosy]

My 4 day old has latched and sucked a handful of times off my breast. I'm pumping and feeding him by letting him suck on my finger while I dribble milk into his mouth with an eye dropper. If he gets my breast in his mouth he just sort of leaves it there then starts crying. This is my 3rd baby, and my first experience with this. This baby & my first baby were tongue tied, so we got this baby's tongue clipped thinking it would help, but he still doesn't want to latch. I'm not keeping up with his needs because my body does not respond very well to the pump, so I really really need to figure out how to get him to latch! Suggestions?

[Youngfrankenstein]

I don't know about the tongue. I just know that it will work you just need to keep that supply up. My first drank from a thin syringe tube that I laid on my over-turned finger. I'd try to nurse, pump, feed, etc. He caught on eventually even though it seemed like a million years!!!!!

I would talk to an LC about the tongue, I'm not sure...

[PatioGardener]

Have you tried to let him self latch? Sometimes that helps - they just need to go through the latching instinct themselves.

here are some videos that might give you some ideas:

http://www.breastcrawl.org/video.htm

http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=...id=6&Itemid=13 (Dr. Jack Newman's videos)

[KristaDJ]

Maybe your nipple isn't touching the roof of his mouth but your finger does. I would try squeezing my breast flat (empty it a little first, of course) and making sure to touch the roof of his mouth with my nipple when he opens up for it. Suckling is a reflex and it sounds like it's just not being stimulated.
The breast crawl is a good idea too.

[Nosy]

Thanks, these are good suggestions. Helpful to see the videos! I wanted to do the breast crawl thing at birth, but baby needed oxygen, and that didn't end up happening. I didn't know I could still do it.

It's true my finger tip is touching the roof of his mouth. I'm trying to figure out how to do that with my nipples which are sort of flat but they've nursed already for almost 4 years, you'd think they'd have it figured out by now.

[KristaDJ]

I'd definitely try to get the nipple erect and make sure it's touching. I wouldn't normally suggest this but maybe a shield would help at the beginning of nursing sessions.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by KristaDJ

I'd definitely try to get the nipple erect and make sure it's touching. I wouldn't normally suggest this but maybe a shield would help at the beginning of nursing sessions.

:
I was just coming back here to suggest this!

If baby didn't get to latch on right after birth because of his need for oxygen, then he may benefit from a 'breast crawl' to reconnect with his natural instinct to breastfeed. The best time to do it is before he gets hungry, and don't be surprised if he is grumpy about it at first. I've seen several babies who had dramatic or traumatic births grumble and cry as they move to the nipple, but after working through whatever they needed to work through, they latched on and nursed.

[nia82]

DS latched on to my finger as a newborn with SNS attached. He couldn't latch on to me though. We then used nipple shields for three weeks and then got rid of them. We did this under the supervision of an IBCLC though - they can really help!

[isabchi]

Originally Posted by Nosy

Thanks, these are good suggestions. Helpful to see the videos! I wanted to do the breast crawl thing at birth, but baby needed oxygen, and that didn't end up happening. I didn't know I could still do it.

It's true my finger tip is touching the roof of his mouth. I'm trying to figure out how to do that with my nipples which are sort of flat but they've nursed already for almost 4 years, you'd think they'd have it figured out by now.

You can still try baby led feeding. There is a video of Christina Smillie, MD.

There is also this from LLL web site
https://www.lalecheleague.org/lllead...ebMar04p3.html