2.5 weeks old

[thatgirliknew]

My daughter is 2.5 weeks old and I'm having a problem with BFing. For the first week I would try to nurse her and she would try for up to twenty minutes or so to latch on (even had a lactation consultant try to help and it didn't really work) and she wouldn't latch on, so I would pump and feed her a bottle. I continued to try her at the breast first and if she just got fed up with it I would give her a bottle. Now, she latches on about 50% of the time with no problem and then the other 50 she roots around and will have my nipple in her mouth and then just let go numerous times or she will have it in her mouth and not close her mouth around it and cry. For some reason she just won't latch right. Sometimes it takes 15-20 minutes to get her on. Once she's on though she is fine and will eat for a long time. The other thing is she will NOT take both breasts. I have heard some people (like the LC say that IS a problem but have seen online a few places that it's not?) She switches breasts with each feeding, but after you take her off she will NOT go on the other one.

Any advice on how to get her to latch on easier? Sorry if it's hard to understand. I don't really know how to explain well.

[lalemma]

I'm having a similar issue on about a third of our feedings right now (endless rooting, trouble getting a good latch), and was just on the phone with my LC earlier in the afternoon.

Her suggestions were:

*My guy may be going through a growth spurt. (I think she even said that 2 weeks is a pretty normal time for newborns to go through one?) Babies who are in the middle of one tend to fuss at the breast a lot, because they're frustrated that milk isn't coming down as fast as they'd like. She urged me to stay calm and trust the process: the baby is trying to regulate my supply. It should be better in a few days.

*My baby only takes one breast per feeding. I offer the second, but he's usually passed out after finishing the first. The LCs I have dealt with all told me this was normal and as it should be, but I'm not an expert. In today's call, the LC did suggest that if my guy starts to "camp out" at the boob (as he has been doing) I try to switch him to the other side as soon as he stops actively eating. I'm trying to be good about this, but I so relate to the frustration of a baby who spends 10 minutes trying to latch, so I'm still working up the nerve to be consistent about switching him over. Lame, I know.

*My little one spent the first couple of weeks in the NICU, where he ate my expressed milk. I do think there was an issue with nipple confusion when he first came home and we shifted to BFing full time, although he did really well with the switch and got it immediately. He still takes a single bottle of fortified EBM once a day. The LC suggested that if the fussing at the breast doesn't resolve itself in a few days, I may not have a growth spurt on my hands but instead a little person who doesn't like getting that one easy bottle a day and then going back to having to work for his milk at the breast. In that case, she suggested switching to cup- or dropper-feeding instead of using the bottle.

For myself - one thing I've noticed is that feeding my little one in the football/clutch hold makes it easier to see the one moment where his mouth is open wide enough AND his tongue is down.

Another thing is that if I hand-express a few drops first, I know the milk is "right there" as soon as he gets a good latch, and I think (may be confirmation bias, though) that that helps him be less frustrated.

But I know exactly what you're talking about, and it's kind of a bummer. Especially at 3AM with a wailing, hungry baby who just. won't. latch.

Hang in there!

[Shanelovr]

ime when ds roots, latches on then lets go like your saying you babe does, its because he needs to burp. have you tried burping her? ds evens gets po'd after a bit if i don't burp him right away. just a thought.

[activistamamacita]

Have you thought about trying a nipple shield?

I was having a hard time getting y LO to latch on at first and was really reluctant to resort to a shield, but I relented. She was instantly able to use it and it made me so happy that she was getting good quality, long nursing sessions. She even weaned herself off of it just a week or so ago and is now a PRO at nursing.

Good luck

[SpunkyMama]

Originally Posted by activistamamacita

Have you thought about trying a nipple shield?

Nipple shields can be useful for some latch issues. They can also create other issues since the baby is not fully depressing the milk ducts. If you do choose to use one it would be wise to do so in conjunction with the help of a Le Leche leader or LC.

I found that my LO popped on and off the breast a lot because he was sensitive to foods in my milk and when he tasted them he would pop off. After I removed the foods (dairy, soy, and gluten) he did not pop off and on.

Have you tried offering the other side when your LO pops off and on on the first side?

Like a PP said - try burping!

It is also possible you are having some nipple confusion issues and introducing a nipple shield may not be helpful.

[Llyra]

What you're describing sounds like a textbook case of nipple preference or nipple confusion. Baby has some trouble latching in the early weeks, so mama, not wanting baby to go hungry, introduces bottles too early. Baby learns ineffective latching habits from the bottle, or even comes to prefer the ease of bottlefeeding, because breastfeeding requires a complicated process of movement of mouth and tongue, while a bottle just needs suction.

Baby begins to occasionally reject the breast, and mama relies more and more on bottles.

It's a slippery slope. As you give more bottles, baby gets more and more accustomed to bottles. Your supply starts to slip, because even a good pump can't keep up supply the way baby can.

The ultimate outcome is often that baby rejects the breast completely. This can happen suddenly, or it can be a gradual process that sneaks up on you.

Not all babies are subject to nipple confusion. Some kids go back and forth right from the start with no issues. But other kids are very susceptible, and you don't know who they will be until it happens.

I know this because I dealt with it with two of my kids. With DD1, I lost the battle, and by 2 months old she wasn't nursing at the breast at all. And exclusive pumping is arduous hard work, and not something I'd recommend, and some mamas can't keep up a good supply even with the best pump and pumping regimen.

With DS, we won the battle, and he went on to nurse into toddlerhood (and not incidentally, became an ardent bottle-refuser... ). The difference was that I had the courage, that time around, to throw the bottles in the trash, and go back to exclusive breastfeeding, even though it meant a few really difficult days.

The idea is that you take away any alternate forms of sucking satisfaction-- no bottles, no pacis, no finger-sucking, etc. You nurse as often as possible, in different locations and positions. Do as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. If baby can't latch and gets frustrated, stop trying for ten minutes of so, and then try again.

If baby isn't latching and nursing at least every two hours or so, you also pump, to keep up your supply, and store the milk.

Baby's weight and output are watched carefully. If needed, supplemental feedings of pumped milk are given by alternate methods that offer no sucking-- either with a syringe or dropper, a tiny medicine cup, or a supplemental nursing system that allows supplementing at the breast.

This is best done with the support of a good LC who can evaluate baby's latch and look for problems like poor latch or positioning, tongue tie, disordered sucking, etc.

The idea is that a baby that young has a very very very strong urge to suck, and if only allowed sucking at the breast, baby will return enthusiastically to breastfeeding within only a few days.

[EmilyG]

Just hang in there! My second dd had lots of trouble latching on for the first few weeks, I was getting frustrated that she still hadn't figured things out by 4 weeks, but she did get the hang of it shortly after that. One thing I found was that when my breast got wet/slippery from her trying to latch on unsuccessfully it was a lot harder for her to get on, so I would have a towel next to me and dry off the nipple several times as she attempted to get latched on and I do think that helped.

As far as I know it's fine if the only nurse on one side per nursing session. My first dd never took both breasts during a feeding, I always just switched to the other side with the next feeding.

[thatgirliknew]

Sorry that I didn't get back on here sooner. I had been reading all the responses on my mobile but couldn't respond. I've been taking all of your advice and I am happy to say that today was our first Bottle-Free day! We're still having some trouble latching on but at least both of our patience is growing!