Frustrated and in despair!

[Krye1011]

Hello Mommas!

I am mom to the cutest six week old ever....that is until I try to feed him. Ive been bf'ing him for the last 4 weeks (he was born with TEF/EA and spent two weeks in the NICU) and am STILL in terrible pain. Ive seen an LC 4 time thus far and am still not making any progress! I feel like as though it doesnt matter how many times I try to latch and relatch, we can never get my nipple deep enough. "It looks good" according to the LC's but it doesnt feel good!!

I know I dont have thrush nor is he tongue tied. He had some chiropractic issues and I expected that his latch would improve as they did, but it has not. I dont think Im a wuss either which my 26-hr natural labor can attest too!

I guess I just need some encouragement. Im very committed to making this work but am wondering if the pain ever ends?!?!??! Will I ever be able to feed my baby without all the toe curling, teeth gritting and many many many tears of frustration!??!

[kcparker]

Keep at it, and keep pestering your lactation consultant. It could be that your baby has a tight frenulum that needs to be snipped. It could be that a very high palate is making it hard to get good compression on the nipple. The LC should check both of these things, do a suck test - does baby take lots of pinky finger in if offered that?

It could be that he will just take awhile to 'get it'. My first baby was a champion nurser from the start, and #2 took a looong time to get the hang of latching and staying on.

Have you tried the 'breast sandwich' technique or pumping so your breasts are a little more squishy and letdown is not so strong? Sometimes if you have strong letdown, baby will do shallow compression and not take a lot of nipple into the mouth to try to avoid really pressing on those milk sinuses, which makes them feel like they are drinking from a firehose. Again, keep at it - it all gets better as they get older. Put a mark on your calendar at baby's 4 month birthday and know it will be better by then. In the meantime, relatch if it's painful, and keep relatching - slowly, baby will get the hang of it.

[Ruby2]

Does the pain last even after you're done nursing? Mine did and it turned out that I had Raynaud's Syndrome of the nipple. Google it or check out this link: http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ull/113/4/e360

There are some natural remedies that take a while to work and require really high doses, but I was so miserable and frustrated (lots of tears from me too!) that I opted for a perscription of Nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker. It gives me a headache, but saved breastfeeding for me, so I don't care.

[Bokonon]

Does your LC have an IBCLC designation? If not, I would highly suggest seeking out one who does, because it can make a world of difference.