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Baby wont latch/engorgement

post #1 of 5
Thread Starter 
My 5 day old daughter is sleepy all the time and when I feed her she'll stay latched for a couple minutes tops and then fall off and try to sleep! Any tips for this?

My breasts are rock solid and they are killing me! Any advice on how to soothe them or better yet fix this?
post #2 of 5
OK to keep her awake you could try breast compression, www.drjacknewman.com for the video on how to do it - I've seen it work on sleepy babies really very well, if your breasts are sore from being engorged you could hand expressing off some milk and then the nipple would be easier for baby to get a good latch on as well as the breast compression. The more you get inside her the less likely she is to fall asleep - it obviously takes more energy to nurse than it does to sleep so do be aware of this, make sure as well that she is not too warm your rooms should be around 18-20 degrees, and she shouldn't be overdressed - so if you're wearing a t-shirt she should wear the same plus a little body. I presume that her latch is ok and that that side of things are going well? Remember ear, shoulder and hip in a straight line, tummy to tummy and lips open like a book; you should see a little of the tongue just at the side of the mouth. Post again if you have any other questions.
post #3 of 5
Yes, breast compressions are a great way to get baby to nurse.

For engorgement, you may want to try reverse pressure softening before a feed (scroll down for pictures): http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...cotterman.html
post #4 of 5
I was also going to suggest the reverse pressure softening. My LO also had a hard time staying latched and interested when I was engorged and this worked like a charm....aaaah, relief!
post #5 of 5

Been there

Oh this was my LO, a few sips and she'd pass out like I'd shot her full of heroin. Keep offering it to her. You can try changing her diaper when she passes out to try and wake her up. Nothing worked for my daughter but she grew out of it in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, pump a little honey! I don't recommend doing it constantly but if you're uncomfortable pump some off or hand express if you don't have a pump. Add an ice pack to you're bra to help with the engorgement.
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