Bad latch in a 13 month old

[Snapdragon]

my 13 month old is having latch issues which is really affecting our nursing. It feels like very teethy, if that makes sense. A shallow latch, not comfortable.  How do I teach a good latch to a teething 13 month old with 8 teeth- and also I have low supply issues right now so ds needs to really relax into it to get it to flow- and I need to relax- but with the bad latch neither of us relax. thanks

[Katie T]

Is the babe getting any new teeth? I noticed that latch got bad when they were working on new teeth. 

[Snapdragon]

yes- his top two middles are teeth # 7 and 8 for him and they are coming down right now0 he is in this crazy biting mode- where the teeth coming down are making him want to bite everything! when he latches on it feels like he is almost gnawing at my nipple. But with my already decreased nursing, and my now low supply, my nursing relationship and ability is just falling apart- so I want to fix it! Do I just hope that once those teeth are in his latch will get better?

[Katie T]

Have you tried something to help relieve the pain of the teething. Motrin Hylands something like that? (depending on what you like to use there is even orajel). I noticed that the teeth didn't even have to be all the way through and the pain was better. Only lasted a couple days. How long have you been having the latch issue? 

At his age I would pop him off and relatch till it felt a little more comfortable. Hope it gets better soon. As for your low supply you can eat oatmeal and there is also several things (tonics and pills) you can take to increase it again. Don't know what all you have tried. 

[Snapdragon]

thanks

yes, we give him baby advil when the teething pain is really bad. ugh- the low supply is directly related to the lack of nursing frequency, which is directly related to my discomfort when he latches- is it supposed to feel uncomfortable and teethy and I am just a whimp? Do I just need to suck it up?! Or is this something we can correct? This morning I was gung ho to do the best nursing session I could when we woke up. Luckily my milk seemed to be flowing decntly, but the latch kept being poor. He is latching on shallow- to the nipple and not beyond- and we kept relatching and it didn;t get much better- the left side is better for some reason- a better latch and I am less nervous on that side, I don't know why!  But the session was still choppy= he would get an okay latch and I did my best to relax into it, but then after 10 seconds or so he would pop off. then I would switch sides or latch him back on, and then sometimes the latch would get uncomfortable so I popped him off and relatched but it never got really great. So I and probably he felt dissatisfied with it- he didn;t get as much milk as he needed. I keep thinking each next session will be better but so far it isn't/

[Snapdragon]

I wonder if maybe I should stop popping him off when the latch is unccomfortable and hope that if I relax into it that he will relax more and it will shift into a better latch that way? He pops off, I think, because he is following the pattern of what I do. So maybe when he is latched on, even if it is poor, I shold just keep going? even if it feels like my nipple is being gnawed on sometimes?! what do you guys think about the approach= should I pop off and relatch or let it be and hope it relaxes?

[McGucks]

My 13 month old has had eight teeth for months and is getting a molar.  His latch isn't always comfortable for me (and I guess for him).  He went though a biting while nursing stage that was no fun around 9-10 months that is fortunately over, but sometimes his nursing just feels too toothy to be comfortable.  I either take him off or switch sides, which seems to work.  Snapdragon:  good for you for hanging in there nursing with the low supply!

[Snapdragon]

thanks! I hate even saying my supply is low- because it was so great up until recently- so it is not  a chronic thing but a situational one. thanks for the encouragement! I am determined to get through this and re establish a good nursing relationship with ds. I am still not quite sure how other than just being willing to acceept some of the discomfort, trying to get the latch right, and relaxing as much as I can. This morning I was focusing on trying to get his head back anf the nipple down- and I guess I was a little more relaxed than usual- but I wonder if I should stop thinking about it and juts do it- I don't know.  I know there is no one right answer- I just have to keep at it! I want to come back on here and give a good update at some point.

[McGucks]

Snapdragon:  Do you have access to a LLL leader?  Most of my nursing troubles were solved (or at least I felt a whole lot better) after talking with mine.  Also, the new version of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has some good tips for nursing discomfort.  One that I remember for latch is to tilt your nipple up before you begin to nurse.  This makes it so more breast gets into the mouth.  When my LO started biting, I also would gently but firmly push his head onto my breast when he was latching on (like our hospital's lactation consultant taught me to do when he was newborn).  It helped some.  Good luck and hang in there!

[eh bien]

My 9 month old is having latch issues as well. He's also working on some teeth and we've been having issues for a month or so. I've just recently started to pull down on his lower jaw while he's nursing to widen his mouth, and push my nipple further in to his mouth to fix the latch. I remember my midwife suggested this when he was a newborn so I thought I'd give it a try now. I really want to nurse as long as he would like to, but I too feel tense at some point each time he nurses due to the discomfort/pain. Pulling down his jaw while nursing has been helping a lot.

[PatioGardener]

Someone just posted this link from kellymom on another thread and I found it really useful.

[Snapdragon]

things were better today- the latch was miuch better and the nursing better. Because I have been working on more nursing and pumping to increase my supply I think it is working. so feeling like my breats were more full of milk made it easier for me to relax and then ds relaxed. babies are such energetic mirrors, y know? I think now that  his latch was weird cause I was so super tense. Today I managed to not be tense for the first time in a while while nursing and then he relaxed.