will baby clamping down cause permanent damage?

[catherine1981]

Hi,

My question is if my DS (2mo) is clamping down (and sometimes perching out on the nipple) to restrict the flow, can I just live with it (it's not that painful) for another couple of months until he can handle the full flow (I read that most babies can handle it by 4mo) or am I going to have nipple damage and be creating bigger problems for myself??

(I can see that my nipple is a little flattened when he pulls off.)

I have a forceful letdown. It reminds me of when an idiot tries to siphon gasoline and sucks on the end of the hose to get the siphon action started and then gets a mouthful of gasoline. My son sucks sucks sucks and then the milk comes shooting out and he coughs and gags and pulls off and starts crying and is very reluctant to try again.  

I've tried nursing in the reclining position and expressing-pumping beforehand but I really prefer a cozy cradle-hold position (DS doesn't seem very relaxed or comfortable in reclining) and I express best after baby has sucked to stimulate my let-down and if I try to express then, DS is crying anxiously and gets all worked up. And often, expressing doesn't really do much to lessen the flow, I pretty much have to pump a significant amount out and then I start to worry about the vicious cycle of oversupply and even more forceful letdown.

Basically, the clamping is nothing I can't live with, but I don't know how resilient nipples are to something like this.

[tincia]

I am definately not experienced with this but i have stumbled across information while researching other bf info. I have read that if u let the baby suck to trigger let down then take him off and allow the milkto spray into a towel or anything of your choosing then put him back on. I know my baby would be freaking out during the short period while waiting to be put back on, but maybe he would come to learn that it is okay and that he will be put back on promptly.
As i said, i have no experience with this, but might be worth trying

[insidevoice]

If it isn't a major problem for you, it should be ok.  However, you'll want to be very careful to change nursing positions frequently to prevent blocked ducts. 

My solution was to pump and nurse at the same time.  If I pumped on the left and fed on the right, I could pump enough to slow the flow then move him to the left and let him eat mostly on the left that time.  The next time, I would start feeding on the left (the breast the baby had emptied previously, so the letdown wasn't so forceful) while pumping on the right- just enough to get through the OAL on that side.  Then I could switch.  That way the baby was pretty much always able to nurse from the side with a slightly less forceful letdown. 

Obviously, the pumping increased my supply to some extent, but this was the only way we managed to make it work until the kids were about 3/4 months old without their drowning. (Mine could latch on, pull off, and I'd have milk spraying all the way across the room.  It was comical and horrifying all at once. )

[prothyraia]

I have over-active letdown, and my three kids have all dealt with it somewhat differently.  The newest one is the first to want to have a shallow latch and chomp on me.  When things aren't quite so fire-hosey he does have a nice, normal latch, so I know he knows *how*, at least.  I'm not too fussed about it, mostly because I can't think of any better options.

Just remember- he will get teeth, fairly soon, and then hanging out on the tip or clamping down will be

I suppose one way of dealing with it, if he has a good latch when you're a little more empty, is to pump beforehand so it's not spraying out so violently, let him nurse, and then give that pumped milk via bottle either at the end of the feed or for the next feeding.  No over-supply issue (since you're not taking any more milk about of your breasts than he is actually consuming that day), but some potential nipple confusion/preference issues (especially since his latch is already not so great). 

[insidevoice]

Originally Posted by prothyraia 

Just remember- he will get teeth, fairly soon, and then hanging out on the tip or clamping down will be

Oh yes!  I um- have a hole clean through a nipple from this.  It healed, but never closed.  You'll want to watch for that.  On the upside, I suppose that when I'm not pregnant or breastfeeding this means I could look into jewelry...  never something I really wanted, but hey, the hole is already there..  

[catherine1981]

Much thanks for all the replies. I think that even in just the last day or two he's been getting a little more patient about letting me express into a cloth and then re-latching instead of freaking out.

[prothyraia]

Originally Posted by catherine1981 

Much thanks for all the replies. I think that even in just the last day or two he's been getting a little more patient about letting me express into a cloth and then re-latching instead of freaking out.

My oldest would latch on to comfort nurse, get drowned, pull off and scream with milk squirting all over his angry little face, and then try to latch on the soothe himself again, with the same result.  It was terrible!  But it all eventually settled down and he nursed till he was 3 1/2.  It definitely gets easier!