Breastfeeding with a receding chin and small mouth, SO painful!

[VBACmama4]

Anyone have any advice on positioning or latching for a baby with a small mouth and receding chin? He's only 4 days old and my nipples are so sore I can barely stand to latch him on, even though after nursing my 3 other children I know the latch is fine. Once he latches he is literally gulping, so I know my milk is in and he's nursing constantly, but if this pain continues I'll either end up with nerve damage or bleeding nipples (obviously not healthy for him or me). 

Any advice is appreciated, I'm also in the process of contacting La Leche League. Thanks :)

[womenswisdom]

Recessed chin and small mouth (or mouth not able to open wide) can be caused by restrictions in the facial fascia. Sometimes those are caused by misalignments that can be corrected with craniosacral therapy and/or chiropractic. Good article: http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/craniosacral.htm

[gemasita]

No advice but I had a similar situation and ended up with nerve damage.  Pumping made it worse, I think.

[LilMomma83]

I would definitly try craniosacral...even if it doesn't help nursing (which it probably will) it will be good for her in other ways... I've taken my DD 3 times and will continue at least once a month...which I had started right after birth!

[VBACmama4]

Thank you all for your advice :). I'll look into it, even though over the past 2 days its gotten slightly better but still painful. At least he's still gaining weight well. I NEVER pump, that made me more sore than nursing any of my kids and I never got more than 4 ounces to store at a time. Waste of $200 on a hospital grade Medela :(

[jocelyndale]

Sidelying worked well for us until kiddo figured it all out.  For us, kiddo had a slightly recessed chin (family trait) and it made it hard to work with my large, heavy breasts and large, flat nipples.  But it all worked out in the end.  I had to be willing to unlatch him when he wasn't latched well.  A bit of time helped with his latching/head control and my nipples became less flat.

[PatioGardener]

My friend's baby had the same issues. Football hold worked best for her - and getting as much breast in as she could. And taking advil around the clock.
 

[VBACmama4]

Thanks for the advice, I've tried side lying with him and it really does help even though the initial latch is still painful. It's like when he latches he bites enough to get a grasp on the nipple so he can start sucking and that is excrutiating at this point. I also have fairly large breasts and huge nipples, but they are thankfully not very flat, otherwise I think I would be crying 24 hours a day with the condition they are in! He's learning gradually (he's not even a week old after all) so I'm hoping that in a month he'll be an old pro like my other boys were. It's so frustrating going through a breastfeeding issue after having absolutely no real problems with 3 other children, especially with my not yet 2 year old at home full time as well. He's rough and often presses against my chest or bumps me, and I want to just curl up and die, but he's so little he doesn't have a clue that it hurts me. Giving up isn't an option for us, and I always nurse for at least a year so I'll try all these suggestions to make things easier!! Thanks again!