"Lipstick tube" nipples after every feeding

[KM84]

My baby is 5 days old and we've been pretty successful with breastfeeding so far. She opens wide, and we get what feels like a good latch - no pain - but invariably when she comes off I have the classic "lipstick tube" shaped nipples which I know are going to cause me a lot of pain if I don't correct this now.

I have pretty large breasts, now that my milk has come in I'd say they're between grapefruit sized and small canteloupes (and I take back every. single. prayer. I said in middle school asking for bigger boobs). It can be really hard to exert much control over them, especially when they're full. Maybe 1/4 of the time, the latch will slowly become painful over the course of the feeding and I have to take her off and re-adjust.

It doesn't help that she's cluster-feeding, she fed 16 times yesterday. Any ideas are greatly appreciated, I want to fix this before it makes breastfeeding a chore.

[sere234]

I'm not sure about the "lipstick tube" nipples but I know mine sure looked different in the beginning after DS nursed. I was worried about it as well but was assured it was normal. Turns out (for me) it was normal. Not sure how severe yours is or what advice to offer. Hope it gets better!

[womenswisdom]

That shape to the nipple does usually indicate a latch problem. I would find a qualified IBCLC in your area and have the baby evaluated for palate problems as wells as (very common!) tongue tie.

[LilMomma83]

Originally Posted by womenswisdom 

That shape to the nipple does usually indicate a latch problem. I would find a qualified IBCLC in your area and have the baby evaluated for palate problems as wells as (very common!) tongue tie.

Exactly what I was thinking....lipstick means baby does not have enough areola in their mouth, caused by a bad latch, which could very likely be caused my a tongue tie.

[begoniamama]

It is hard to control big boobs breastfeeding when they're little heads are so wobbly. in the early days my now 4.5 month old had a bad latch which was exactly what the above poster said - he liked to suck mostly on the nipple and not enough of the areola. no tongue tie, just a little mouth and not getting a full proper latch. that i and i think he learned to do it so he could cut off and control the flow since i have a forceful letdown that he would often choke on. and even though he was gaining and it wasn't TOO painful, i knew i had to fix it. some things that worked for us was making sure he had a lot of the areola in the bottom of his mouth so that he was stroking the areola and base of the nipple with his tongue instead of the actual nipple (which is what causes it to look like lipstick). i did this by waiting until he opened really wide and then shoving him on making sure his chin wasnt touching his chest or too extended upwards. because he seemed to like the shallow latch and would pull off to get just my nipple again i would have to do some tricks to get him used to more boob in his mouth. holding him tightly against my body helped, and even stuffing some more boob into his mouth once he was latched on actually helped. pulling on his chin never seemed to work, and i think in the long run it doesn't 'train' them to naturally take in more areola. and because he would choke and gag with a proper latch during letdown sometimes i would pull off and let down in a towel, so he could latch proper and not associate it with getting overwhelmed with milk. oh and lots of nipple cream in the meantime!

[KM84]

Thanks for the suggestions! She's latching a lot better now, I only get the "lipstick tube" every now and then, but I think we'll still have a lactation consultant come in to check things out. The confusing thing to me is that the latch itself isn't painful at all, just the after-effects!

[hildare]

we had this with our second child.  his mouth was really tiny, and that was why this was happening.  we saw a lactation nurse several times, but there was not a problem with his latch.  i used a shield for 2 weeks and then stopped using the shield, but it helped me make it till his mouth was bigger and he was a better nurser.  you'll hear bad things about the shields, but i used them with both kids for a few short weeks and i think they helped tremendously.  you don't want them to be a long term solution but they can solve short term problems like lipstick nips.

[Mommel]

I had this too at first, but it went away once his mouth got big enough to get more into it... I just saw it as one of the many downsides to having ginormous knockers (size 36M - yes, you read that right). Glad it seems to be working out now.

[NetteinNJ]

When you say that the babies grew out of it, at what point did that happen?  My little girl is 12-weeks-old and had her tongue tie clipped a week ago.  My nipples are still getting compressed and I wonder if she will just grow out of it or if I need to do suck training with her. 

[LilMomma83]

You need to stretch/massage to avoid reattachment, chiro or craniosacral therapy to releaser muscle tension, stick training (IBCLC can hero with this) to relearn. There is an awesome FB group called "tongue tie babies support" that can help guide you also :-)

[NetteinNJ]

Thank you so much!  I am so frustrated with our ENT now for not giving me good instructions  :(  I will look for the Facebook group.  I found another post on here about the stretching.  It sounds like I am just supposed to push it up and back.  Is that right?  Is there a place to look for directions and/or instructions?  I'll contact the LC on Monday.  Which would you recommend...chiropractor or CST?  I am freaking out a little that I didn't know about this stuff when it was first done...

[LilMomma83]

Originally Posted by NetteinNJ 

Thank you so much!  I am so frustrated with our ENT now for not giving me good instructions  :(  I will look for the Facebook group.  I found another post on here about the stretching.  It sounds like I am just supposed to push it up and back.  Is that right?  Is there a place to look for directions and/or instructions?  I'll contact the LC on Monday.  Which would you recommend...chiropractor or CST?  I am freaking out a little that I didn't know about this stuff when it was first done...

Yes, up and back, and massage over the whole base of the tongue (including the revision site) try to get in and out of baby's mouth as quick as possible. ((hugs)) It's common not to recieve good stretching instructions...if any at all.

The most important thing is that the provider understands breastfeed and ideally tongue tie (if not, that they at least work with babies regularly). If you have two good options, I believe craniosacral therapy is more highly reccomended...we have been going CST with great results.

Hope this helps!

Edited by LilMomma83 - 5/29/13 at 9:26am

[LilMomma83]

Curious how OP is doing as well? :-)

[NetteinNJ]

Many thanks, LilMomma!  I feel better knowing that it is not too late to start.  I will also try the recommended aloe/calendula mixture...I know I did an aloe/calendula/hypericum salve that helped me heal post-delivery and I never thought to try an oral safe mixture to help the baby.  I have a friend whose little girl is "failure to thrive" due to some intense suck/swallow disorganization and she has improved with her CST.  I'll ask for a recommendation.

Also thanks for the hugs...I need them *hugs back*

I'm also interested to know how the OP made out...

[sunshine28]

Originally Posted by LilMomma83  I used a mix of calendula extract and aloe vera juice (50:50) and rubbed that under her tongue just before stretching...it helped her heal properly. ((hugs)) It's common not to recieve good stretching instructions...if any at all.

The most important thing is that the provider understands breastfeed and ideally tongue tie (if not, that they at least work with babies regularly). If you have two good options, I believe craniosacral therapy is more highly reccomended...we have been going CST with great results.

Hope this helps!

How does the Calendula help?

Thanks.

[LilMomma83]

I just edited my original comment....its a very long story, but my DD needed another revision and I followed some bad advice and did aggressive stretching and calendula in my DD but I my ds2 was also revised and he hated the calendula (it stung him and tasted lime "poopy") so I was gentler with him and gave up using it. My ds2 healed beautifully, while my DD had horrible issues with reattachment, oral aversion, and PTSD. I feel heartbroken that I ever recommended either, let alone did so to my baby.

I recently searched back through some posts in another group and realized that even I started using calendula after the revision in may 2012 and reattachment stopped, that I had also switched to a much gentler and more massage like stretch then as well...I think it may have been the gentle stretch that was key.

I love the second section of this blog post for info on gentle stretching: http://jayesimpson.blogspot.com/2012/10/tongue-tie-gentleness-and-compassion.html?m=1