Still painful latch on after 3 months...never going to get better?

[Ophelia]

I've had trouble with painful latch on since the beginning. It used to be excrutiatingly painful for the whole feeding until I started using the shells to air it out, then it was only painful latch on. he had a VERY tight frenulum, and after much thought we did get it clipped at 2 weeks, hoping it would help.

He has a strong suck, and I noticed if I don't use anything (shells, shields) my skin literally gets raw (pink, the layers of skin wear off) and I have to start using the shields again.

Anyone else have pain for this long?

[ArtistMama]

Yes.

With me, it was due to dd having a terrible latch at the start. We actually taught her to latch on a finger using a dropper of milk. When she had her lips and tongue on the finger right, we would reward her with the milk. When she had it wrong we broke the latch and tried again.

Do you have an LC? Or a LLL group where maybe someone could check out your latch and make sure lips and tongue are perfectly placed? There are also different latch techniques that can help if you are trying to let sore nips heal. 'Off center latch' worked wonders when I thought I couldn't take the pain anymore.

[violet]

did trimming the tongue-tie help? my ds had a tight frenulum but not enough to do anything about, and nursing him was never as comfortable as nursing my dd was. But it was tolerable and did not result in trauma. You mention shield and shell, are you using a nursing shield while nursing, or just shells between feedings? It can be difficult for babes to nurse with a proper latch without a nursing shield if they are used to with. Do you have any nursing friends who could take a look? It really takes an LC to check his suck and his mouth physiology. I would have someone take a look because 3 months is a long time - if he has an improper latch you are gonna have to help him learn a new way - sooner the better.

[Panserbjorne]

You should see an IBCLC and soon. Was the tongut tie fully clipped? We did ds's at 5 days and things didn't get completely better. My IBCLC was insistent that it wasn't fully clipped and that he still had the posterior tie. When the doc checked at 2 months it was still tied (posterior tie) IT was clipped and made a big difference.

Otherwise an IBCLC is a great idea just in terms of checking the latch and lookin gfor possible infection which can also cause pain.

[Ophelia]

thanks! We did see an LC at a hospital as soon as we found out about his tight frenulum at 1 week old. She observed his latching and said that he is taking a smaller part of the aeorla at first, then a little bit bigger and a then more of it in his mouth. I would say no, the tongue clipping did not help with nursing.
Normally I only use the shields while nursing him during the day at home. At night and when out in public, I don't use them as they are a pain. I only use the shells when I start hurting and seeing my skin getting raw.

I went to a LLL meeting a couple weeks ago, but was too shy to ask the leaders to look at his latch when he was nursing. I did talk about how I was still having trouble.

What is an IBC lactation consultant and where can I find one in my area? As far as I know it was fully clipped, I have seen him stick his tongue out just past his lower lip.

[Panserbjorne]

Just FYI- if it's a posterior tie they can almost always stick it out....but they won't be able to mold the palate or have proper peristalsis. An IBCLC is board certified and are required to know/do more.

[jenny-g]

I did still have pain, because I had a terrible case of undiagnosed thrush. Do you think you might have it? It might be worth treating for it to see if it improves.

I'd also definitely get that tounge tie re-checked, I think that's a good idea.

Not until the thrush was treated (which was terrible) did the latch finally work/not be terribly painful, at about 3.5 to 4 months. I also have low supply and did a lot of pumping, etc.

[Ophelia]

I haven't really suspected a thrush issue because it doesn't hurt any other time (well, except for when I first start pumping it's sensitive then too). I did call and leave a msg with a local IBCLC so hopefully she will call me back and I can make an appt with her. thanks!

[amybw]

thanks for sharing your story and asking this question.
I have a similar issue and my DS is 2 mths old today.
I just weaned from shields and it is still terribly painful for me.

How do I know if my son is tongue tied?

I know we dont have a good latch but am having a hard time fixing it. My boobs are so big I cant see if his bottom lip is right or wrong

How do i find a LC? Anyone have a ball park figure on how expensive one is? My insurance doesnt cover LC's.

thanks !


Amy

[mamums]

Originally Posted by amybw

thanks for sharing your story and asking this question.

How do i find a LC? Anyone have a ball park figure on how expensive one is? My insurance doesnt cover LC's.

Hi,

I found my lactation consultant from this directory: http://www.breastfeeding.com/directory/lcdirectory.html. You could also ask your local LLL leader for recommendations. Their fees really seem to depend a lot on where you live. I'm in Bergen County, New Jersey and the LC's around here (that I contacted) charge around $150 per session (which lasts about 1 1/2 hours).

You might also want to try working with an Occupational Therapist. DS had a painful latch as well (he was tongue tied, frenulum was snipped, had difficulty latching yadda yadda yadda). The LC helps with things like positioning, milk supply, and nursing in general, but an OT will work on the oral-motor aspect of nursing, like suck/swallow/breathe training or uncoordinated/restricted tongue movement. If you get a prescribtion blank or referral from your pediatrician, your insurance may cover working with an OT (or at least give you a partial reimbursement) because it's a physical condition (inability to nurse or suck adequately/properly) that the OT is working on. Our OT was so wonderfully sweet AND she charged less than our LC.

Good luck!

[amybw]

thanks for the advice!
We go for the 2 mth check up next week so i will talk to the Ped!

[brisco]

I would seriously look at the tongue tie issue again.

I didn't find out DS had a posterior tongue tie until he was nearly 10 months old, after he'd stopped nursing. I nearly always had pain with nursing and I'm pretty sure he never really liked it at all, which is why he didn't come back to the breast after a nursing strike due to hand, foot and mouth.

[Panserbjorne]

Apparentnly not many people understand/evaluate for posterior ties. They are just as easy to clip, but not as apparent. You need someone who really gets it.