So sore.. How to get him to open up??

[GinaRae]

We think that Lach's not opening wide enough or tilting his head back enough. I can work on the head, but I cannot seem to get him to open up. My nipples are SO sore. Help!

[LianneM]

ohh ouch!

Don't let him keep nursing if the latch isn't right (making you sore). Unlatch him and redo it, every time. I found that if I looked at DS with my mouth wide open and said, "OOOHHH OPEN!" he would copy and I could bring him in quickly. Also make sure you have him up high enough - pillows underneath him or whatever to get him up higher helps a lot. You don't want to be leaning down to him, as that can cause the breast to come out some and mess up the latch.

Does that help at all?

[GinaRae]

I can unlatch and re-latch over and over and over and all it does is upset him. I can't seem to get him any wider.

The LLL consultant said his jaw may be a bit smaller than usual. He just isn't opening wide enough. I have no more tricks up my sleeve and no matter how many times we try it doesn't work.

I did hear that I should have him mimic me, but how does a newborn with his eyes shut (or the fact that he doesn't focus) mimic me? I don't understand. But there must be something to it since I have heard it before!'


Do I sound ungrateful? Sorry! I am gratefu! (so grateful!) for the advice. Just tired.

[Deir]

Can you try "the sandwich hold" Hold your breast between thumb and fingers and pinch a "sandwich" try to get as much breast tissue in his mouth as you can while tilting his head back. We call it " hoagie hold" in Philly.

[ASusan]

Try tapping on his chin, just between his lip and where his chin juts out. Do this before he latches - as he is preparing to latch.

You can also pull down his lower lip/jaw after he latches when he is sucking (when his mouth is already open).

Rest his head on your hand - use your finger (the middle one?) to rest most of the head weight on, and keep the finger just in front of his ear - in the notch where his jawbone comes together. As he opens and closes his jaw - your finger in this notch helps to open the lever of the jaw wider. Make sure your finger goes into the "hole" that is created when he opens his jaw.

You can also push out his jaw when he is suckling. As he opens his jaw, push the jawbone further open to get the mouth wider (push forward right on the part of the jaw that creats the "elbow" of his jawbone, about 1/2 - 1 inch down from his ear.)

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by GinaRae

The LLL consultant said his jaw may be a bit smaller than usual.

If his chin is the small part of his jaw, then the football hold may help.

Also, he may not be opening his jaw wide because of tight muscles. Sometimes the way babies sit in the womb cause them to have really tight jaw and/or neck muscles. Sometimes moms find that craniosacral therapy or seeing an osteopath really helps.

I hope things get better soon. Hang in there.

[LianneM]

I understand, I really do. Not knowing what advice you've already been given and what you've already tried, I start with the basics. I'm sorry if it was upsetting.

I went through it with my son also and found that if he got upset by my unlatching then he usually opened his mouth to cry and I could bring him in and get the best latches that way sad that he cried, but he sure was happy a second later.

I also second the football hold to try. If it doesn't solve all the problems, it can change up the pressure on the breast so you aren't making the same spot sore every time.

[Dov'sMom]

I third the football hold -- it lets you take full advantage of whatever opening there is.

And I just have to say, when I first saw your post I was skimming quickly and thought "Lach" was a typo for "latch"

[Valian]

Originally Posted by GinaRae

I can unlatch and re-latch over and over and over and all it does is upset him. I can't seem to get him any wider.

The LLL consultant said his jaw may be a bit smaller than usual. He just isn't opening wide enough. I have no more tricks up my sleeve and no matter how many times we try it doesn't work.

I did hear that I should have him mimic me, but how does a newborn with his eyes shut (or the fact that he doesn't focus) mimic me? I don't understand. But there must be something to it since I have heard it before!'
Do I sound ungrateful? Sorry! I am gratefu! (so grateful!) for the advice. Just tired.

My Ds had a smaller mouth (preemie, but then it lasted a looong time). I swear I brused myself using that damn sandwhich hold, latch and re-latch just hurt more and really, there was no getting him to mimic me or open his mouth, period. I thought it was a joke when people suggesed it. I will say the football hold was great!

So, we used nipple shields and were off and on with those. They aren't for everyone, but they can help protect the nipple tissue, and really, they are designed for kids with mouths too small to sucessfully latch on. If you're doing okay without them, you may not need them. I know there are strong feelings here about them but they are a tool. They may help at the 2-4 sessions a day when your kiddo is too tired, or for a few days while your sorenss fades. For us, at times only way I could sucessfully get him to nurse was to use the semi-hard form of the shield to force the nipple into his mouth. Although we have a long saga, Ds did learn to latch without the shield after a few weeks.

[GinaRae]

Thanks everyone! I am giving everything a try with high hopes.

Originally Posted by Dov'sMom

And I just have to say, when I first saw your post I was skimming quickly and thought "Lach" was a typo for "latch"

When I re-read my post, I thought someone might think that! Funny to that that a lot of people think his name sounds like LATCH-lan instead of LOCK-lan.

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by Valian

So, we used nipple shields and were off and on with those. They aren't for everyone, but they can help protect the nipple tissue, and really, they are designed for kids with mouths too small to sucessfully latch on. If you're doing okay without them, you may not need them. I know there are strong feelings here about them but they are a tool. They may help at the 2-4 sessions a day when your kiddo is too tired, or for a few days while your sorenss fades. For us, at times only way I could sucessfully get him to nurse was to use the semi-hard form of the shield to force the nipple into his mouth. Although we have a long saga, Ds did learn to latch without the shield after a few weeks.

I second this. I used a nipple shield judiciously. On my cracked nipple, I used the shield for 2 days. I then weaned off of it by reducing its use by a session a day. I stopped using it in less than a week. And it helped my nipple to heal quickly.

[momasana]

My ds has a small mouth and we experienced the same troubles. We tried different holds but that didn't help. A friend told me about the nipple-nose trick. I touch my nipple to his nose - this leads him to lean his head back and open wide so he can reach it. We used this trick and the "boob-sandwich" approach when he was tiny. Now that he has gotten bigger I don't need to sandwich as much.

[purplemamaaz]

DD had a shallow latch in the begining (ouch, I feel your pain!) and she still tries sometimes to not open very wide at 7 months! I second the "boob sandwich" technique and using a "football hold" helped me too. Also, what PP said about pulling at baby's jaw worked for me. I would let her latch on shallowly and then very, very gently pull at her jaw to slowly ease her mouth open wider. Most of the time she was so busy feeding she didn't seem to be bothered by what I was doing and it really helped to get her to open wider. Just be very gentle.