Breastfeeding with very very large breast - Page 2

[moonlightinvt]

I struggled a lot nursing my first child. I feel it was solely due to my "anatomy" that she just could not latch. Football hold worked the "best" (not saying much) and we resorted to a nipple shield for a week until she was finally able to stay on herself.

The one trick that I found was very helpful in getting her to latch without the shield was to do a "nipple sandwich" (). Because I was so large and so full I found this was the only way to get a bit of nipple into her mouth in a way that she could hold onto, despite the mound of breast pushing at her.

The "nipple sandwich" worked best in the cradle hold (lots of pillows to allow for a free hand). You use the hand opposite the breast your wee one is nursing on, use your first and middle fingers (like you are mimicking cutting--scissor-like but not with the rest of your fingers curled in), squeeze the base of your nipple at areola ("cut"), then pull fingers toward your body while slightly spreading them.

This helps move the bulging breast tissue away from nipple and baby while elongating the nipple. Hope this description gives you the idea.

Goodluck!!! I hope you find that the next baby will be a little easier, as I did (with regard to breastfeeding )

[Dov'sMom]

I didn't have the chance to read all the posts, but I thought I'd chime in.

For me, the only way I could see to position the baby in the first weeks was with the football hold, and even then I still had to hold my breast the entire time. I couldn't nurse lying down until he was 8-10 weeks and could latch himself from a funny angle without being suffocated... I needed a pillow under my arm supporting the baby's head (which I had to do because it was easier to move him to my breast than the other way around) and preferably another at my other side because I'd be sitting lopsided.

[moonlightinvt]

Oh, but I forgot to mention the advantage of large breasts...

While on a car trip, with upset, hungry baby in the rear-facing carseat in the back of car...

We can nurse our baby while someone else drives--even with our seatbelt on Sit next to babe's car seat and slide the shoulder part off, lean forward and WAALAA--a happy baby!!!

[rachelsimon1978]

Originally Posted by dctexan

I love the mirror idea!
Do you have a breastfeeding pillow? It really is essential with large boobies (in my opinion) - at least the baby's body will be supported and at the right level...one less thing to wrestle with! I also have very round boobs and I can really only squish/support half of my boob at a time. It worked best for me to hold the boob from the outside (the armpit side) with my four fingers supporting/guiding from the bottom (to lift boob up and aim) and my thumb on top (to hold the flesh away from baby's face/nose). Also in the first 2 weeks it was a struggle getting baby to open his mouth wide enough (he was just so tiny and my boob was so big!), but I just kept with it. Eventually we worked it out.

For sidelying I actually use two pillows to help me out. One behind my back so that I can sort of lean against it/roll slightly back. The other I use to hold the baby wehre I want him (because I need my arm/hand to control the boob. If the babe isn't positioned right, I have to let go of my boob (which breaks the latch) reposition the pillow/baby and then pick my boob back up again and relatch. It was very hard at first (especially with flailing open mouth newborn head - which is why I suggest practicing in the day, in the light, when both of you can handle not nursing for a few minutes in case it doesn't work out) but DS totally had it down now (took several weeks of practice). When he is on the bed and sees me setting up the pillow nest and he get a big smile and rolls on his side all by himself

I love the mirror idea too, considering my 40(0/P) well rounded firm breast (I don't know what size you are) I can not see my nipple except when I lift my breast toward my face and in that position its hard to feed...lol I tried football position and tried to guide my nipple with my right hand like you explained but now I could not find out if it was going into my babies mouth or not because I could not see it. Then I tried using my left hand to make sure my babies mouth was close to the nipple, it was really awkward. The baby would get frustrated and cry and I had limited success with it. This time around I want to use the mirror and get the basic football position right and then move to other position like sidelying.

I did try sidelying, but had same problem the gigantic boobs would block my view and I had the least success with it. But like you said I must practice it with mirror. I guess I will need special kind angled mirror to accomplish this. I'm trying to practice all this with a doll so that I'm well prepared when the baby arrives

[ruthr]

Another place I read has been discussion infant self attachment, including when mom is well endowed. A repeated bit of wisdom has been that if mom reclines back then she can let gravity work for/with her. I'm going to take from my yoga teacher and modify, she says there is not one perfect say tree pose but there is YOUR perfect tree pose, there is no one magic breastfeeding position, there is your perfect breastfeeding position. Whether it's a cradle hold, cross cradle, football or something else that doesn't look like one of these "classic" positions but works for you. I think that if you focus on being physically comfortable yourself, bringing the baby to your breast, having your body (that includes your arms and breast) well supported and helping baby get an asymetric latch, more of the lower part of the areola in the mouth not a bullseye on the nipple, you will find your right position. As your baby grows you can remember to try other positions, what was a perfect position early on may not be best later. I also found that rolling up a baby blanket into a roll and putting it under my breast was helpful so I didn't have to support it so much. And it is weird to look and see that your breast is bigger than your baby's head. Especially so when your baby is a bit early and on the small side anyway.
Ruth

[Terabith]

I'm a 40 L/ M cup. I was before pregnancy also.

I've always had to have at least one hand to nurse. I have to be sitting down; I can't do it standing up with a sling. I have to have one hand at least to both hold the breast up and to cup/ shape the nipple so the baby can fit her mouth around it.

I wasn't able to nurse lying down at all until after a year. Now I can do it, but it still involves propping on my elbow. I can't just nurse completely asleep.

I was told all about the football hold, but I actually had more success with cross cradle and cupping the boobs. I would put the baby on the bobby to bring her up to boob height. It got much easier as she got bigger, too.

It is complicated, and it's hard to get advice, since so few people have encountered women with very very large breasts nursing. I also really recommend a check up with a really good lactation consultant shortly after birth. Experimenting with different positions and devices (bobby, my breast friend, etc) can be useful, too.

[Jess A]

You can do it. It just might take some creativity.

I have large breasts. And besides being large, they are saggy and the nipples point almost downward (not a pretty picture, I realize. Sorry.) The cradle hold is impossible, and for months, I couldn't nurse without a Boppy.

Things clicked for me when I realized it wasn't so much the hold, but the fact that I had to come to terms with holding my breast for every feeding (in the beginning, when he was nursing 12-14 hours a day, I thought for sure I'd end up with carpal tunnel!). When I made peace with the fact that me nursing wasn't going to look like or be like all my perky boobed friends' nursing, things got better. Plus, I just reminded myself that DS didn't care one way or another as long as he got what he needed/wanted .

What worked for me was the following:

Boppy. Put baby on it toward the breast he/she'll be feeding from.
Breast hold. Cup breast underneath and hold up so nipple faced baby.
Nipple sandwich. Squish nipple (gently) to make it easier for baby to get a mouthful of areola (sp?).
Comfortable chairs and supportive nursing bras.
Surrounding myself with people who supported my efforts.

And then I just did it. For about six months, I carried either my Boppy or small pillow with me everywhere (DS was my third, so we were out a lot with the older two). I have found that it's very easy to be discreet with my large chest . . . I don't have to uncover so much to get DS to latch on.

It's been 12 and a half months and we are still going strong. One thing I learned is that my son got bigger and stronger, we could experiment more with positions and can now NIP without a Boppy (I still use it at home for comfort and ease).

Good luck!

[lolar2]

When we had our few successes, there was no way I could hold the baby or even touch him with my hands while nursing. He had to be supported completely by pillows, because it took both my hands to get and keep my breast in a position and shape that he could latch onto.

(Reiterating that I think it was his bubble palate that finally stopped our nursing relationship-- if he hadn't had that, IMO we could have worked it out for good.)

[Cullens_Girl]

G (right side) H (left side) cup here and nursing a preemie at the same time is been quite a challenge. We're still working on latch and positions. This thread has been helpful and I'm looking forward to trying the ideas.

[rachelsimon1978]

Good luck. I too learnt a lot from this thread and hopefully will be able to breast feed with ease this time

[DBZ]

I'm large breasted too (44h). I used the foot ball hold to start out with. I used pillows (real pillows not a boppy) to bring the baby UP to my breast. Many people who are small chested from my POV will tell you to roll up a receving blanket and stick it under your boob. I'd suggest avoiding that. It just adds more steps and is a PITA IMO. The pillows can completely support the baby and you can use a finger to hold back your breast tissue from the babies nose.

After we mastered the football hold I learned a variation on the cradle hold. I'd use a pillow, folded padded sling, hoodie, etc. to bring her up to the right level and latch her on. I used a finger to keep her nose clear. This is the position I usually used to nurse in public.

Nursing in bed is a breeze for many large chested moms. Angle the baby so the but is a little closer to you then the head and you won't have to worry about anything. To switch sides just roll towards the baby enough so she can latch.

[Geeki]

K cup here.

I have to say...football hold saved me...

I *can* nurse in cradle (in fact I often due when we are out in public) but with my breast size I can literally put her on my lap, and drop my breast into her mouth and she can nurse facing up...and have a boob blanket...

Not the way a c cup would nurse, but it works for us.

[Dov'sMom]

For the first two+ months, I could only nurse in the football hold, with the breast-side hand holding the baby's head (arm resting on a pillow) and the other hand holding the breast in a "sandwich" to a) keep it from suffocating the baby and b) allow me to see the baby's face. The cradle hold was impossible until he was better at latching himself. I was able to side-lie around 2 months, but certainly not to sleep; I still needed to hold my breast and use my other arm to position him -- sometimes even less comfortable than just sitting up. I was so jealous when I visited a small-chested friend postpartum and she could just latch the baby on (under a cover, no less!) and then have both hands available to do whatever (mostly read books to and cuddle her 2-year-old) -- I had to have a full view and both hands for weeks.

[lolar2]

For those of you who were successful w/ football hold, I'm still not getting how you were able to see the nipple and the baby's mouth to get a latch? When DS was in football hold, all I could see was the top of my breast-- when my bra is off I can't see my nipples if I look down while sitting up, and of course his head was completely 100% covered by my breast, so I couldn't see his face or my nipple at all unless I twisted my neck around. And then once he was latched, I couldn't tell if he had breathing room at his nose because I again couldn't see his face unless I twisted my neck around. Did you all use mirrors, or did you somehow do it by feel?

I see the PP is talking about holding the breast in a "sandwich"-- so you're saying that when you did that (which I always did, too) it actually made your breast small enough that the baby's head was visible? Even a newborn?

[Dov'sMom]

Originally Posted by lolar2

For those of you who were successful w/ football hold, I'm still not getting how you were able to see the nipple and the baby's mouth to get a latch? When DS was in football hold, all I could see was the top of my breast-- when my bra is off I can't see my nipples if I look down while sitting up, and of course his head was completely 100% covered by my breast, so I couldn't see his face or my nipple at all unless I twisted my neck around. And then once he was latched, I couldn't tell if he had breathing room at his nose because I again couldn't see his face unless I twisted my neck around. Did you all use mirrors, or did you somehow do it by feel?

I see the PP is talking about holding the breast in a "sandwich"-- so you're saying that when you did that (which I always did, too) it actually made your breast small enough that the baby's head was visible? Even a newborn?

I held the baby with one hand, below and a few inches in front of my breast, so I could see him. With my other hand, I lifted my breast up with some pressure inward so my nipple was pointed forward and I could see it, and then I brought the baby in toward the nipple. By the time he latched, I couldn't see most of his face anymore, but because I was able to see both his mouth and the nipple before bringing him in toward me I could aim pretty well. The only way I knew that he had breathing room at his nose was because I held my breast throughout the feeding, so my fingers were close enough to kind of probe and check.

[lolar2]

Thank you! That is much easier to picture.

[saimeiyu]

I have huge boobs, don't have a clue other than "bigger than G by a long shot" of how big, now that my milk came in... They used to be just a little bigger than G when DD was born, but... now not even close.
Anyhow,
When DD was born (unwanted, unnecessary C/s) we started out with a football hold, but not like the pictures in the books. I was at about 45 deg angle, dd was at a 45 deg angle the other direction, I used pillows (and other people;s hands sometimes) and kind of pinched my nipple and held DD WAAY far out away from me so she didn't suffocate. (here is picture: http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...yu/Cora070.jpg ) This was before milk came in, though, so.. imagine that plus 2 cup sizes a few days later!
My boobs were about 2/3 times the size of DD's head.... and she was an 8 pound baby! Now that she's bigger, they're only 1.5 times as big as her head.

After we got home, I developed this way of feeding her, which was:
I slouched/leaned back on couch, (with pillows behind my back) and kept DD's head at the right place with my leg (I put my foot up on the couch-- had to sit an an angle for this) and used one hand to smoosh the boob and keep it away from her nose, and the other hand to pinch the nipple and smoosh it into her mouth.

Also, my dd doesn't like conventional positions (i think because she usually can't breathe in them 'cause of my boobs) she likes sitting up on the bed when I lay down, and then she leans over to get to the boob without too much smooshyness, and she likes laying sideways on my belly while I lay on my back, and she can eat that way (I guide the nipple to her mouth by feel, by the way... can't see.) I pinch my nipple/areola with my thumb and index finger, and with my pinkie and ring finger, I find her mouth, and then SMOOSH.
That usually works.
Also, dd likes to sit straddling one leg, and I sit up very straight, and then hold her sitting up with my arm while I guide the nipple to her mouth (again with the hand-searching method. I gave up at really looking to see, it hurts my neck.
Also, with the leg-straddle thing, that only works on chairs, sitting on the edge, not on the couch. I think maybe some of this needs drawings to show you what I mean. Anyhow.

We also use the ring sling to hold her at the right level and do football that way. I am going off the draw some pictures.

Oh! and by two months, baby learned to use her fist to keep the boob away from her nose... so I only have to do that part half of the time.

[saimeiyu]

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c.../positions.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...positions2.jpg

oh, and also, when they start getting bigger, it generally gets MUCH easier.