Large Nipples and Constantly on Breast - Help!

[california_mom]

My son is a little over one week old, born 7 lbs 6 oz. I keep hearing how breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt, but for me, it does. I have seen two lactation consultants, and I think I got the latch nailed on the left boob. There's a little pain at first, but then it subsides. The right one is another story. My nipple is a little bigger on the right boob. I can't get the correct latch apparently because it ALWAYS hurts. After breastfeeding, there are pinch/crease marks on my nipple. To add insult to injury, my son falls asleep at the nipple, so we've been stimulating him (with the "chicken wing," pushing on his shoulder, and massaging the breast to increase flow). That is an endless task. If I were to let him, he would stay at my breast and sleep there. When I take him off the breast (when he's asleep and after at least 20 minutes), he'll start rooting around again like he's hungry, and of course, cry. So I switch him to the other breast, let him eat, take him off when it's been at least 20 minutes and he's sleeping at the nipple, and BOOM, he'll be rooting around again and crying. This is killing me!

I'm pretty sure he's been getting enough to eat because he poops with almost every feeding (8-12/day) and pees just as much. His poops are yellow/mustard color.

I bought a breastpump and have been toying with the idea of breastfeeding and pumping. With as long as he takes to eat, it seems like it might take less time to pump and feed from a bottle. *sigh* We've also gone against everything we believe and have supplemented with soy formula with a Second Nature bottle (which theoretically mimics the nipple more closely and makes the infant suck harder) to give my boobs a rest and to make sure he's getting enough to eat. *another sigh* I feel like such a bad mom already.

I guess my questions are:

Could nipple size have an effect on the latch/feeding and be causing the pain?

What can we do to encourage him to eat more efficiently so that he's not latched on to my breasts 24/7?

[possum]

I can't really advise you on the nipple size and latch question. Even moderate sized boobs and nipples seem to look huge compared to a new baby, but they don't seem intimidated. I would see another LC about the latch.
New babies need to nurse A LOT. Among many other reasons are that they are not as efficient as they will soon be at nursing; they need a lot of comfort (just imagine that your baby's whole world has changed. Everything! What a wonderful comforting thing to have a nice soft, warm boob to nurse on.); they are building your supply in the early weeks because prolactin levels fall off as time passes so it's harder to increase supply later on; their bellies are still not very large, so they can only hold a little BM at a time; BM can be digested completely in 90 minutes.
You might try some other techniques to soothe your baby. The Happiest Baby on the Block is a great book that talks about the "4th trimester" and how to soothe your baby using the sensations that soothed him in the womb - sucking, shhhing, swinging, swaddling, and side/tummy lying.
BUT, I would nurse him any time he roots and seems to want to nurse. He knows what he needs.
It's hard to nurse a baby 23 hours a day and take breaks only to change poopy diapers. But, all to soon, you will be wishing your baby would linger a little longer in your lap as he does a quick nurse and dashes off to play again.
Make yourself comfortable; find something to do while he nurses for hour upon hour - watch movies, read, look at the internet . . . You'll get through this, mama.
Melinda

[guestmama9904]

i would really encourage you to not use any formula. your baby IS getting enough milk from you if he has 8-12 wet diapers a day. the formula will just interfere with what sounds like an already difficult latch and every ounce of formula you feed is an ounce less of milk your body makes. 1 week old is also too soon in my opinion to introduce an artificial nipple. there is no bottle that is the same as a soft human boob! i seriously would throw out any formula you have in your house and focus on nursing. the first 6 weeks of nursing are hard no matter what anyone says, its simply a learning period.

the first week is especially tough on many moms nipples. it sounds to me like baby might not be opening his mouth wide enough with each nursing. when he shows signs of hunger, ie. rooting, grunting ect, brush your nipple against his cheek and watch for his mouth to open WIDE, like as wide as it will open, then, as swiftly as you can bring baby to your breast and pop him on. dont droop your breast into his mouth or it will hurt.

my son nursed literally once an hour all day and night until he was at least a few weeks old. whether he nursed to eat or simply for comfort sucking ill never know but either way it resulted in me having a great, strong supply and him being a huge baby!

i hope things smotth over a bit, newborns are a lot of work to say the least but women all over the world are nursing right now...

[rachelmarie]

It sounds so tough. You are NOT a bad mom. The first weeks are hard. You'll get through them - I promise!

I would definitely stop the bottles and formula. Work with another LC or talk/meet with a La Leche League leader to work on your baby's latch. It's okay that your baby is nursing constantly. It's totally normal and a good thing. He's building your supply and getting lots of wonderful comfort by being there. My ds was the same way and I spent lots of time on the internet, reading, and watching TV in those early months.

Just hang in there, work at it, and get some outside (very knowledgeable) support to help you through this.

[stickywicket67]

here's some things i remember from when my baby (now 4 months) was a newbie.
they nurse A LOT. at 10 days they have a major growth spurt and all you do is have baby on boob.
i have bigger breasts/ nipples and it was hard for my lo to get his mouth around the areola. bfing did hurt me -for about 10 weeks and i had his latch checked multiple times. it was fine i'm just a very sensitive person ... and yes it took 10 weeks. waaay longer than most but it did stop hurting and now it's effortless. check his mouth on the breast that hurts. his lips should be positioned somewhat towards the bottom of the areola- covering more of the bottom than the top. i have a "good" side and a "bad" side too. i think most women do. i used lasinoh and the earth mama angel baby nipple butter. it did help a bit.
i was also under this impression that babies could go a lot longer btwn feedings than they do. my lo still nurses pretty much every 1 1/2 hours and that's counting from the beginning of the previous session. newborns take a long time at each session so it's like every half hour you're getting the boob out! really not much you can do about it it's just how they are hardwired
i also did formula supplementing to "catch a break". i had another serious birth related healing thing going on coupled w/ low supply. my lo was a big baby and was losing weight rapidly. i got help w/ the supply issue and once the other physical problem i had was resolved that was it- no more formula. that was at two weeks post partum. if i hadn't had the other issue i was dealing with i would never have given formula. you have to take care of yourself, of course, but if you just decide you will get through it w/out formula you will. giving formula messes w/ your supply- "the more you take the more you make."
re; pumping-nursing is more efficient in expressing milk than a pump even though it doesn't feel that way. and babies definitely want breasts for the comfort, the softness, and your smell. can you ask for support from your dp? our ped told mine- "she is to camp out in bed and feed the baby. you are to wait on her hand and foot so she doesn't have to think about anything else." it helped to be told that it was my "job" just to nurse, nurse, nurse.
having a newborn is really really hard. i had no idea what i was in for!
hang in there mama. i never expected that i would be such a bfing fanatic but it really is a wonderful experience to have with your baby. the sore nipples will stop. if it's still really painful in a week definitely go see a LC again.