Anyone else tired of all the latch literature? - Page 2

[Da WIC Lady]

Originally Posted by mommabird

I consulted LLL here and they referred me to an LC. I emailed her and she charges $220 for an hour. I don't have that kind of money available and asked about payment arrangements or sliding scale. She said "It's $220, which is a lot cheaper than formula."

That's probably one of the least compassionate things an LC has said to me.

Needless to say, I don't put too much stock in LLL recommendations now.

You've got to be kidding me! Why are these women in the business they're in if they aren't compassionate. As much as I disdain convenience formula feeders, I would NEVER speak to ANY mother that way. I'm so sorry you were treated this way momma. Do you qualify for WIC? They're supposed to have lactation support for free. IF you do have WIC and your clinic doesn't at least try to help start filing complaints. I wish I didn't live so far away. I'd come help you if you were closer. If you don't qualify I would still call to see if they know of any local resources that can help. If they have a peer counselor on staff she might at least talk to you. I know there were several moms that had picked up the pamphlets from the health department with my number that weren't on WIC that I still talked to and though I couldn't do home visits, told them if they came in during my clinic hours I'd be happy to see them if I weren't helping a patient.

[pumpkingirl71]

Those handouts and videos are for typical babies. When something is wrong, they just give you the same advice. My son didn't have the rooting reflex and didn't open his mouth. Every lactation consultant showed me the same tricks. It was very frustrating.

[Mizelenius]

OK, mama, I read your post about your issues on another thread.

Based on my experience, here are my suggestions:

(1) Dump the SNS. I found it to be SO time-consuming, so draining, and it was not worth it.
(2) Feed him 30 minutes on each side (for now), then feed him with a bottle.
(3) As soon as he's done, PUMP. Do you have a really good pump? Pump, pump, pump.
(4) Sleep as much as possible. Have your DH feed the baby at night when it's time for the bottle, but do not skip those pumping sessions at night.
(5) Consider getting cranial-sacral therapy for your DS. I did this for my middle daughter. She was not gaining weight, would not nurse well at all, slept all the time. I held a crazy schedule like yours . . .I think all I did for the 1st 6 weeks was pump, nurse, pump, nurse. I was told by LLL that she would probably never be able to exclusively nurse. Thankfully, they were wrong.

I am in the Chicago area, too . . .this is who I used:

Patricia Berg-Drazin IBCLC
1237 N. Manor Drive
Wilmette IL 60091
United States

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

She was recommended to me by the IBLBC at Swedish Covenant. She said that her specialty was latch issues. She was very interesting . . .she was the first IBLBC that ever really studied my DD. She held her in her arms, studied her, did some of whatever is she does, and OMG . . .for the first time, my DD had a noticeably improved latch. Now, within about a week it started to weaken again. By this point (due to bottlefeeding her) she had gained weight well and was 6 weeks old . . .starting to "wake up." So I nursed her all day and night for 3 days straight, kept weighing her to make sure she was gaining/not losing, held back on the bottles unless I thought they were necessary, and that was that. It felt like a miracle. We never had issues again. Now, she WAS very expensive. My mom paid for her as my b-day present (my mom was pretty nice!). I don't normally believe that things like that work, but now I do.

Did your son have a fast birth, by any chance? She told me that is common cause of jaw issues.

Also, do you know about MOBI? They really helped me get through it all.

http://www.mobimotherhood.org/MM/default.aspx

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/mobi/

Let me know if you need more support/info!

ETA I was NOT dealing with a low-supply issue, or not initially. My supply dropped way down when DD did not nurse insufficiently. By pumping and fenugreek, I got it back up.

One more question and it is a big one:
Do you hear him swallow when he nurses?