Cross posted from the breastfeeding challenges forum. I'm panicky and beside myself here....
Katie is now 6wks. We've been battling nipple confusion since we finally brought her home after 5 days in NICU, but I thought our troubles were managable until today. We've not had huge leaps in weight gain, and lately it's been bothering me a bit. Nursing sessions are about 2-3 hours apart, but only 5 minutes long or so. Lately she's even been pulling off and screaming at me just a few minutes after let down. I've been assuming that she's done, but today I realized it's only that she's suddenly getting confused about the nipple in her mouth halfway through nursing. If I keep my finger in there the whole time, she'll suck for a good 20 minutes. The implication here, is that she's not actually nursing tilll she's full. No wonder her weight gain has really been slow.
Our confusion is not with the proper latch, or how to hold the nipple in her mouth. The trouble is that she can't sense, or forgets, that there is breast tissue in her mouth at all. She won't suck it into her mouth, or clamp down on it. About 50% of the time in the past she's needed my pinky in her mouth for the cue that there is breast tissue there to suck on at all, but generally I can remove it after 3 or 4 good sucks and she's off and running. Things seem to be deteriorating now, however. Tonight she refused to nurse at all on the right side unless I kept my pinky there-but did seem to get a usual amount of milk based on the swallowing I was hearing.
The problem is the binky. What she loves about her pacifier (introduced in NICU and further encouraged by me once we got home) is that it's firm in her mouth and she can always feel it in there. I know the tounge is in the proper location and massaging the breast tissue properly, because i can feel it when she's doing the same thing against my pinky while nursing. But I can't imagine we'll get proper nipple stim if I keep my pinky there the whole time.
Clearly, I've GOT to ditch this pacifer. It's not gonna be fun around here while we break this habit. What can I do to help her soothe if she doesn't have it? She actively fights the breast half the time, so that's not gonna cut it! Has anyone else run across this particular issue with nipple confusion? For those of you who had to break the binky habit-give me advice! I'm beside myself that I've basically half starved my baby for the first 6 weeks of life!
Katie is now 6wks. We've been battling nipple confusion since we finally brought her home after 5 days in NICU, but I thought our troubles were managable until today. We've not had huge leaps in weight gain, and lately it's been bothering me a bit. Nursing sessions are about 2-3 hours apart, but only 5 minutes long or so. Lately she's even been pulling off and screaming at me just a few minutes after let down. I've been assuming that she's done, but today I realized it's only that she's suddenly getting confused about the nipple in her mouth halfway through nursing. If I keep my finger in there the whole time, she'll suck for a good 20 minutes. The implication here, is that she's not actually nursing tilll she's full. No wonder her weight gain has really been slow.
Our confusion is not with the proper latch, or how to hold the nipple in her mouth. The trouble is that she can't sense, or forgets, that there is breast tissue in her mouth at all. She won't suck it into her mouth, or clamp down on it. About 50% of the time in the past she's needed my pinky in her mouth for the cue that there is breast tissue there to suck on at all, but generally I can remove it after 3 or 4 good sucks and she's off and running. Things seem to be deteriorating now, however. Tonight she refused to nurse at all on the right side unless I kept my pinky there-but did seem to get a usual amount of milk based on the swallowing I was hearing.
The problem is the binky. What she loves about her pacifier (introduced in NICU and further encouraged by me once we got home) is that it's firm in her mouth and she can always feel it in there. I know the tounge is in the proper location and massaging the breast tissue properly, because i can feel it when she's doing the same thing against my pinky while nursing. But I can't imagine we'll get proper nipple stim if I keep my pinky there the whole time.
Clearly, I've GOT to ditch this pacifer. It's not gonna be fun around here while we break this habit. What can I do to help her soothe if she doesn't have it? She actively fights the breast half the time, so that's not gonna cut it! Has anyone else run across this particular issue with nipple confusion? For those of you who had to break the binky habit-give me advice! I'm beside myself that I've basically half starved my baby for the first 6 weeks of life!
s hang in there. You also might try using a pump just before the feeding... I know mine causes blood to collect in the nipple, making it more firm and drawn out. Maybe a blood-engorged nipple will feel more like a pinky to her... ? just a thought
