LLL won't call me back

Call someone else and/or call the second leader back. With my first, I waited two weeks for a call back. The leader who called me back had been in the hospital. I didn't realize at the time these mothers were volunteers (many with big families!) who weren't always able to call me back right away or might not have gotten my message! You might want to call the 800-LA-LECHE for another referral or go to their website or lllusa.org for leaders in your state. I got so much help from LLL over the years---I hope you do, too. It's a wonderful organization, but just like anything, there are good and bad aspects. Sometimes mamas fall thru the cracks---speak up and don't fall thru Oh, wait, also, you can contact help on-line w/LLL, too!

I had the SAME problem with LLL/Mass this time last year, when my SIL was having issues with BF 3 days post partum, but I was away on vacation and wanted to get her some help.
I called, got a machine that told me to call someone else, got another machine...and so on and so on....must have called 3-4 people, no one called back.

I ended up having her call the Warm Line at Women & Infants in Providence
http://www.womenandinfants.org/body.cfm?id=64

They were very helpful she said. SIL ended up taking the ferry to come to the beach house we were at so I could help her...LOL...so she got a mini vacation too!

Thanks a lot! I thought they just didn't like me LOL
Joanita

I am a deliquent LLL leader. Calling people back rarely happened. someone would throw up on the peice of scrap paper I wronte the number down on, I couldn't hear thier messege on the crappy answering machine we had or I couldn't make out thier number, I lost my not book, someone ripped all the pages out of my notebook, The kids were just never wiet enough. however if you call me I could chat with ya all day. So call and keep calling. If they say they wioll call you back ask them when and if you don't here from them call them back. trust me I have never felt like anyone was being pushy when they called me back. I felt relieved and helped.

Also if it is an emergancy call the 1-800 la leche. people really are just sitting around just waiting to take your call especially on weekends (I used to do the weekend one) I literally sat by the phone with a pencil in my hand and all my books and paphlets near by for 8 hours a day. You can also do an online help form although it takes a while to do that.

Just a thought, is there anything we can do to help here? If you want to PM me, please do and I'll do my best to help out!

Oh I think that dd may be tongue tied. She has trouble latching, this os my third child so I kind of know what I'm doing She sucks for a few minutes and gets tired starts breathing heavily like she's tired. My nipples are sore. Instead of opening up, she sucks the nipple in. i've tried rubbing her cheek, puting the nipple to the top of her lip. Nothing works
Joanita

If you think your baby is tounge tied look at her tounge. is it heart shaped on the tip? Have you ever seen it past her bottom gumline? lip? If so she is definitely tounge tied. you can also try to lift up and lookat her tounge underneath. If it goes to the tip what your looking at id tounge tie. The procedure to get it clipped is simple, less painful that a shot or blood poke, has almost no risk of infection, will increase thier ability to nurse instatantly and hardly bleeds (we had two drps of blood.) Good luck finding a Dr. who will do it, an insurance company that will pay for it (they start at about $450) and al that crap. Also there is nothing LLL can do tohelp really except go over the pros and cons of having it clipped. we couldn't even refer you to a Dr. (although we had a designated mom, who wasn't a leader, with a list of things ot bring up, Dr.s to recoomend etc . . :LOL)

good luck, I hope you find answers. Nothing in my nursing experiance has cause me as much greif as my children tounge tie. My nipple is bleeding now as we speak Actually I have a bandaid on it that I am scared to take off. kinda sensitive skin there. My third also had a throat birth defect (in addition to tounge tie - can't this ever be easy for me) that prevented her for coordinating sucking and swallowing. so she had to suck-suck-suck-let go-swallow-breath-relatch of course latching was killer because of the tounge tie . (fortunately around 7 months she wwas able to coordinate) the worst part was, we couldn't get a diagnosis because they kept blowing it off as her tounge tie which we didn't have the money to do anything about.

I am also a LLL leader and if you call me I will do my best to call you right back Call the LLL hotline and ask for the phone # of a leader in the Bearkley or San Francisco areas. Also I have recieved calls from mamas out of my area. I am in Northern CA and twice I have recieved calls from the LA area.

Since I don't really know all the particulars of how your babe is nursing I can't really gave suggestions. However I can tell you to look for baby's positioning of the lower lip. SOmetimes it all looks good and the lower lip is what causes discomfort. To correct this gently pull the chin down with your finger.

Don't let your baby suck you nipple in ouch! you must be feeling lots of pain. Encourage baby and tell her "open wide" or say "big mouth" and right after you tickle her and she opens her mouth wide, you put your nipple right in the middle. Also express a little milk and put it in the tip of your nipple so your baby has a taste of your good milk.

I wish I could see her nursing so I'll know what's going on. I willbe out of town for the weekend but don't dispair. I'll check on you as soon as I come back.

Keep trying with LLL. Or mabe the OB department of your local hospital or WIC have a lactation consultant on call that can help you.

Lots of LLLlove and good luck.

Jula

Thanks soooo much You ladies are the best! We're doing a little better, she's starting to latch a *little* better. Seems my ped wasn't really worried because she's gaining weight normally, but I am. It also would help if I didn't have a toddler running to me asking to nurse every 15 minutes

Well the same thing happened to me. My twins here in the SCN and having trouble latching and I was told to try calling LLL. I phoned the 800 number and listened through the whole recording to get the numbers of the LLL leaders in any city remotely near me. I must have phoned at least half a dozen people and left messages including asking about meetings. Some of the ones closer to me - I tried phoning back more than once. No one EVER phoned me back or answered the phone.

Fortunately - I was able to finally get some help from a lactation consultant in the hospital. But I never did find out when/where the LLL meetings are.

I am so glad to hear you are doing better Isn't it funny how we always think there is something horrible happening to us? I am honestly happy for you and wish many more days of happy nursings

Jula