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[sarah0108]

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[Celesse]

I'm not an expert, but I would suggest taking fenugreek to boost your supply and expressing frequently. Continue expressing beyond the point when the milk flow stops or slows down. Try him at the breast before every feed and offer him the EBM, before offering formula.

Have lots of skin to skin time with him and if you can take some warm baths together.

I got my difficult to latch baby to finally latch on properly by just letting her do so in her own time, no forcing her on, just wiggling the boobie at her until she kinda did it by herself.

 

[Tryin4Number3]

Hi, the only position i could ever get my first to latch on was lying down on my side in bed. I used to put him on his side in just a nappy and snuggle him in to me to get as much skin to skin as possible. Obviously this isn't very practical with another little one to look after as well but maybe try in the evenings? After a few weeks he seemed to get the hang of it and would feed in any position xx

 

[Faerie]

Oh hunny Can you rent a hospital grade pump? It made all the difference for me, I was getting loads off it. Sofia was a little sod for latching on too.
xxx

 

[Miss_Bump]

Defo do as muck skin to skin as you can and squeeze out a little milk so it's already on your nipple.

Try to feed him before he cries as i found in the early days Evie was so hard to latch when she was worked up

Talking softly and thinking positive can help too. Go somewhere nice and quiet and warm and Cody for the both of you and try skin to skin feeding let us know how you get on
Xx

 

[Miss_Bump]

Sorry about typos -stupid iPhone lol

 

[Bumbled Bee]

I think nipple sheilds are a good way to transition from bottle to booby. Worth a try I suppose.

 

[tannembaum]

I didn't start breastfeeding properly untill 6 weeks and now elsie loves it. Can you go to a breastfeeding support group at all? They normally run for a few hours so lo is likely to want a feed sometime while its running. My group really helped me and made me feel like less of a failure.

 

[Faerie]

Ask the maternity ward about renting the pump I think.

I used to try and get Sofia to latch on, not let her get too worked up and then gave her ebm and then try again with the latch. At first I had to hold my boob in a certain position to get it to fit her mouth.

We finally seemed to "click" whilst watching friends I know it's hard when you've got Harriet but you need to try and get him latched on in a calm environment.

Are you getting any family support? x

 

[MandaAnda]

Check out La Leche League's website about hiring pumps as well.

 

[StayPositive]

For breastfeeding groups in your area try La Leche League or a search on the web as well as asking your HV. Sounds like she is not too encouraging about breastfeeding so might be worth having a look yourself as well? Good luck with the above suggestions. One other thing to consider, has your baby been checked for tongue tie? I know a lot of people on here really suffered with this affecting their latch. Keep positive, it can be done but you are doing the best for your baby no matter the outcome x

 

[Tryin4Number3]

Thanks hun.
Erm no not really, i have no1 i know that BF and i dont see people much plus my mums assumes i stopped expressing weeks ago (she never really asks about anything or how im doing and she never Bf'd either) so im kind of alone thats why i need you girls plus the support from the midwives, Hv etc etc has been rubbish too! x

Aww hun, if ever u need a chat feel free to pm me, i'm in nottingham as well xx

 

[Faerie]

Ask the maternity ward about renting the pump I think.

I used to try and get Sofia to latch on, not let her get too worked up and then gave her ebm and then try again with the latch. At first I had to hold my boob in a certain position to get it to fit her mouth.

We finally seemed to "click" whilst watching friends I know it's hard when you've got Harriet but you need to try and get him latched on in a calm environment.

Are you getting any family support? x

Thanks hun.
Erm no not really, i have no1 i know that BF and i dont see people much plus my mums assumes i stopped expressing weeks ago (she never really asks about anything or how im doing and she never Bf'd either) so im kind of alone thats why i need you girls plus the support from the midwives, Hv etc etc has been rubbish too! x

Definitely try and find some groups. I didn't find the one at my hospital that great because it was so crowded but yours might be different. Again, phone the maternity ward and ask.

In Oxford there were "breastfeeding cafes", buses that travelled around different areas offering advice and just a place to meet other bf mums. Maybe your area has something similar.

Also I would check out the NCT website to see if there are any groups https://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/home

Do you have anyone who can help out with Harriet a bit so you get some quiet time with Max?

x

 

[Kel127]

Your story sounds just like mine. connor wouldn't latch. Everyone tried to get him to latch but he wouldn't not even with nipple shiieds. He would cry and pull away. I think he started to have a boob phobia because of everyone shoving his head into my breasts. I was pumping all the time but never getting enough so I had to suppement with formula. At 4 weeks I got fustrated and stop trying to latch him, and just pumped and supplemented.
Then one day when he was about 6 weeks old I thought I will try the nipple shields one more time, and he latched on. I sat there crying tears of joy as he feed for 20 minutes. I continued to use the nipple shields for the next 3 days, then tried without, and he latched straight onto my nipple. He has had no problems latching since. I still supplement because my milk never came in properly.
I think the break from forcing him to latch everyday is what we both needed. I am glad I stuck to it, and didn't give up.
Just give him some time and he might just decide one day that he wants to latch on.

 

[mommy43]

do u have sure start near u mine have a breast feeding support group n have mums that breastfeed trained to give 1 to 1 support

 

[Kel127]

I live in the US so I am not sure where you can buy nipple shields where you are. Here is a link from where I got them from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Medela-Contact-Nipple-Shield-Standard/dp/B000067PQ0

 

[catfromaus]

we got nipple shields from the chemist- good luck hun
xxx

 

[Faerie]

You can get nipple shields from mothercare and probably boots.

Also, have you tried tickling his nose/chin with your nipple?

 

[MandaAnda]

Yep, you can get nipple shields at Boots. Even at Tesco, if it's a big enough one. Just look where the dummies, etc. are. Boots make their own, and the Avent ones are good. Just make sure you get the right size. They're under £5 though.

 

[Coco]

I had similar issues with my lo in the few days he used to scream at me, desperate for a feed but unable to latch properly then when he would it would be all wrong he would just suck on the end of my nipple making me have very painful nipples and then it would feel like he'd barely had a feed the whole process would start again and it was getting me so down. At one point he seemed to get it then he started refusing one side completely and just screaming at it until I gave up a few times and switched sides. I thought my dream of breastfeeding discreetly whilst out and about was gone forever as the only position he would feed in was lay across my lap straight without me trying to cuddle him (which wasn't nice as a new mum i wanted breastfeeding to feel like cuddles) with me leant over him holding my boob! What a sight! I got such a bad back from doing this and the midwife and dh would tell me off for not leaning back and having a good position but I just took each day at a time and kept thinking that him getting breast milk somehow is better than none at all! My dh used to have to take him off me to calm him down when we were both overheating and distressed then bring him back to me to try again 5 minutes later.

Well.....slowly slowly things got better. He wouls stop fussing as much on the side he refused , until he just happily accepted it. I kept feeding him in his comfy position until he became so good with latching on that he wasn't worked up at all for a feed. Then one day I picked him up and held in the cradle position and he happily accepted that too. Now he feeds like a pro! It is honestly one of my proudest achievements especially when I think back to those exhausting nights when he would be screaming at me ho easy it would've been to give up then!

What I've learned is this...

You can be doing everything right and your baby simply needs time to learn. Alot of the info out there focuses so much on mom doing the right thing and never really stresses that some babies just take a while to 'get it'. I thought I was doing the wrong thing so many times, that my nipples must be the wrong shape, size etc but in the end my baby just needed to figure it out by himself!

I would definitely get a good breast pump (i have the medela swing and highly recommend it) and keep pumping with this to keep your supply going whilst you perservere. Get nipple shields to help baby and prevent your nipples getting so sore! Also maybe change his bottle - I use breastflow bottles when I express. They're not that fancy to look at like some on the market but in my opinion are the best to prevent nipple/ teat confusion. They use a unique 2-teat system which basically neans baby has to 'work' more for the milk and move their mouth in a similar way to when breastfeeding.

Good luck!