Advice please

[MummyKP]

LO is 10 days old now & we are EBF. when my milk came in she wouldn't latch, so my midwife got me using a nipple shield. She took to this really well & feeding has been a great experience for me so far, I love it. The past 2-3 days I've wanted her off the shield so I've been trying her without it. She is latching on without the shield, although it can take a bit of work to get her on to start with. I'm also finding she comes off easier without it, probably because my nipple falls out easier because my nipples are smaller than the shield. This is our second full day without the shield now, and she will feed for anything from 10 minutes to 25. I feel like we are having more regular shorter feeds since coming off the shield, and last night she was up every 2 hours to feed, opposed to her usual 3-4 hours. This doesn't bother me, but what my worry is is that she isn't getting enough now - not because of supply, but because she can't stay on it as long. When she comes off I tend to try her a few more times & usually she falls asleep. I'm worried she isn't getting as much now & will lose weight, when she's already bacnpk to birth weight. Anyone have any experience or tips for this?

 

[noon_child]

You might have a forceful letdown (possibly why she wouldn't latch once milk came in as it drowned her a bit) and now when you have let downs (they can happen multiple times per feed) she pulls back or off to avoid getting overwhelmed.

A laid back position can help as milk can't gush uphill in to their mouths.

Or it may have been that the engorgement when milk comes in prevented LO from getting enough breast tissue in her mouth to latch on. I remember thinking my LO looked like she was trying to bite a balloon and the rounded sides kept bouncing off her lips! Now that it isn't so much of an issue and you are getting her latched she may just be figuring out what routine she needs, or in fact NOT having a routine because as her needs change so will her feeding.

If she wasn't getting enough on 2hrly feeds she'd have 1hrly feeds. During a growth spurt she'll be back on your breasts every 2 seconds telling your body to make more milk. If you respond to what your baby is telling you (which it sounds like you are) you can be confident that she will get what she needs.
Things to look for are plenty of wet nappies and preferably about 2 soiled ones per day and weight gain.