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[marley2580]

Try sandwiching your breast so you can shove a bit more breast into her mouth. A number of us have had to do this.

 

[Rosella]

hi marley - thanks - but could you explain what you mean?

 

[Sarah88]

Just get your breast, above the areola, with your thumb and forefinger and make the nipple and areola smaller, then kind of roll the nipple into LO's mouth. Use the breast to roll the bottom lip down and open the mouth

 

[Rosella]

thanks - i'll try it

 

[Shifter]

Good luck Rosella. You may find that you need to be quite firm at first, to get it right, but it should get easier quite quickly from there.

 

[Rosella]

it is a struggle...i'm trying. we still haven't got it right but will perservere. thx for the help.

 

[BumbleBump]

Hi girls,

I was wondering if there's still any mentors around? I feel like I need a bit of moral support! BFing is going OKish, but there's times when I feel like she'd be better on bottles. Have the HV coming round today, and I'm dreading it incase she hasn't put on as much as she should but fingers crossed.

Our challenges are shallow latching (going to try the above advice though!), big boobs and I think possibly overactive letdown? She gets very windy, which sometimes leads to her throwing up tons of milk. I expressed as a one off last night just to reassure myself I was giving enough milk, I pumped 4 oz with ease from one side and she polished off the bottle happily and seemed satisfied and less windy so it's definately something to do with my latch. She clicks an awful lot when she's feeding, but seemed to do this on the bottle too? She also seems to only be comforted by the boob when she gets worked up - she hates dummies and always roots for boob, OH finds it hard to settle her even after she's definately full, she just wants a 5 min suck then to lie on my chest and be patted (this only seems to happen when she gets herself overtired).

Basically I've got lots of random questions, and need to know I'm doing the right thing by BFing, I can't help but think that everyone else, OH included, think she'd be better off getting used to bottles if I can't do it right and so she has other ways to be comforted without Mummy needing to be there I don't mind offering boob to comfort at all, but it's difficult when she wants that and DD1 also needs something, plus housework, dinner etc iykwim?

Sorry random questions, the main thing is I'd love a mentor that I can bug with these things and encourage me that I'm definately doing the right thing by her even if I'm not doing it perfectly! :'(

 

[Samantha675]

Hi Bumble I can answer some of your questions.

Don't worry about weight so much. I know that HVs in the UK put a LOT of importance on it, but there are other things to look at, especially in a BF baby to determine if they are getting enough. Dirty diapers are a big one. As long as she is giving you lots of wet and dirty diapers, then you know she is getting what she needs. 8 a day is good, but if she is anything like my son, it will be many more. So don't let the HV worry you too much. Plus most HVs use a chart that is for bottle feed babies, who gain weight differently than BF babies do.

Is she alert? Is she happy? I know you worry about her being unsettled, but most newborns are. They have a huge adjustment period to go through to get used to this big, bright world of ours. She is used to a climate controlled, 24 hour womb service, nice and dark. I can only imagine how crazy the change must be.

The clicking and wind are probably related. I found this on Kellymom, and it sounds like what you are experiencing.
https://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/clicking-when-nursing.html
If she is breaking the seal of the latch, then she will be sucking in lots of air. It may be hard to see since your breasts are larger, hence the reason she doesn't do it when having a bottle. Also, remember it is easier for her to get milk out. Bottle nipples will flow much faster, she doesn't have to work for it, like she does with BFing.
Overactive letdown:
https://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

I am not sure how old you LO is,but comfort sucking is a very normal behavior. She probably just wants to be near you more than she is hungry, which is why she won't settle for your DH. Daddy doesn't smell good like mommy does.

I only have one, but I can imagine how hard it must be to try to divide your time between a todder and a newborn, they both need you. Have you got a sling or a carrier? Preferably one you can get your LO to nurse in? This way you can have her near you and hang out with your toddler, or cook or get stuff done around the house. I found that the Bjorn worked well for us when Brenn was tiny. I could lower the straps down far enough, get him latched on and get around.

BFing is a learned skill, for both you and your baby. It's not something that happens all at once, and can take some women a few weeks to get right. Don't feel bad about that. We have gotten away from BFing as a culture, and no longer have the support that we used to. Think how a few hundred years ago, every woman around you would have BF, and you would have easily had them to ask questions of. Now, very few of us have that. I know I didn't when starting out. My mom only nursed for 6 weeks as she didn't have support or help. I have no sisters, or cousins and the friends I have don't have kids. I found through the La Leche League, support and help, you might look into a chapter near you. Its really great organization.

I hope I have answered some of your questions. You are doing wonderfully hun. Just have confidence in yourself. Tell your DH and family this is very important to you and you want and need their support.

 

[wishingonastar]

hi, could i please have someone contact me for help with latching on... my little girl takes feeds really well and drinks a lot but its hurting my nipples every time and i've watched videos and seen pics of 'the perfect latch' but no matter how hard i try she always seems to end up chomping on my nipple rather than my breast

getting quite desperate as want to enjoy BFing but can't really at the mo

thanks

 

[wishingonastar]

just seen the advice above about sandwiching nipple and breast...will try that but would appreciate all other pearls of wisdom!!

 

[Samantha675]

Sounds like she is closing too soon. Try to push her chin down with one finger when latching her on. I usually used my 4th finger to hold my son's chin as I latched him on.

 

[wishingonastar]

hadn't thought of her closing too soon...that could be it...shall try holding her chin!

i tried sandwiching but think i need to practice that a bit more

i also went completely back to basics tonight chanting what needed to happen as i did it...nipple to nose, chin to base of breast then draw in once opens wide...a couple of times we seemed to get a really good latch after some faffing but thinking about it, as i did everything else right i think you're onto something with her closing too early...

 

[thelilbump]

Hi bumble. If you want some support feel free to pm me hunny anytime, i can't promise to know all the answers to your questions but i'll help you through

 

[Samantha675]

hadn't thought of her closing too soon...that could be it...shall try holding her chin!

i tried sandwiching but think i need to practice that a bit more

i also went completely back to basics tonight chanting what needed to happen as i did it...nipple to nose, chin to base of breast then draw in once opens wide...a couple of times we seemed to get a really good latch after some faffing but thinking about it, as i did everything else right i think you're onto something with her closing too early...

Oh good. Remember this love, you two are just starting out and it takes a bit of time for you both to learn what you need to do. No one is perfect right off the bat at anything. I am glad to hear that you are getting a better latch. Once it clicks for the two of you, you will be off and going with flying colors!!!

 

[Toria23]

I would love some help with breastfeeding! I really want to bf my dd (5 weeks) but have flat nipples and had problems with her latching on. With my son, I expressed for 3 weeks and then had to give up as I couldn't express enough for him.

With dd, I tried bf for three or four days, but my nipples were cracked and bleeding, and I decided that I couldn't keep up expressing with a toddler to look after as well. I switched to formula, but totally regret it. I tried her on the breast at 3 weeks, but she was fighting and screaming and I didn't seem to have much milk left.

However, I have decided to try relactation, and am hoping it won't be too late. I started yesterday, and have put her to the breast whenever possible before her formula feeds. I'm also expressing every few hours, but only get about 5ml from both breasts at the moment. My nipples are cracked and sore already, so I'm using nipple shields, which is the only way she is able to latch on.

Any advice gratefully received! My eventual hope is to be able to exclusively bf, although I know I'll probably always need the shields because of my flat nipples.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Toria - You sound to be off to a promising start with your re-lactation hun. I'd say keep doing what you're doing and also add some skin to skin time with her. Get into bed topless with her down to her nappy and if you can (not easy during the day with a toddler but maybe once they are in bed) spend lots of time in contact with each other. That will really get the oxytocin flowing and aid the whole process.

I certainly dont think it's too late - 5 weeks is quite early compared to some trying to relactate. Dont pay too much attention to the amount to pump. That's only to stimulate things and when she latches she will be able to get more than you can pumping in a similar amount of time.

 

[Toria23]

Thanks for the advice! I've just hand expressed about 10ml, and the milk is flowing much more freely now. I will keep persevering!

 

[Mervs Mum]

Good work hun! Keep us posted on your progress

 

[Toria23]

One thing I'm not so sure about though - I know that a proper latch should take in some of the areola, not just the nipple. I can only get dd to do this when I'm not using the nipple shields. If I use the shield then she just sucks on my nipple itself, because the shield teat is so big I don't think she can get anything else in her mouth.

However, if I don't use the shields, I'm in agony, and she gets frustrated very easily because there's not much to suck on.

Is it a problem if she doesn't take in the areola, or is the technique different with nipple shields? I'm worried that she won't get much milk if she's not latching properly, but when she pulls off, the shield does have milk in it.

 

[Mervs Mum]

I'm not sure about shield TBH hun as we are told to advise against then. Do you have a breast pump or are you expressing manually? If you do do you find that the pump draws your nipple out? It might be worth pumping if it does and then trying to latch while your nipple is drawn out a bit. It's totally possible to BF with flat or inverted nipples as you correctly said, it's important to get a big mouthful of areola as they work that area to get the milk - hence 'breast' feeding not 'nipple' feeding. If you were to ask me I'd say ditch the shields and work on the latch.