HELP PLEASE with any one of these things - nipple confusion / green poo /lip ties

[superfrizbee]

When DS was 7-9 weeks he was in hospital and for the majority of that time was either nil by mouth or tube fed and I pumped. When we started BFing again he took to it like a champ - like he did when he was born. Sometime after we were discharged, not sure how long, we introduced a dummy because he was very wakeful at night and hard to settle. After this he developed a click to his latch (especially at let down). He had a couple of colds and was very congested so I didnt think much of it. He still had plenty of wet and dirty nappies, which were yellow. However, it's persisted and his weight gain has stalled. With what he lost in the hospital he has dropped 2 percentiles. The HV has advised to ditch the dummy, which we did from Tuesday night (now Sat morning at time of posting). She said even though we introduced it when he was older, with his spell in the hospital it might have given him nipple confusion.

Has anyone experienced nipple confusion? He is still clicking as he feeds and I as wondering how long it would take him to learn to latch properly again (it's not the whole feed, mainly after let down).

Could forceful let down be a problem? Still I dont know why this would be an issue now when he was fine before?

He has also been getting unsettled at night recently about 4am with digestive wind. Since monday he has been having green poo, straining a lot and gets unhappy with his gas he has maybe one yellow poo a day and I get my hopes up, then it goes back to green! He is feeding better now (clicking aside) and emptying breasts so I dont understand. Also he has been clicking a while and never had this, so again I dont know why it's suddenly started.

The other thing I've noticed the last couple of days is that DS has an upper lip tie. I showed the HV who said it wouldnt affect him, and we havent had feeding issues until recently (he fed properly straight after hospital so it's not even that). I'm still curious as to others experiences though? It didnt affect him as a newborn and his latch is always comfortable even with the clicking.

I should add i've been to a breasfeeding clinic and will go again on Monday, plus I've called a private lady who specialises in tongue ties to come see us, but any help or experiences in the meantime would be gratefully received!

 

[LeannieB]

Hi sorry i dont have any great advice but didnt want to read and not reply. My little boy is now 4 months and he still sometimes has green poo. He also still sometimes gets bad wind if i sometimes eat spicier foods or lots of vegetables etc. When are you getting his lip tie checked as that could be affecting his latch. Do you have a forceful letdown? My LO one struggles with mine sometimes and its only on my left side and sometimes he will refuse this one especially if he is tired. It can also cause him to get bad wind and he throws it all back up. Im not sure in regards to the dummy as my LO never took one but i would of thought introducing the dummy later on wouldnt cause nipple confusion.
How had your LO been at night without the dummy? Our nights have been so bad this week as my LO is just starting to get over broncholitus (not sure on correct spelling)
I hope someone comes along with some better advice for you x

 

[noon_child]

If the click is usually after letdown and doesn't last the full feed he's probably trying to stop the flow by breaking the seal he has created between breast and mouth. A laid back feeding position where gravity works against the flow of milk may help him feel more comfortable during let down.

Green poo isn't always an indicator of any feeding issues unless it has never gone yellow, or is frothy or explosive, or has streaks of blood. My LO always had green poo when she had a virus she was fighting. Sometimes with a fast letdown, babies take in too much air along with milk (because of trying to break the seal as above) and this can mean they feel full before they have eaten enough. This could cause both the weight gain being static and the green poo.

Lots of babies feed fine with lip and tongue ties, so it is impossible to advise without seeing a feed.