What do you do with baby's wandering hand?

[Joyzerelly]

I'm still in the beginner stages of breastfeeding (3 weeks 3 days ish) and still struggling with getting a good latch/raw nipples etc... One thing I'm finding very frustrating is my baby's 'top' hand which always gets in the way when trying to latch on. I've tried wedging it underthe spare boob but he usually manages to get it out and sticks right in the way at the crutial moment so I miss the rare 'gape' he finally gives me (I have a problem with getting him to open his mouth wide enough too, especially at night).

What do you do with your baby's spare hand? Also, any tips for getting baby to open his mouth wider?

 

[bekkie]

at that age, a nice tight swaddle and then once he was latched on I would undo it.

my LO always latched on right on my nipple... I had a hard time getting him to open his mouth wide, unless he was crying, and then one day he just latched on well.. I know that's no help lol.

 

[trumpetbum]

Swaddle baby, or hold the hand if you can manage it. I often held dd2s hand when she was little. She could be a skin nipper as she got older though so I bought nursing beads and have bought them in advance for this LO. For widening babies mouth I always used to gently push her chin down when she was latching on.

 

[MelanieAnn]

It can be quite useful for babies to have the use of their hands - so long as you are lying down or semi reclined. When you sit upright, then the hand gets in the way. But if you are mostly-horizontal, the hand movement is a really lovely way for baby to get himself into the right place

https://breastcrawl.org/ and https://www.biologicalnurturing.com/video/bn3clip.html

 

[aob1013]

You could swaddle LO?