Newborn not latching

nimmunogirl

My 2 day old is not latching at all. I have tried with and without breast shield and have been successful once with the breast shield. For the most part, however, she just gets frustrated and starts crying the minute I put her to the breast. I talked to the laceration consultant and they said that her mouth opening is good, there is no lip or tongue tied and that I'm positioning correctly. I am unsure what to do next and the LC wasn't really helpful. I wonder if once my milk comes it will be easier for her and she will be less frustrated... Any suggestions? And thanks'

tracij12

At 2 days old my LO would not really latch either. Our problem was she was too sleepy so couldn't really get her to open well. My only advice is keep at it. Use the shield if you have to/if it works, but I'd encourage you to always start without it. I used it with my first and it makes the entire process of breast feeding just a little harder.

randa923

Try squeezing a little milk out first so she can smell it and get a little taste on her lips. When mine was that young I usually pulled his bottom lip out with one figure while I was trying to latch him. Not super easy while you're new at the breastfeeding thing but it helped.

nimmunogirl

Thanks for the advice. I have been hand expressing, and she will take that and then freak. She has been doing better with the shield, but she is not consistent. I am hoping my milk comes in and that will help her.
@tracij12, how did the nipple shield make things more challenging?

tracij12

@nimmunogirl it's just one more thing to have to have and clean. One of the best things about BF'ing (beyond the health and bonding benefits) is being able to do it whenever wherever without much prep. For me, after a few uses, the shield never stayed on my nipple right and once my milk came in I had so much it would fill up faster than she drank and I always had milk running down my stomach. I was never able to really get comfortable nursing anywhere but at home because it seemed to take so much effort. Just my personal opinion/experience. Other moms (including my sister) used the shield and never had any complaints.

How big is baby? Was she early?

I remember thinking BF'ing should be easy, but it was SO hard the first time around. I was stressed which made baby stressed which lead to a lot of anxiety for everyone.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can so just stick with it!

Also, I know nipple confusion is a challenge, but I pumped while I was in the hospital to help my milk come in and I did use a bottle to make sure my LO was getting enough in her tummy. It didn't impede her learning to latch. Again, just my experience and my opinion.

Good luck!!!!

acciocoffee

I could never figure out the nipple shield for some reason. My girl was pretty impatient when it came to meal time (still is). She also completely refused to latch at first. I actually used pacifiers to get her used to sucking on things and it worked for us. She also has a really strong suck now and finishes eating in less than 10 minutes most of the time. we also used bottles for the first part of feedings then finished at the breast. Obviously an LC will tell you not to do that, but it was all we could think to do at the time. I was pretty desperate. 

nimmunogirl

Thank you so much for the answers. My hormones are at an all time high and this is just so upsetting. I think tomorrow we are gonna go and get bottles. My milk is starting to come in and I was able to pump 20mL on one sitting. I am not sure how much baby girl should be taking.

@traci12j, she was born at 39w3d after induction. I really think she would have gone to 42 weeks if I wasn't induced for medical reasons. She weighs 6lb 15oz.

tracij12

I would try giving her 10ml and then if she wants more give her the rest. She should take 10 no problem and that way you don't waste the rest if she can't finish it all.

I would second everything @WanderingHeart said regarding the pacifier and bottle nipples. I always hesitate to give that advice on these boards because some people get crazy about nipple confusion, but it was actually the exact opposite with both of my girls. Just make sure if you do use a bottle use a nipple that is as low flow as possible so she gets used to having to work for it.

I probably sound like a broken record at this point but just try not to get discouraged. It should get easier

nimmunogirl

Thank you so much for the support. I really appreciate it. How did you integrate breast feeding eventually back into the routine? We introduced a pacifier and initially she had poor suck, but she has gotten much better. What bottles do you recommend?

tracij12

I tried breast feeding first at every feeding. If she started to get frustrated I would give the bottle. It took us about 3 days and she's exclusively breast fed since that. This time I used the bottles/nipples they had at the hospital (it was just a brown-ish colored nipple that connected to the bottles I was pumping into). With my first we used breastflow by first years. It was recommended by the lactation team at the hospital. I think the double nipple style bottles mimic the breast most closely because baby can/has to control the flow.

Jonbonjella

I am same but for my babies latch is wrong. One nipple stings so bad it's painful. Know what to do it's the doing it is hard. Bub is 8days old. Keep goin though. Iv been told the first few weeks the hardest. Good to know. It alone. Keep up good work x

nimmunogirl

@tracij12, your success is so encouraging!

So today I had a doctors appointment and she thinks baby is not latching because she is beyond hungry. She recommended I supplement with 1 oz of formula or pumped breast milk. My milk has now come in and I was able to get 2-4oz in one pump session. She also latched for 8 minutes (not great, but way better)! My question now is, how often should I pump? I am getting a lot more milk than I need to supplement.

klirwin82

Pump after every time she feeds, eg every 2-3 hours. Use what you need to supplement and start freezing the rest. We had to attempt breast, do formula supplement feed then pump because LO just wouldn't latch at first. Kept doing that every 3 hours until he started latching and sucking, it took about a week. It was so frustrating at first, and honestly I did not enjoy breastfeeding until probably 8 weeks PP. Stick with it.