**aspade** need some bfing help please!

sophabelle

i need some bfing help. dd has completely killed my nipples. i can't get her latch right and get her on enough of my boob to help it not hurt so much. the few times i do, she ends up back at the bad latch again. it was getting better and only hurt at the initial latch, but today... OMG my boobs hurt so bad. even when she's not nursing. like my shirt touching me hurts. i've been using lanolin, nipple butter, and expressed milk, giving lots of air time, and frozen gel packs to numb them up, but they still hurt.

it's almost like a burning pain today. (which i looked that up and that seems to point towards thrush, but i don't have any other symptoms...just the burning.) i don't see any signs of thrush in dd though so that's good i guess.

can anyone give me some tips to get her mouth open more to get her latch better??

i just don't know what to do... there is a LLL meeting about 30 min away from me, but 1-i'm not supposed to drive, and 2-i'd have to bring ds with me if i did go.... could they help me? or should i try to find a lactation consultant? i have no idea how much that would cost to have someone come to the house, but it'd probably be worth it to not have to tote both kids somewhere lol.

i called the hospital and they don't have a LC so i didn't get much help there.  they gave me a couple suggestions to try that i haven't tried yet, so maybe those will help.... one was to put some expressed milk on my nips and that might get her to open her mouth wider, another was to pull her chin down w/my hand first... so i'll try those and see....  

but any advice you can give me would be wonderful!  i was told you're the go to lady on this stuff! :-)

shotzie

*Lurking* You might XP this to the Breastfeeding board. It's a great place for tips and support. When getting LO to latch, do you smoosh your breast with your hand? (Like smooshing a hamburger to fit it in your mouth)? That can help. Also, have you tried different holds? The football hold is usually good for newborns. I would try to find an LC or take LO to a LLL meeting to get some help. As far as thrush goes, it's possible for LO to be asymptomatic even if you have it. DD never showed symptoms when I had it. My symptoms were bright pink nipples that burned and itched, pain when nursing, and shooting pains in my breasts. You might not have thrush, but those are some things to watch for. Lastly, check out www.kellymom.com if you haven't. It has tons of great bf'ing info. I hope things start improving soon!

kdello

1- I didn't realize you had your baby! Congrats, mama!

2- I agree- kellymom.com was a godsend. 

3- If it were me, I'd beg borrow or steal someone to watch DS while you go to the LLL meeting. Honestly. You're probably exhausted anyway and I KNOW you could use a little break.

4. Hang in there, it WILL get better! 

sophabelle

thanks! i totally forgot ab the breastfeeding board! duuh!!!! lol

kdello, i would totally have someone watch ds if i had someone who could.  i have no one locally who can watch him.  i have dh's grandpa who lives down the street, but honestly, he's 87 years old and while he's still really active, he just can't watch ds for a very long period of time.  like 30 min is about the most i allow, and anywhere i'd go is at least that far away. :-(

i've been all over kellymom and it's been somewhat helpful but not completely.  i'm thinking it's not thrush, though the tips are pink, they're not bright pink, i have no itching, the burning has finally stopped (for now anyway).

i've tried tons of different holds but not much luck in it changing her latch.  though someone did suggest the "laid back nursing" style and i tried that earlier, and it was SO much better.  still painful at first, but it was a lot better overall.  so i'm going to keep trying that and keep working on her latch.  if i don't have much improvement by monday i'll call around and see if i can get a LC to come to my house, whatever the cost, it'll be worth it to get her latch fixed!

aspade

1. Call your local LLL leader--the one who does the meeting--and talk to her one-on-one.  She might even do a house call (I would).

2. You can totally bring your DS to a LLL meeting.  No one is going to raise an eyebrow and everyone will be willing to keep him occupied (bring his favorite toys).

3. I doubt it's thrush so early, and it just sounds like the burning is from the rubbing of the bad latch.

4. Watch some latching videos on this website: https://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=videos

5. Along with the sandwiching your boob, if you can also make sure it's lifted up enough--you don't want her to have to move her chin down.  Are you using a breastfeeding pillow?  With a week-old LO, you might also need to prop her head up and shoulders up to be level with your breast/nipple.  I always find folded receiving blankets to be helpful.

Do let me know if any of that helps!  You are doing the best thing for your baby; we just need to work out the kinks! 

sophabelle

thanks aspade!!  i figured it'd be fine to bring ds to a meeting if i go, it just makes things a bit trickier since i'd be by myself.

i'm just really nervous to go to one of these things by myself.  (i'm also really nervous to call the group leader too!) i'm such a scardycat! lol.  i don't know why i'm so shy ab it, but i just am for some reason.

i do have some bfing pillows but have not actually used them this time around.  my boppy is pretty useless, i just can't seem to get it positioned right, but i've got a breastfriend pillow and i'll try that one out and see if it helps any.  i've been using other pillows as support though.

i'm glad you agree that it doesn't sound like thrush!  

this is so stupid, but what do i say to the ll leader?...  do i just explain the situation and see if she has any advice?    it's so silly that i don't even know what to say!  let me dig around in the diaper bag- maybe i'll find my backbone LOL!

aspade

Sophabelle,

I'm a group leader, and look at how easily you asked ME for help!

Start with, "Hi, my name is Sophabelle, and I have a week old baby."  You can do it.  You gave birth, after all!  Now you can do anything.

sophabelle

lol i know!  it's so silly.  it's much easier to approach you since i "know" you lol. 

today went much better, still pretty sore but its not as bad as yesterday.   i was able to get her latched last night once w/absolutely NO pain. but i have no idea how i did it lol.  i was using the breastfriend pillow when it happened but didn't have any luck when we switched sides or when i tried it again today. 

so far the best route has been the laid back nursing.  so for now i'm going to stick with that and hope that it keeps going well (and preferably gets better!) but at least w/that position i think it will let my nips heal some anyway.  

i've got some phone calls to make this week as far as finding someone to help, whether its the LLL or a LC or the breastfeeding clinic that's in the next town over.  

thanks for your help and encouragement!!

aspade

I was just going to check in on you.  Glad to hear some things are going better. 

: ) 

sophabelle

aspade, i've been reading the LLL breastfeeding book, and have started using the trick where you point the nipple upwards so its the last thing sucked in, and while i haven't gotten it down fully, things are SO much better today!    i was able to do the cradle hold w/very little discomfort earlier and she is nursing right now w/NO pain! 

just wanted to update that things are going much much better today!

aspade

I'm so glad!  That's one of the things I would check for in person.  Not everyone realizes that the baby usually takes in the entirety of the bottom half of the areola, first, then the nipple, then as much of the top half as fits.

And come to think of it, that was one of the things I learned from watching latching videos in the middle of the night right after coming home from the hospital!

And it's probably also why laid-back was working well for you.

Yay! 

abcarter22

I had a similar problem.  Have you tried nipple shields?  I used one for a few weeks until LO's mouth got bigger and it was a lifesaver. 

sophabelle

i did w/ds but am trying to avoid it this time. it took months to wean him off of it.