I need some help/encouragement

id012 · January 2015

Ds is 6 days old. Things were going smoothly wirh breastfeeding until the night before last night.
My milk came in and im pretty engorged but I dont think im overly engorged. It seems like at night when he wants to eat I can not get him to latch. He opens his mouth and just kind of bobs around there. Theres nothing I do that gets him to latch, I tried to express some milk, different positions. I just seem to end upn in tears because he nm cant latch on and he gets more and more fussy and then crying.
During the day this problem doesnt happen but I have notived that his latch hurts a little now that im engorged.

I really want this to work. With my 1st son I gave up around day 3 of breastfeeding. i just dont know what to do. Its really messing with me emotionally. This morning after trying to get him to latch forever I tried to pump and did pump 3oz.

Any tips? I dont know what to do. He needs to eat but now im afraid of nipple confusion and all of that. I plan to call the lactation lady at the hospital I delivered at today but I have a fewling she wont be there.

Also just to note, he had his appt yesterday and has gained 4oz since we were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.

Melody330 · January 2015

First off all - congrats on your LO! This is a tough journey, and you are not alone

this board is full of women who have gone through similar situations.

My advice to moms with LOs so young is to put the pump away. Hand expressing into a towel at this point is best, and will help with engorgment at night. Your supply will not even out if you keep pumping in addition to nursing.

Have you looked at Kellymom? This link is all about latchin effectively but at the bottom is has videos and tips for different positions.

https://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/latch-resources/

Try not to get discouraged - your milk just came in and baby is learning to eat all over again! I had a tough time latching when mine first came in. I would hand express into a towel until it wasn't shooting 6 inches from my boob! Sometimes it took a few minutes and I soaked a towel or two. It took about four days for my supply to level out. I never once touched the pump until much much later.

Good luck!

Mike_Patti · January 2015

It's going to be ok! Call the lactation consultant as you plan. You may be surprised to find that she is there and can see you.

Whenever you get frustrated with trying to latch your little one take a time out. Put your baby skin to skin on your chest. This will help you and baby refocus and relax. Reassure yourself that your baby is growing and gaining weight. That's great!

If you absolutely cannot get him to latch and he is hungry you can feed him pumped milk without a bottle. One option is to use a medicine syringe (very easy!). Or you can cup feed (youtube has videos on cup feeding an infant.

Remember that it will get better and it will be ok.

MrsStanger · January 2015

You are doing a great job! We went through the EXACT same thing! Our little is 7 weeks old now. Sadly i turned to the pump and i dont recommend that! You have a few options.

You can wake up every 2 hours by alarm to feed so you dont get engorged. I love my sleep and couldnt do this so i opted for pump.

You can pump at night (which again we do) but this totally messes with supply and demand of the milk. So much so for us i strictly pump and offer a bottle. On a side note this has worked out well to get dad involved!

You can also massage your chest and catch expressed milk into a towel like PP said. I found this to be wasteful and opted not to do it. although at the point we are at wish i would have at the very least tried this one!

There are more options out there so dont stop looking if these dont sound good. Just know that you are doing an amazing job and you are not alone! It takes a village

JCM285 · January 2015

This is exactly what happened to me (around the same age of LO too!) I used wet washcloths that I then microwaved to make them warm and put them on my breasts to help with the engorgement. (Make sure you let them cool down for about 10 minutes if you try this because the microwave makes them super hot ) My gyno had recommended hot compresses but I didn't have any at home and I was desperate so the washcloths were my go-to. This took about 1.5 days but I kept at it. Everytime I was not attempting to feed him, I was "compressing" and it really really helped. I also pumped but I know sometimes that can make matters worse so I would recommend the hot compress theory first. Good luck and hang in there!!

id012 · January 2015

Thanks for all the tips! Today was a much better day and he was a much better eatter and I could actually feel my breasts softing up while he was eatting.
I hope tonight goes as smoothly!

takmjs · January 2015

I pumped really early on (including and since at the hospital at 2-3 days old) and I didn't have oversupply issues ever. I laughed when the nurse said that I didn't want an oversupply, since I had such an under supply with my DD. We had latch issues for a while, too--at about 2 weeks. I guess if you want to hand express first, I would do it into a bottle, not into a washcloth....then you have a little bit to feed him in a syringe or cup. Good luck! He's gaining weight, so keep at it!

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