Latching on After 3 Weeks?

[aimo31]

Hello,

I joined today and are in need of help!

I was instructed by my peditrician not to bf for 3 weeks since I was on a certain medication. He said it would make the baby too sleepy. (Its an epilepsy med and going off of it would be VERY dangerous). Anyhow, the time is up. I ahve been pumping and although my output is not enormous I think the baby could get some no problem, and I can supplement with the formula for awhile.

The baby, of course, is confused when brought to the breast. She shakes her head and bobs it around. If she does latch on, it is very brief. And she is crying hard the whole time.

I did go to a breastfeeding class while pregnant, and have made sure I am holding her right, ect. Any tips? Thanks in advance

[udderluv]

Good for you to be so diligent...keep trying!

Have you tried feeding your dd a bit from a bottle before trying to latch her on? Make sure she opens wide to admit the bottle by brushing her lips to get her in the pratice. Feeding her a little bit before trying to have her latch will calm her if she is very distraught and give you more time and her the patience to work on latching on.

Also, try this to control her head: Hold your breast with fingers flat against ribcage pointing down on the same side as the breast (right breast, use right hand on the outside of the breast). Your thumb will come across the top(ish) of your breast. Take your baby from behind cradling with the opposite arm, palm at the shoulders and fingers griping the head slightly (behind the ears). Keep yourself stationary as you stroke her lips with your nipple and when she opens wide, hug her shoulders to you (so as to not push the head forward) to latch on. This might take a few times, and if she is causing you discomfort or gets latched on too low take her off by inserting a finger and breaking suction first then try try again.

Good luck! I know you will do awesome! =) I also know there are videos out there...I think on this site to help you visually! Go to the home page!

In my experience (nursed my dd fro 34 months and currently nursing my 7 week old), nipple confusion dosen't really play a role after the first couple of house/days. So keep at it!

[aimo31]

She also loves to put her hands up by her head, and covers her face with them. I guess there's not much I can do about that except keep putting them down. Any advice on that though

[Jacksmommy]

CLick on this link. It may help you. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

[madelsmama]

She also loves to put her hands up by her head, and covers her face with them. I guess there's not much I can do about that except keep putting them down. Any advice on that though
Swaddling with her arms down, tightly, is very helpful in this situation, in addition to probably comforting her a bit.

[aimo31]

I don't see any of the videos like you mentioned. Nothing instructional..do you know where to find them.. or maybe another place you can send me?

[Amy_G_]

try
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/basics/latch-resources.html
this is a list of places with videos, instructions and pictures on how baby should latch. If she's trying to latch on, then you need to know what a good latch looks like.

but also read everything at the previous link on how to get a baby to the breast if they've never breastfed, there is a lot of good data, but perhaps not the videos youd like to see.

You should pump with a high quality breastpump (hospital grade) and pump every 2 hours to get a higher supply. Then try to give that milk with a supplemental nursing system to supply pumped milk at the same time baby is latched on the breast to nurse.

be sure any other way you are feeding baby is breastfeeding friendly, if using a bottle make sure it has a slow flow nipple. or consider finger feeding, cup feeding if baby gets too frustrated at the breast.

Realize that baby holds their tongue differently for a baby bottle than they do for breastfeeding, and the milk flows faster and stronger from the bottle even if they don't work for it. so it's going to take a while for baby to learn how to do this, and you may need all those hints at kellymom and elsewhere.

[KerryS]

What is the medication, out of curiosity?

Have you tried latching her with a nipple shield?

Definitely keep pumping every 2-3 hours while you work at getting baby back to the breast. I'd really recommend seeing an IBCLC in person who can help you transition your baby back to the breast.

[aimo31]

What is the medication, out of curiosity?

Have you tried latching her with a nipple shield?

Definitely keep pumping every 2-3 hours while you work at getting baby back to the breast. I'd really recommend seeing an IBCLC in person who can help you transition your baby back to the breast.



The medicine is Lamictal/Lexapro.

I think i will make an appt with the LC..

[vickikreiner]

Yes, I would find an LC in your area, see the directory listing on this site. The LC can help you get the right size nipple shield (which can be a very effective tool for getting baby to breast) and can show you how to SNS (use supplemetal breast milk at breast)!
It is not too late!