breastfeeding.. help!?

Question

my g/f has tried to breast feed our 2 day old son with bad results as her nipples are a little bit to big to fit inside his mouth. we have talked to midwives and doctors but they don't seem to care (that's the NHS for you!), they just say keep trying...
because the baby is not latching on properly, it's very painful for my g/f and hence her nipples are getting more swollen.. (baby will not even drink from a bottle but he will drink ONLY from a cup (is he just lazy?))
please please give us some advice on what we can do as my g/f really wants to breastfeed.

Answer 1

I'm sure your girlfriends nipples can't be too big. I used a nipple shield occasionally when I breastfed all 3 of my kids, and they are really quite big. It could just be like you say, swelling.
Buy a nipple shield. This will help if your girlfriend has sore nipples. She will not feel the pain as much, they work really well for this. I didn't use it constantly, just when my nipples were sore. When the swelling and pain subsided I stopped using them.
A fantastic tip I used with rapid success was to squeeze a little milk from the nipple, then rub it gently into the whole area, around the nipple as well as on the tip. Let it dry naturally. It will help with cracked nipples, and in my experience they were cured much quicker than using medications.
Your girlfriend may need to take a little break to give the swelling time to go down.
Have you spoke to your health visitor? Mine was great, though I know not all are. Your health visitor should know of some support groups in your area. I do believe there is not enough advice given about breastfeeding, and many women find it extremely difficult.
I found it so much easier with my third child, due to past experience, and because of what I had learned from other breastfeeding mums. (the best people for advice!!)
I hope your girlfriend finds an answer that works for her, and tell her, it gets easier. I only ever had sore and cracked nipples for a short time in the first few weeks, after they got better, it didn't happen again. Good luck to you both.xxx (I have put some websites below for you and your girlfriend to have a look at. The second one has an option to contact other mums and help on finding support in your area, as well as lots of other useful bits.x)

Answer 2

I had this EXACT problem and similarly nobody would give me any reasonable advice except "relax", "keep it up" and "get his mouth to open wide like a yawn". At some point my son was not getting enough milk and my supply was shot because he wasn't latching on properly (falling asleep at the breast after a few sucks is a sign of poor latch or low flow/supply).

This is what I did... my husband and I bought a high quality pump (Medela In Style) and I pumped regularly while taking supplements to increase milk (as I was now struggling with low supply, if you are not, don't let it happen...get a pump immediately!). I fed my son from a bottle. (Thankfully he took it easily enough.) I kept breastfeeding him at least a few times a day supplemented if he was not satisfied and used PureLan cream for sore nipples. After a few months he fed much better and then I had to battle with getting him back to the breast exclusively due to nipple confusion. It was difficult, but at three months he is now exclusively breastfed, I have no pain when he feeds, he is swallowing well and all that which wasn't happening when we were trying to deal with his tiny mouth and my large nipples.

If you are worried about nipple confusion, keep using the cup, a dropper or look into a lactation aid. Keep practicing the latch a few times a day at least, use PureLan, and your son's mouth will grow. Good luck!

Answer 3

Good for you for trying to get the baby to take as much nipple as possible! That is truly the key to avoiding sore nipples.

The whole nipple does not have to fit in, just as much as possible. Someone gave excellent advice to rub his cheek to stimulate the rooting reflex. When he opens his mouth, press on his chin to open it wider. Cup your breast in one hand (fingers on bottom, thumb on top) and insert your nipple. When you try this the first time it will seem impossibe to do everything at once! Don't worry, it takes some coordination and practice but you'll get the hang of it.

If you have a breast pump, pump for 1 minute or less before feeding. This will draw your nipples out so they protrude and fit into the baby's mouth a little easier. This also may stimulate the let-down reflex, so baby doesn't have to work long before being rewarded.

Many moms have found a nipple shield to be helpful. They have their place, but I would encourage you to try the methods I previously described before trying one. If you do decide to use a shield, it should only be used for a few days. Your body produces milk according to the stimulation of the nipple caused by the baby's mouth, and a breast shield reduces this stimulation considerably. Extended use of a nipple shield could decrease your milk production.

The 1st week of breastfeeding can be tedious and extremely frustrating. Hang in there. The 2nd week will be easier and the 3rd will be better still. Remember that the number of wets and stools your baby has is the best indicator of weather or not he's getting enough to eat. He should have at least 4-5 wet diapers a day and at least 2-3 stools. These numbers will increase at a week of age, and they range considerably between infants!

Answer 4

Hi, i don't think your baby is lazy ... and ive seen some huge nipples fit in those tiny mouths ..lol i think everyone has a hard time at first...it can take some time, he probably isn't latching on properly and it does take time for mother and baby to get the hang of feeding, i battled on to get my baby to feed right for almost 2 weeks and my nipples were in agony but i was determined..lol .Maybe look for a webite with pictures of baby feeding and tips, but i do know that the nipple has to go right down the back of baby's mouth,so the nipples stretches and thins out a little .. so maybe if your gf slides her little finger down the side of her nipple area into babys mouth to try and encourage baby to open his mouth wider to latch on better so that baby gets a better feed and your gf isn't in so much pain,that lilttle trick helped me a lot . Try not to let baby goof around during feeding, only feed when he is hungry otherwise he's just going to stuff around and make her nipples even worse and he's going to associate feeding time as a stressful time and he might refuse it.Her nipples will toughen up after a while and this may sound dumb but it helped me a lot, tell her to get some sun on her nipples...cause the excess moisture can really make them worse..and the sun helps dry them out . He will loose some weight anyways but if it's excessive and is crying a lot i suggest you guys bottle feed, maybe express? And she won't be a failure if thats the case it just happens sometimes,but baby is only 2 days old, so give it some times.. good luck :) And "congratulations" also tell your gf to relax and not worry about it so much cause baby will feel the stress too!!It's not the end of the world if she can't breastfeed.

Answer 5

I am 19 weeks pregnant and havent breastfed as yet. However, ive done heaps of research and talked to experienced mothers and my midwives about the troubles of breast feeding. I too am anxious that ill encounter problems in this area. It takes the baby and mother a good couple of weeks to learn to 'feed'. Dont be discouraged that its not working, its only been 2 days. I understand this is stressful esspecially for the mum. But you MUST persevere! keep trying! try not to give a bottle as the milk comes out much easier than the breast and this will make the baby lazy! they would prefer to drink it from a bottle than have to actually suck hard to get the milk. So refrain from this. Just before you try and feed the baby tell your g/f to express a few drops so it is on her nipples, this will give the baby the taste. Alternatively tell her to brush her nipple against the babies cheek, this triggers a reflex in the baby and she will turn her head to suck. Also dont forget, there isnt actually any milk in her breasts as yet, she is producing colostrum which is a nourishing liquid that turns into milk in the next few days. Dont give up keep trying and review how things are going, if your still having troubles in 1- 2 weeks go back and talk to your midwives. good luck.

Answer 6

Hi. Pop along to Boots or Mothercare and buy some nipple shields. They're sort of clear plastic nipples that your girlfriends puts over her own nipples when breastfeeding. They'd help to reduce the soreness, which would encourage her to try for longer. If the baby takes to them then there's absolutly no reason why she couldn't use them long term. I found them a real help.

I know what you mean about the NHS. I was having real problems breastfeeding when I had my son and the staff at the hospital were no help at all.

If you have any cash spare (probably not since you've just had a baby) you can contact La Leche League and arrange a breastfeeding consultation. They're excellent and will sit with your girlfriend and help and advise her until she is feeding successfully. Their website is www.laleche.org.uk

Good Luck to both of you !

Answer 7

I found this article on the La Leche league website. It is a website/organization dedicated to breastfeeding. You and your g/f should read it. They can answer all of your questions and even help you find a lactation consultant. They are wonderful I used one myself with my first daughter. Encourage your g/f not to give up and pump her milk and give it to the baby another way until his mouth gets a little bigger.

Here's the article:

Breasts and nipples come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. What may seem unusual to a Leader or lactation consultant may work very well for a mother and baby. Most babies will adjust to their mothers' nipples - after all, those are the only nipples the baby has ever known! Occasionally, though, there will be mothers who have nipples larger or longer than can be accommodated by a newborn baby's mouth. They may need to express their milk and feed it to the baby by alternate means (cup, finger or even bottle with a slow-flowing teat/nipple with a wide, bulbous base which teaches the baby the open-mouth technique needed to more easily transition to breastfeeding) until his mouth has grown enough.

Answer 8

Buy a Maws breast milk expressing unit (tesco open 24 hour, boots etc) express a little and see if the soreness eases, and the swelling decreases. Expressing breast milk is usefull and convenient, you can then bottlefeed your baby with top quality breast milk while mum sleeps (lucky mum !)... and you baby (bless it's heart) get's the good stuff every time.
As for not latching on, maybe your little one has a small mouth ? or as we found with our daughter, the bottles were not letting enough milk through the teat to make it worth her effort sucking on it.

I'm sure that after a few weeks the soreness will go away. There is a natural remedy for sore and swolen nipples, My ex used it when she was breastfeeding our daughter.... take a savoy cabbage (the wrinkly ones) and cut it in a section so you get cup shaped leaves, and put these over the breast, inside the bra, like a bra liner... My ex swears to this day that it worked wonders for her soreness in that very sensitive area.

Answer 9

you may't fairly study your journey with some different person's, and deduce that one project is better than the different. did you keep in mind that its extremely the formula that has meant your children do not get as unwell as the different children you've met? did you keep in mind that its because the little lady replaced into breast fed, that it fairly is why she is unwell? really, no you do not. so that you're evaluating 2 issues that fairly are not similar and likely have not some thing to do with one yet another. As for breastfeeding not being healthful, back its all a count number of opinion. because you've a foul weight-relief plan, does not mean absolutely everyone does. in case you've been breastfeeding and knew that in spite of you ate, the toddler would get, fairly that would make you want to really supply the toddler the perfect? You had to do a similar even as pregnant, you had to stop ingesting, smoking etc. So why is breastfeeding any diverse? Say breastfeeding is undesirable is truthfully incorrect, and some thing that many females do not do. How does that argument artwork correct to a lady with a healthful weight-relief plan, a lady that would not smoke? formula is large, it replaced into made for a particular purpose, and fulfils that purpose nicely. Its no better or worse than breastfeeding. yet there are further advantages that, a minimum of the first area of the breast milk, provides that formula can't.

Answer 10

If she really wants to breastfeed, you need to give your baby only her nipple or the bottles shaped like her nipple (Avent). If you get him used to doing the opposite of breastfeeding he will not ever want to go back to it. I have been through this, breast feeding is very hard and alot of work. I hope you are taking on alot of the other duties and letting her rest. Keep trying the breast and if it comes to it call your pediatrician and ask for an appointment. Her nipples are going to be swore for awhile, but after awhile it will not hurt near as bad, tell her to hang in there. It will get better and she will regret it if she gives up now. I only learned this lesson after having my second baby and really wanted to breastfeed for longer than the first. Good Luck and help her as much as you can, even if she says she is fine, she is tried and stressed also.