BF: latch question

[smock]

Hi MMM! I have a three day old baby (!!!) and a latch question. She's actually done a great job of latching on, but she also did a ton of cluster feeding yesterday afternoon and evening, so my poor untested nipples are sore! Our lactation consultant at the hospital said a good latch will not be painful after the first ten seconds, but I'm finding it pinchy/ painful even after that.

So when do I break a latch and try to get her restarted, and when do I say it's probably just because my nipples are super sore and let her keep going?

Thanks everyone in advance!

[sh10]

Congrats! I break the latch when it seems like DS isn't deep enough and it feels like he is squeezing my nipple and pulling his mouth back (not sure if that description makes sense). And when I put him on, I shove as much of the breast in as possible. I recommend the Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple butter, I put it on all the time in the beginning and it really helped.

[sporklemotion]

I can't necessarily help with the latch, but will say my nipples were sore for the first few weeks, and DD's latch was fine. The whole idea that it won't hurt was not really true for me, though bad latches felt different to me.

[IndiaInk]

Are both her upper and lower lips flanged outward and covering most of your areola or more? Sometimes if DD mostly has it right, I'll still reach down and flange her bottom lip out a bit. Can you hear her swallowing every suck or two? If not she might be pinching off the nipple and just sort of sucking on that or on her tongue.

I'm still new to this too, but those are some guides the LC gave me in the hospital. The cluster feeding still throws me off because I start to wonder if she's not latching correctly and that's why it's taking her so long to be satisfied. But listening for her swallowing is really helpful for reassurance.

[game blouses]

Jun 4, 2014 3:54:52 GMT -5 sporklemotion said:

I can't necessarily help with the latch, but will say my nipples were sore for the first few weeks, and DD's latch was fine. The whole idea that it won't hurt was not really true for me, though bad latches felt different to me.

Same here. I thought my nipples would fare better this time because he is #2, but they were cracked and bleeding before I left the hospital. Every LC said his latch looked fine, so my nipples just had to toughen up, which they did in a few days.

If your nipple comes out of his mouth looking pinched after a few days, it's probably too shallow. Otherwise it's probably fine! Congratulations!

[kategm]

I experienced exactly what you're describing as a pinching feeling. I made both of us mad by relatching over and over. Eventually I realized her mouth was just too small for my boobs and she'd need to get bigger for it to go away. I was caught up in the mindset it wasn't supposed to hurt if it was right and I made myself crazy. It was better for us to just koko. That being said, she was pinching the skin around my nipples with the corners of her mouth so I had no nipple damage, just sore tissue. If you're getting nipple damage I'd try to fix it.

[chickens987]

Soreness is pretty common. I'd grab some gel soothies and use those as much as you can between feeds as well as a good nipple butter.

[gibbinator]

Do your best to make sure her mouth is as wide as possible and hamburger your breast so you can shove as much of it in her mouth as possible.
You want your nipple near the top of her mouth and pointed towards the top of her mouth. So the latch should be asymmetrical in that most of your areola shows above baby's mouth but her lower lip covers much of the other half.

It is normal for the curling pain for 10 seconds or so, and that sharp pain shouldn't continue. If it does there's something wrong and you need to relatch. If the pain lessons to something dull/itchy it's probably just a symptom of your nipples needing to toughen up and heal.

There are lots of good YouTube videos that show how to accomplish a good latch.

Congratulations on your baby!

[curbsideprophet]

Is it painful for the entire feed? At 3 days old I am not sure 10 seconds is really long enough. I want give it more time and see how it feels. If after a few minutes it still hurts then I might try to relatch. I think latching and re latching can make it worse if you are taking her off after only 10-15 seconds.

[smock]

Thanks so much everyone! It's hard at the moment to hear swallowing because I think I'm still in that transition between colostrum and regular milk, but I can definitely see her swallowing regularly like a little champ. And She does have a pretty small mouth right now; it's been a challenge waiting for her to open wide enough to latch. And the hamburger boob stuffing maneuver is still kind of challenging but I figure I'll get better with practice!

The LCs at the hospital said her latch looked perfect, so I'll just keep trying and only pop her off if the pain is sharp after a minute or two.

Oh, and I do have soothies but I haven't busted then out yet! The earth mama angel baby nipple cream is awesome too!

[smock]

Oh, and I realized the right one is way more sore because even though I was trying to alternate my total baby app told me I used the right side a lot more. I love data like that! Nursing on the left now and feeling fine!

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2014 5:26:41 GMT -5 gibbinator said:

It is normal for the curling pain for 10 seconds or so, and that sharp pain shouldn't continue. If it does there's something wrong and you need to relatch. If the pain lessons to something dull/itchy it's probably just a symptom of your nipples needing to toughen up and heal.

Ditto everything gibbinator said, particularly this part. I also found the initial latch to be 10 seconds of toe-curling pain, which lessened to a dull ache. That dull ache went away around 4ish weeks, and the sharp pain another week or two later. For me, BFing wasn't "painless" like the LC claimed. It sounds like you're doing great! Congrats on your sweet baby!

[gibbinator]

Oh I wanted to add, sometimes it helps to switch up positions too so that baby is working different parts of your nipple instead of always rubbing the same blister or crack. So if you normally do cross cradle, try football hold a few times. Takes some practice to get used to new positions though!

[smock]

Great, I will try different holds today. I've been doing cradle because it's so easy in the gilder with the boppy, and we just got home from the hospital last night in the middle of a cluster feed so I was not up for trying new things. Today I will experiment!

[AmyRI]

I don't have much to add, other than signs to watch for to see a "bad" latch. After nursing, your nipple should be erect but round. If it's not round, something is going wrong. Sometimes it's just a bad latch and can be corrected easily. In cases of tongue or lip ties, the latch can look good but the nipple will look like a used lipstick at the end of a feed - end is slanted and/or sides are pinched. So if things get a lot worse and not better, or if you see anything other than a nice round nipple at the end of a feed, seek more help from LCs (different ones if necessary) until you DO see improvement.

Congrats on your LO! And congrats on what sounds like an easy start to BFing!

[loskadoodle]

You can try the medela gel pads and/or a nipple shield to help your nipples heal. Mine were sore for the first couple weeks no matter what.

[Stingyshark]

I have nothing to add bc we had pain for 11 weeks.. But hang in there Mama, it gets better, eventually!

congrats on your new sweet babe!

[maebyfunke]

It sounds like you're doing great! Like others, the first 10 seconds or so were toe-curling, but that went away after 3 weeks or so.

I'll also say that I was either extremely lucky, or my constant vigilance with lanolin application saved me from nipple trauma. I applied it after every feeding, shower, bra change, and breast pad change. Pretty much if my nipples met air, I slathered on the nipple ointment.

ETA: where did the "if it hurts, you're doing it wrong" come from, anyway? Big ol' pile of poop, that is.

[lolo]

It could be just pain as your nipples adjust, but let me tell you my story too in case this sounds like you (or to reassure you!).

I had everyone telling me that j had a good latch, positioning was right, etc., yet trauma to my nipples at two weeks out and no improvement on pain. Finally our LC suggested posterior tongue tie based on the type of pain I was having. An ENT confirmed and we had it corrected. Most doctors who check for tongue tie only do a visual check, which is insufficient for posterior ties.

Hope the soreness subsides soon!