I'm having a hard time getting LO to latch. The nurses think its due to our traumatic and long labor and delivery, but I definitely want to figure his latch out before we leave the hospital.
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P was tongue tied until we clipped it at 7 weeks so about that long!
Is there an IBCLC available to help you? Many hospital LC's are just RN's with some CE hours & there is DEFINITELY a difference in knowledge & skill!
ETA: have you checked him for tongue or lip tie? They're becoming much more common, but are still often missed!
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...2 weeks. I had to go back to the hospital!
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Three weeks. We got his tongue tie and frenulum clipped at 1 week, but I think giving him a pacifier finally helped him figure out how to suck. He was getting pumped milk in bottles until we got the hang of BF.
Hang in there! It's hard work the first week or two or three. Learning process for both of you.
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Almost a week. He wouldn't latch until my real milk came in, which took five days.
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Oh and while you're there still DO check out kellymoms newborn info!
http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing/
http://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/second-night/ -
I would take your hospital stay as an opportunity to get linked up with an IBCLC or LC. They are wonderful resources to have if you run into any challenges or just need support or feedback. I don't really remember with Ellie how long it took, but with Lorelei we had latching down by about two-three days after the birth. Try not to stress about it, and keep trying! You'll get it.
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My son didn't latch/eat for almost the whole night. I asked the nurses to see an LC and she got us started the next morning. I still felt like his latch was off and had another LC see us the next day before we were discharged. Keep trying & ask for an LC if your hospital has them!
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We never did.
I can relate to the long labor though and I do think it played a role in all of it. (Over 2 days)I know it sounds counterintuitive but I'm not sure the nurses are the best at offering bf advice. I constantly got conflicting info from LCs and RNs.
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@googly-eyes: I agree about the advice on breastfeeding from the nurses. The night nurse is the reason my son didn't eat all night! My recovery nurse helped me latch him for a quick feed right after he was born, but the next time I tried it didn't seem right. The night nurse kept asking me how much he ate & I would tell her he *didn't*, but she would insist I give her the amount of time we tried and then wrote that on his chart like he ate! I don't think they're fully trained on breastfeeding (and the LC was TICKED when I told her about it!)
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@mewtill: Yeah one person would tell me let her suck as long as she wants, then I stayed up with 1.5 hour sessions all night, then they would say no just 10 or so min per side then stop, or you'll be raw (true!)...things like that. And everyone kept telling me their way was right and the other person's was wrong. Ugh.
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I got all sorts of wrong info from the midwives at the hospital. definitely talk to a proper IBCLC. it took us 5 weeks total, but that includes 3 weeks of pumping and bottle feeding so I could heal from bad latching at the beginning. I saw an IBCLC at 4 weeks pp and she was amazing. we had our latch down in a week after that! good luck mama!!!
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@mewtill: @googly-eyes: I asked repeatedly to talk to an LC & got the same response from every. single. RN.... "I am an LC". Pfft! I found out only later that the closest IBCLC to me is over 100 miles away!
Thus why I ALWAYS tell moms to find an IBCLC & that most hospital LC's are just RN's with a few CE hours. blegh!
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It took DD2 about 4 days to really latch on well. I remember crying and stressing during every feed up til that point. It happened the second day we were home and I was just so glad we finally "got it". My first had a horrible latch and I didn't BF her past a few months. But my 2nd learned at Day 4 and turned out to be a nursing addict. Good luck!!!
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I hate to say this now, but 3 weeks- I know it sounds like forever to you right now, but it really did fly by and it's hard to remember now. The LC got me working with a nipple shield and that was a lifesaver initially. My little guy was always falling asleep on the boob and wasn't the strongest nurser at first.
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Probably around 2-3 weeks. She was a little lip tied and obviously neither of us knew what we were doing. I had baby hickeys and blisters and cracks, etc. An LC and LLL were really helpful for getting advice on better positions for us and healing in the interim. It really does get better!
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It took about 20-30 minutes after deliver and then he wouldn't latch again for 24 hours! No matter what I did, he wouldn't latch. Just wanted to sleep. After the first 24 hours, he finally started latching more, and then was a champ after that. I'm sorry you're having difficulty. Get in touch with a LC ASAP. A cross cradle hold was the best for me. I would use pillows to prop him up to my breast and hold him by the back of the neck. I would rub my nipple on his upper lip/nose to get him to open, then use the hand holding his neck to shove him onto my breast. You can use your other hand to squeeze your breast to make a sandwich type shape to make it easier for your baby to latch onto.
I can relate to the long labor though and I do think it played a role in all of it. (Over 2 days)Reply
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