DD2 is 2 days old and we've been dealing with a shallow latch. We just got home from the hospital last night and I definitely feel fuller but can tell she is still struggling with a shallow latch. Any tips for getting her to latch deeper or will she get over this as she gets bigger? I'm doing the whole sandwich hold of my breast but I still can tell she's not latching quite right. Any tips???
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@creativemomma15: make sure her chin pushed in to your boob and there is a big gap between her nose and your boob. So her head is kind of tipped up. Part of it is just being so tiny but you don't want to damage your nipples while waiting for her to grow.
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Has she been checked for a tongue tie? have you tried an assymetrical latch, where she takes in more under your nipple than above it (http://www.justmommies.com/babies/latch-techniques-for-breastfeeding)
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Youtube nipple sandwich, it changed our lives! My son was born with tongue and lip tie and this made a huge difference (and time!)
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@travellingbee: good tip... I will try that next time we nurse.
@hilsy85: She wasn't specifically checked I don't think. The lactation consultant at the hospital just talked about really pulling her into me and didn't talk about a tie or look at her mouth at all. The ped checked her out but probably not for this. From google pics I don't think it's a tongue tie. She sticks her tongue out well and all looks normal. But I don't know about a lip tie though. I can ask the ped tomorrow.
@simplyfelicity: I will YouTube that! Thanks!
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I recommend a nipple shield while you're working through it! We were able to use a nipple shield and then wean off it very easily. It saved our breastfeeding relationship!
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Sometimes tickle her lips with the nipple up and down to try to get her to open up wider and then literally shove it is as much as you can.
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@creativemomma15: IBLC or other lactation consultant. it made the world of difference for me!
i often had to unlatch and then rematch, and reposition his lips. found out after we stopped nursing that he had a lip tie which was causing his lip to roll under and make the latch more shallow -
Have you tried different holds/positions? Football and laid back were better for a deep latch with my newborns.
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My LO had a shallow latch early on, and caused quite some damage to my poor soor nips. Other than really trying to get her on with a wide open mouth (hardly ever happened) I just tried to maintain some nipple care - air them out, apply lansinoh, smother them in breastmilk. Mine only really got better as she grew and her mouth got bigger. Even now at 13 weeks she sometimes won't open her mouth and sucks my nipple in like its a piece of spaghetti.
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This was as huge problem with my first LO. He also had a tongue tie, which we had clipped. I saw an LC multiple times, and tried all sorts of things that others have mentioned. Unfortunately, the only thing that helped was time. As he got bigger, he was able to latch better, but not until he was about 3.5 months. Good luck!
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My son had a posterior tongue tie and lip tie so I struggled with nursing. nipple shields were helpful. I also had a LC come to my house two times. She was the one who guided us in getting the tongue tie clipped.
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@rattles: I agree- the laid back hold ended up being our savior.It felt strange at first but it worked.
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Both of my girls had a shallow latch. The nipple shield helped with my first, and I was able to pull her bottom lip out more once she latched to make it wider. But, time was the only thing that really helped - once they were a little older (7 weeks) and a little bigger.
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I agree with the tongue tie stuff. My LO could stick out his tongue well, the problem was that he couldn't raise his tongue to the roof of his mouth. So it looked like he had an ok latch but he was really only sucking on the end of my nipple. The dr described it as him using it like a straw (ouch!). His tie was missed by 3 pediatricians and 2 Lactation consultants. It was finally caught by his chiropractor. Google dr Ghaheri's website for some great info and learning how to check for yourself! Oh and 90% of babies with lip ties have tongue ties as well!
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