Not Attaching properly

[~StarBright~]

Hi peoples!!

I am still in hospital, DD is officially 31 hours old (so day two i think)- my milk hasnt come in yet- but when she is feeding i can tell she isnt attaching properly- i have asked every mw who has come on and off duty for help and told them i dont think she is attaching properly and that its hurting and that he isnt feeding for more than a few minutes at a time, but they are doing nothing to help.

It is the same as when DS started feeding and it ended up taking weeks to get him to feed easily and hurt ALOT coz by the time he WAS attaching properly i had blisters etc, and i dont really want to go through it again...

I should know what to do- i am trying to get her to open her mouth nice and big- but its just not happening, any tips???

[Oorki Galoorki]

if you know its not right then its not right!

re read the 10 tips on breastfeeding(should be a brochure they have there in your room)

or
Australian Lactation Consultants Association Ltd - ALCA - ACT

these are the ACT LC's

OR
1800mum2mum it doesnt matter that your in hospital a counselor can come to you in hospital

[Miss.B]

Hi hun,

Sorry to hear your little one is not attaching properly.... It's pretty stressful time for you and bub, but keep on trying and just keep on asking the midwives to help you. I had the same problem, my milk only came in on day 10 (I had a c-section). My little guy was screaming by day 3, I didn't know he was hungry!!!! I really wanted to bf exclusively but ended up topping him up with formula as I just didn't have much milk. I was expressing like mad in between feeds so I could build up my supply and was only getting about 25 ml from both boobs! I had some pretty awesome midwives though, they were really encouraging and helpful. I ended up asking for help every time I fed Cam as 1) I didn't know what I was doing and 2) he wasn't attaching properly. I also ended up using a nipple shield and that really helped as I have pretty flat nippies (sorry TMI!!) and the nipple shield made them bigger....Keep on going hun, your milk will eventually come in, I know it's tough in the begining!
GL sweetie and big hugs. Congrats agian!

[Spring Angel]

Are you feeding her while you're in bed hun? I reckon this is where I went wrong with O. With B I got out of the bed to feed and sat in a chair. That way my posture was correct and I found it much easier to attach him. If you feel it isn't right then it isn't right. Is there a LC that visits the hospital who you could see?

Good luck babe.

Spring

PS I was overjoyed to hear your baby girl is here safe and sound.

[jaskie]

Firstly, congratulations on your new baby girl
I can completely relate, I had the same problem. I had very little help in the hospital and what help I did have was incorrect. By the time I got home one breast was unusable as the nipple had cracked sooo badly it was bleeding and within 2 days the other was just as bad. I hand expressed (very slowly at first) every feed for 2 weeks and bottle fed until the cracks had healed and I was able to reattach her without excruciating pain. Sounds like you had an equally painful experience with number1.
Does the hospital have a lactation consultant on duty? I have learned that in some hospitals you really need to push to see them. Otherwise it might be worth giving the Australian Breastfeeding Association helpline a call to have a chat and find out if there is a local consultant who can help in the next day or so. I hope all goes well for you really soon.

[MantaRay]

Hun, congratulations on your new DD. You are right that feeding shouldn't hurt, and good on you for knowing that it's not right. I also think it would helpful to contact a private Lactation Consultant - one from the ALCA website in a post above would be a great place to start. This way they can check for underlying issues like tongue-tie, and help you get on track. In the meantime, it might be worth trying Baby Led Attachment. This works really well for many mums having attachment issues like you. When your DD is calm, try sitting in a reclined position, and allow your DD to lie between your breasts. When she is ready, she will either bob or lunge to one side, and feel her way to your nipple and attach herself, with little or no help. Often allowing the baby to follow their own instincts like that means they attach better. If you would like some more information and pictures on Baby Led Attachment, you can have a look here - Australian Breastfeeding Association - Baby-led attachment.

And of course the helpline on 1800 mum 2 mum (1800 686 2 686, drop the last 6 for VOIP) is always helpful. All the best hun.

[~StarBright~]

Thanks everyone- i persisted and got a good mw who helped us- i have noticed though that even if we do get a good attachment- DD will tend to slip off (again- very similar to DS)..

So she said to just keep detaching and reattaching every time it feels wrong, which may seem tedious but will be better for us both. Also she said that my nipple was a bit big- not a huge problem- but may be why she is slipping off - unfortunately this mw just finished her shift, but she said just keep buzzing and get someone to be there every attachment so i am being supported. i will ask about a LC- if i need to i will search around for a private one. And i will give that number a call for a counselllor - thank Oorki!! We had a good feed just now- so i think with a bit of help we will get there without the pain from last time!

Jacsie.. yep bleeding and cracks galore- and then when he did start attaching properly it still hurt coz of all the damage- thats why i am really trying to nip it in the bud now!!!

Spring.. thanks Yeah i am doing it in bed, the mw had the same suggestion- so i will move to the chair when i need to feed

MR.. i have tried the baby led attachment and with out help she just latches on to the tip of the nipple- and quite happily sucks away.. any tips on helping that???

Thanks again ladies- i love having BB to rely on for help!!!