You will get there, hun. as baby grows so does his little mouth and his ability to get as much of your bb in as he needs to. This is probably why your sister found it was better after 6 wks.
Good luck with your journey. It sounds like you are doing everything you can to get over this hurdle!
Thank you all for the encouragement, it really helps. The rest of the night was pretty awful and I kept feeling upset about it all (and didn't get much sleep between bottle feeding & expressing). I didn't even try to put him on during the night/morning. But you know you're not feeling great when you're sobbing away as you bottle feed and then realise that there's tears all over his little suit!!!
So today I rang my LC and she had a few suggestions, including giving him 40ml EBM to calm him a little before putting him on. She also suggested trying a bit of lansinoh under the shield and that helped heaps. The casual "flailing fist" was must less likely to knock it off. She also said to make sure we have lots of nice skin-to-skin snuggles. I realised that the last few days, all our contact has been trying to get on the BBs! No wonder he was starting to get antsy. She's also going to come out again, and is keen for me to massage under his little tongue & encourage tongue poke outs as much as possible for his little tongue tie.
So i tried again at 2pm on my own. And I GOT HIM ON!!! 16 mins on the left then 15 on the right. We had a bit of a leak on the left and I was thinking uh-oh bad attachment, but then managed to shift him a smidge and it righted! I focussed on getting him in good position, keeping relaxed, and moving my hand further down his shoulders (I think I was too much on his neck/head before). I also didn't worry about trying to hold his weight up at all, but just on trying to position us both well. Because he was WAY calmer after the 40ml, I found it much easier to do. He still was hungry after both sides, so we topped up with a smidge of EBM.
Next feed 5.20pm. Not quite as good, only 10 mins on the right and I don't think he got much (he was on & off). Gave him the bottle, felt ok.
Before the next feed we had big snuggles in bed, it was lovely. Then 9.15pm feed, tried to put him on straight away and he started to arc up. So we grabbed the 40ml EBM. Then, 25 mins on the left then 15 mins on the right. Cradle hold for both and put him down successfully with no follow-up EBM after the initial 40ml! YAY
Oh and best of all - every attachment was just me (all using the nipple shield BTW). No-one was holding a fist or helping me to get him on. So that was thrillingly self-sufficient. And I'm actually feeling ok about trying to put him on again tonight. Even if some feeds are better than others, I feel now that a few good feeds wasn't just a fluke.
I CAN do this.
I WILL do this.
I AM doing this!!!
Thank you all again - I'm sure this isn't the end of our BF'ing support needs & journey. The support is just a lifesaver
Belfie
Yay! That little bit of EBM sounds like a great trick - he's not quite as frantic and desperate which gives you a bit of room there! As someone else mentioned too, the older they get, and the bigger their mouth gets, the easier it becomes.
Keep up the good work!
Belfie that is so friggin awesome! You are the best!
I know exactly how hard it is in those first few weeks - really hard. As for the positioning - the most important part is that he gets on and gets enough milk. I could never hold my baby like the midwives said as I too have big boobs and bubs was very long. I bf for 11 months, I always held my boob and he always lay on a pillow. Keep your eye on the ultimate aim - him getting fed - and dont get too hung up on what other people (especially non LCs) say you 'should' do. If it works for you then you should do it. One day you will just realise that the whole thing is easier and from then on it is a breeze.
Good job!
Good for you! I had trouble latching ds on too at first. It actually got better the moment I was alone with him. Less pressure I guess. I too topped him up with EBM at first. But you know what, as soon as it was just us and I let him do it his way and tried to relax about it all, it went fine!
I don't have big bb's but I had engorged breasts al lot which made it harder for him to latch on too.
So my advise is: stay calm and find a way that works for you. If its easier to use a pillow or whatever to hold him in position, do that. Lying down worked really well for me.
Well done, Belfie. Take each bf, one at a time and do your best. It sounds like things are getting better, and the more you are able to feel confident and relaxed the more improvement you'll see. Be prepared for some not to go as well and just take a deep breath and try again next time.
I have been lucky, my little fella opens wide and has beautiful kissy lips so no probs attaching, but I had heaps of issues with my DD and I don't even have big boobies!!
I always say that breastfeeding is a learned skill and not "natural" in that you really can't just put them on after birth and there you go!
Keep telling yourself what a great job you are doing - Xander will feel your vibes.
At least you can express - I have been hopeless this time around and can still only get off 30 ml
Just think when we celebrate our bubba's birthdays on 25/09/09 we will look back and think, wow - I did it! Then start thinking about another LOL - not me - this is my last
What a difference a couple of days can make - keep us posted how it's going lovey.
Registered User
I hope you are feeling better today too.
it's getting better!!!
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