Attachment issues with 1 week old

Pretty much from day one my little girl's attachment has not been right. She attaches around the nipple rather than the outer area and as a result feeding is really painful.

I have sucessfully breastfed both my boys for 13 and 15 months and never had this issue.

I have been on the phone to the aba and they recommended the 'baby led attachment' which i tried but find difficult and not a whole lot of improvement. I have been in touch with the LC from the hospital and i am waiting to hear from them to make an appt to see them.

She's definately getting milk and putting on weight so there is no issue there.

Is there anyone who had a similar start to breastfeeding but was able to turn it around? I have been pretty much told to just keep taking her off until she attaches right but it's painful and frustrating for the both of us. I'm so determined to get past this though, i do not want to give up.

I have bought nipple shields but as yet not used them, i don't want to confuse things but could this work?

Last night i fed her in the football hold and seemed to have a little success.

At this stage i'm still producing so much milk that that is also making it hard for her to attach when the bb's are so full. I have expressed a little bit before a feed to try and help this but also really need my supply to start settling down to suit her.

What to do? I would love to hear some advice or personal expereince on how to get through such a problem.

TIA ladies :)

Experimenting with different holds might help.
Fingers crossed you can get on to the LC soon - with luck she'll be able to see what's going on and give you some ideas to fix it.
Wtih DS I had 'perfect' technique and everything looked good, but he just couldnt' get a good latch. I used shields from 4-11 weeks, at which piont it all came good.
I hope you can sort it soon - it's bloody painful I know

So maybe it is worth trying the shields then?? I've got to find something that works!!

Thanks Marcellus xo

I had this problem in the early days with my DD, I think the main cause was a tiny mouth and big boobs. We got there in the end, although she did end up with weight-gain issues due to not enough milk. I tried shields for a bit, they didn't really work out for me but I do think they're well worth a try.

I hope you can see the lc soon, in the meantime, hang in there, you're doing a great job :hug:

I'd see the LC first, before trying the shields, if at all possible. Can I ask why the baby led attachment was difficult? Is it possible she's got some stiffness or moving difficulties because of her birth? A paed chiro might be able to help out if that's the case.

Have you tried bfing her lying down at all? Also try stroking the side of her cheek to encourage her to open very wide before putting as much of the nipple and aereola in her mouth as possible.

Let us know how you go.

^^^ Yeah that^^^
An osteo or chiro can really help out if bub is struggling with attachment.

I also found stroking DD's cheek or just under her nose with my nipple would help her really open her mouth, and then I'd quickly move her to the breast. Also try and keep your shoulders back and remember to bring baby to breast, rather than trying to put nipple in baby's mouth (which is hard when you have rock hard boobs and just want them drained).

I would also be pumping off some milk at the start of a feed to soften those bb's up to see if that helps...I knew a woman who would pump nearly 50mls at the start of every feed to get rid of the engorgement, and then feed bub. It means you also have a great stash of ebm for when you need it.

:hug: you'll get there!!

Yeah, I'd see the LC before trying shields - they're an almighty PITA to use.

Thanks so much ladies you've been really helpful.

What is invloved in attending an osteo of chiro for the little one? I have no expereince with this.

Swoop i think that may be what my problem is, not that i have that big a bb's but i do think she has a little petite mouth.

Jennifer13 i didn't feel that she attached any better using the baby led attachment and was still in a lot of pain. It may be possible that she has some stiffness from the birth, i'll see the LC and then consider that from there i think.

Arcadia thanks for your pieces of advice also, i do try and tease her a little to get her mouth nice and wide but today i have also tried to encourage her to attach more by herself like you said. It seems to be helping with the attachment a bit.

I got an appt with the LC on Thursday morning so i'm looking forward to going to that and getting them to see what it is she does and hopefully have them offer something to encourage better attachment. Today i have been using the football hold to feed her and i find the attachment is pretty good with this until she gets tired and then i feel her mouth slip back around the nipple and the pain begins all over again. The football hold has helped with a sore spot that i felt coming also, hopefully i got that before i was possibly dealing with mastitis aswell. Oh the joys.

But i'm still so determined to get past all of this, i never imagined not feeding my little girl.

Thanks so much ladies xo

At least if it is because her mouth is still so small this will improve over time.

I'm so happy you managed to get an appointment, hopefully the lc will be able to see exactly what's going on. Great that you got the sore spot sorted too - I got mastitis when I was experiencing all these attachment issues at the beginning and always feel that that was the start of my supply issues too. Fingers crossed you've nipped that in the bud though...

You're doing really well dealing with this, it's just a glitch and you'll get there soon :hug:

Both of my girls have petite facial features. That and DD1 was jaundice and very tired and lazy, I found it hard to get her stimulated enough to open wider. I had to get her really razzled up to get her gob open enough to take more in. One midwife even tricked water down her bare back, that woke her up real fast and the chompers opened wide and snapped it all up, except 2 minutes later she was asleep again and sliding off. In the mean time I persevered with the pain and would leave her on there just so she could get a feed, big mistake cause I got major damage. Second time with DD2 I learnt just to keep taking her on and off, on and off, she seemed to learn faster and this time no damage, it still took over a week though.