Latching

I was wondering if anyone used Nipple sheilds to help with latching. One of my twins does not latch, or has a hard time, he has nursed once in his 10 weeks, and I REALLY want to nurse him. I have been pumping for him. I nurse his brother Nathaniel, as well as bottle feed him when they both want to eat at once and I am alone.

 

My DD used one for about 2 months. The LC at the hospital had me introduce it and it's what got her to latch at first (she could not at all without it). We used it successfully for a while then when her mouth got bigger she was able to latch without it.

I didn't do much research about it in advance...I've heard it can affect supply. I was pumping anyway as my DS had not yet learned to latch, so I like to think it did not impact my supple. But I also never built up an adequate supply and had to supplement for several months before they were able to exclusively supplement, and I wonder if the nipple shields had anything to do with that. I know there are others on here that have successfully used them also, so they may have a better idea of this that I do. But my suggestion would be to give it a try...if it gets him to latch it's worth a try!

 

Thanks! I have one nurser and I pump 4-5 times a day. My nurser Nathaniel gets one formula bottle a day, and my non nurser gets 2. I just want to be able to nurse him, he wants to, he jsut cant latch

 

Don't have any advice, but :hug: to you!

Hang in there! :youcandoit:

 

when you say he just can't latch, what do you mean? does he try to suck but get frustrated? or does he not make any attempt to close his mouth & actually nurse?

have you tried finger-feeding? i would suggest that before trying a nipple shield as the PP is right - it can affect your supply. and you can potentially run into the same issues with using a nipple shield as you do with using any artificial nipple.

that being said, a nipple shield can be a very useful tool - i used one with both my girls until they were almost 10 weeks old & it's what kept us BFing. i would suggest doing some research on your options & go from there. GL!

 

He doesnt open his mouth wide enough, even when bottle feeding you have to go in from the side. I have tried everything to get him to open up, or he'll open up but his tongue will be on the roof of his mouth. If he does latch, he has tongue issues. He doesnt slide it out and use it like he is suppose to, he uses his gums. If I nurse both at once he has an easier time, but I have a hard time because it takes me forever to get Will latched, then I get Nathaniel latched, and by then Will is no longer latched!

 

Ooh. If you could tandem them- whenever possible- I totally would. I had what I would call a lazy baby who didn't like to latch (you could put the nipple in his mouth and he wouldn't suck. Just scream at you). They learn & grow really fast & you want him to learn THIS is how we eat (breast). I would put your easier baby on first, then the more difficult one. Also put him on whichever side you think has more/faster milk so it's easier in the beginning. It's hard but so worth it! I promise as they learn this is what we do, it gets tons easier.

 

Thanks. I'll try getting Nathaniel going, thn put Will on and see if that works

 

Okay - first of all - you are doing amazing! Don't give up!! Your babe will latch eventually!

I had a really horrible experience with nipple shields. I know there are people who have found them to help, but for me it was the opposite. We started using nipple shields while the girls were in the NICU because they wouldn't take the breast at all. One of the nurses showed up with them, and I didn't know any better. What she should have suggested was using a SNS like finger-feeding!!! Anyways, we were discharged home on a combo of nipple shields and bottles for feedings. But when I tried to nurse the babies without the shields on, they would freak out!! Totally clam up or scream or pretend to sleep...anything but nurse! It was SO frustruating. I did some research and discovered the general medical opinion on nipple shields is very negative. Long term use can decrease milk supply, they do not promote skin-to-skin contact (as the shield blocks the baby from your skin), and do nothing to improve sucking technique or strength. Check out Dr. Jack Newman's website....he HATES them! What I ended up doing was throwing the nipple shields away cold turkey (we had stopped bottles the minute we left the hospital) and instead every feed we would "practice" at the breast and then finish up by finger-feeding. Initially the girls were totally refusing the breast so they got their entire feed from the finger-feeding but as they gradually began to accept and improve and grow stronger and bigger and began to latch, we cut down the amount from finger-feeding until after 3.5months we were finally nursing without it!!!

Here are a few things you can try:

1. Increase skin to skin time - as much as possible have your baby naked against your chest. Lying in bed, wearing in a sling, etc. Give him a chance to smell you and the milk.
2. Recreate the birth experience - lay in a warm bath and bring your baby up from between your legs and place him on your belly or chest between your breasts. Either he will just lay and sleep there (which is fine, just more skin-to-skin) OR he will kind of bop his head around, instinctively looking for a breast. Let him do this and just give a bit of support for the head. He might find a boob and just kind of put his mouth on it and stay there. (this was suggested to us by our lactation consultant, especially because we had a c-section and missed out on the bonding afterwards. I loved it, and did it several times)
3. Try baby-led feeding - kind of like in the tub: sit in a chair and hold your baby facing you just below your chest (so your baby is kind of sitting facing you). Support the head but let the baby bop around and CHOOSE which breast he would like. This is amazing. Your baby will actually bop (looks like a bird pecking) and sort of fall to one side. Give the head support but do NOT force it. Let the baby lead the way. Do a practice feeding session and supplement after.
4. Use finger-feeding instead of nipple shields. I would start by tandem feeding your babies as suggested by a PP, so your poor-nurser gets some practice and some milk from you. Then finish up by finger-feeding the rest. I know this sounds daunting, but you CAN do it!! And eventually your little guy will catch on!

NOW, having said all this, do you have any help at all?!? I was successful only with the help of my Mom. Between practice feeds and finger-feeding, each feed for us could last 90mins and be repeated less than an hour later! Looking back I can't believe I did that, but now I'm so glad I did!
If possible, try to bring in some help: family, co-workers, neighbours, volunteers, a lactation consultant...do you have a la leche league near you? If you need to be shown how to finger-feed you can consult a public health nurse, lactation consultant, LLL, or midwife.
I swallowed my pride and called in family, neighbours and co-workers to help with feedings. I don't know why I was so reluctant! They all really wanted to help anyways. My babies had about a hundred different fingers in their mouths those first few months!!

Sorry this was so long. Its just that your situation sounds so much like mine! Please give a few of these suggestions a try (most important the finger-feeding) and keep us posted on how things go!! I would love to hear if you find any of the suggestions useful and will always be here for support when you need it!!

Good Luck Momma!! You can do it!!!

Melissa

 

Thanks for the advice. I have done the skin to skin and laid him inbetween my breasts, he seems to do the best with that. I'll just keep trying. As for help, no I dont have much of that

 

Just reading through your posts again and was wondering if Will has ever had his tongue/mouth assessed? Have you ever seen him stick out his tongue? Is it possible he could have a tongue-tie? Just thinking out loud...

 

He does stick out his tongue. I thought he was too until we saw the LC and she assured me he wasnt. This past week only he has started sticking it out. He acts like a preemie, even thouh they were born at 37 weeks

 

Hi,

Just checking in to see how things were going...any improvements over the last few days?? How are you holding up?

Melissa

 

That sounds VERY frustruating! It never helps when the babies get upset either! Then you are really tempted to just give in and do it the "easy" way just to keep them quiet!!

Have you tried the finger-feeding?? I know you probably really don't want to, and are hoping that things will just click on their own. I felt like that. For some reason, I just really did not want to use a SNS. It seemed like such a huge pain in the butt, and even like a step backwards, since with finger-feeding, the baby isn't even on your breast!! But now I swear by it. Finger-feeding is amazing. Yes, you have equipment to clean and need to pump in order to have milk for the feed (but you're probably doing that anyways!) There are huge benefits to finger-feeding: it promotes the skin to skin contact and feel on the babies mouth (his mouth on your finger instead of on a silicone or plastic nipple), it improves sucking technique (you can make sure the tongue is down and the lips splayed around your finger) and it helps the baby to strengthen their suck (you can start by holding the milk above the babies head, which makes the milk flow through the tubes with little or no effort on the babies part, and gradually lower the milk so the baby really has to work for it).
If you're by yourself you could do something like this:
1. Have finger-feeding equipment all ready
2. Start a little early (before Nathaniel is really hungry) and practice breastfeed Will with whatever seems to work best (ie. between the breasts, let him pick a boob, etc) Stop before getting frustruated or too tired.
3. Put both boys on their respective sides. Latch Nathaniel on and finger-feed Will on the other side.

I know it is really hard to make changes and be proactive when you're way overtired and at your wits end. If you can just take this step and get the finger-feeding going, I really think you'll notice a difference soon, and in the meantime you have a plan that is working to help your little guy get stronger and get the hang of this nursing thing!!

You may choose to go a different route too, whatever works for you!! I'm just sharing what got us through the hard times. Like I mentioned before, my girls did not start latching until about 3months old, and were weaned off the finger-feeding by 3.5months. They are now pros! I really believe Will can do the same!!

Please keep me posted!
Melissa

 

Very frustrating! I'll ty it. The thing now is that I am a newly single parent, and with my 2 yr old running around, its even harder to devote time to Bf'ing, especially with William. Will have to be when Donevan goes to bed for the night