Hi I am Smiley. I read here lots of time and I havent posted mine in there for a long time. I have a baby girl almost a month ago. this is my number 5. She was born 8 lbs 7 oz. right now she weighs 8 lbs 7 oz. she lost a lb in a week. managed to get her weight back up finally 8 lbs 9 oz, then it started to go down again. I really want to continue to nurse her, the problem is that my daughter is not lataching properly. i think the right side is okay, the left side she just suck like a soother. Midwife suggested me to give her formula for 4 straight days to get her put on more weight. in themeantime I am continuing to pump milk same time some one is giving her a bottle. I am hoping I am able to nurse her later on. I have nursed my previous children no plm. Just my daughter that I have problem with since the day she was born. I have tried nipple shield, it wont work as she wont suck on it, suggested me to use nipple from the bottle onto mynipple. it helped to get her to latach but it cant be forever. I am going to ask to make an appt to see latachation consultant for help next week but its a christmas season! so probably after new year! maybe Maggie has some suggestion? Smiley
My 5th baby was a bugger to nurse, too. Funny enough, it was also my right side he prefered and he hated my left. He absolutley refused my left breast, and would close his mouth and turn away. It took about 5 days after birth before I could get him to nurse at all. It was about a month before I could fiannly get him to nurse on the left breast. Try holding the baby in a different position, like in the football hold, on the left side. Some babies don't like to lay on a particular side. (this is what I discovered with my son) Also, try laying down to nurse her. There's a funny position we suggest sometimes that works for some babies. Put the baby on the bed, and kneel over her on all fours, and let her nurse, kinda like a goat or cow would nurse her young. What was her birth like? Sometimes a difficult birth or a lousy position of the baby's head during birth can cause lingering jaw pain from the bones in the head and neck being out of alignement. Sometimes a good chiropractic adjustment on the baby works well to alleviate jaw pain. Cranio-sacral therapy is good for this too. Make sure you find a therapist who has experience working with newborns. What concerns me is that she's not gaining weight, even though she's nursing well on the right side. (And I'm surprised your midwife suggested formula instead of nursing more frequently, or giving her the pumped milk, or nursing her and then topping her off with formula) Has she been checked for tongue tie? Some babies have a little band under their tongue that might need to be clipped. It causes the tongue to not be able to extend far enough to get a good latch, although they can suck a bottle just fine. What colour are her stools, when she is nursing?
i nursed her every 3 hours. she is not gaining any weight. so she suggested to give her formula for 4 straight days while i continue to pump milk. i dont like the idea of giving her straight 4 days with formula ( every 3 hours). her birth was very quick. one long push and she was out ( only 2 hours of labor by induction) one ofher hand was on her head when she came out. the nurse checked her tongue. it looked fine. yes i tried various position to nurse her. i told myhusband to give her breast milk inthe bottle as well. when nursing, her stool was like mustard/brown color, liquid and abit thick. Brigid, i am from Ontario Canada. smiley
Because her hand was by her head, I think you should find a chiropractor or cranio-sacral therapist to give her some adjustments. She may have pain in her jaw when you hold her on the left side and can't get a good latch because it hurts. Nurse more frequently than 3 hours, newborns can be nursed as often as every 1/2 hour to hour and a half. 3 hours is the limit on how long to go between feedings. She's a big girl, it makes sense she would need to nurse more often. Since you have nursed 4 others succesfully, I think the problem may be with her jaw alignment.
Hi smiley! 1-800-665-4324 give that number a call, they'll give you a referral to a la leche league leader in your area. if you're having latch problems, you really need to have someone see what's going on, to help fix it. or you could call your public health nurses and get them to send someone over to help you. and they should be able to refer you to a lactation consultant as well, that should all be covered under ohip.
i have already set up an appt with public health nurse next thursday. Brigid, I nursed the last 3. I only nursed my oldest for 6 weeks then I gave up as I was ill from c-section, and i thinkshe wasnt lataching well as my breast hurts. so i gave up. Smiley
that's a long time to wait, can you call the LLL so that you can get some help now? if you wait, things might just get worse.
I usually see clients the same day they call me. A week is too long to wait. I don't quite understand the "four days of formula" strategy. What is the objective? It won't teach the baby to nurse, and it will cause MORE latching problems to be away from the breast that long. I've seen mamas on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Fourth of July, the day before my last dd was born, my own birthday ect. A good LC will see you when YOU need it! What state do you live in? I might be able to find you someone. Call LLL TODAY! YOu can also reach them at 1800LALECHE or 1 847 519 7730. Also you can all 1800TELLYOU for a Medela Pump Dealer and Lactation Consultant who can see you right away. Also go to www.breastfeeding.com and www.iblce.org for a list of lactations consultants in your area. SOMEONE should be able to see you today. I don't make mamas wait. I don't know many Board Certified LCs who do, either. Babies learn to nurse by NURSING. Feeding formula in a bottle teaches them how not to nurse. If your baby truely needs formula, due to a serious problem, that is one thing, but even in that situation, the baby should continue to nurse at the breast, and be supplemented by a little cup. Also three hours is way too long for most babies to wait to eat. Feeding her at the breast more frequently will get you on your way faster. Many babies nurse every hour. Scheduling feeds can definately cause latching problems as some babies get frantic and then can't latch. Put her back on the breast, feed her REALLY frequently, only use the formula if she isn't satisfied after 45 minutes or more on the breast (if even that, some babies will nurse even longer and be fine,) and CALL a specialist who can see you right away!
Smiley I have tried 10 times to PM you ALL the IBCLCs in Ontario and it won't go through. Please go to www.iblce.org and find the "international directory" thttp://www.iblce.org/international%20registry.htm here are at least 70 LCs in your province. Love, Maggie
HI Maggie I have contact lll last night. i found a brochure with lll name, ph number. I contacted her and she came right away and discuss about feeding. she suggested me to put her back on my breast which idid so can stimulate to make milk better and easier for me to pump milk and give to her after nursing . i give formula at last choice. I have noticed she drank some milk out of my right breast okay, with left side, nothing as she only suck like a soother. Maggie what is your email address so can talk to u privately than thru this forum if i need to talk more. Smiley
Very perceptive - did you get a chance to get her checked out? There are more than one kind of chiropractors, I took Joey to a kinestheoligist (sp?) because he obviously had a misalignment in his back. She was very gentle, we laid together on the table, me on my back with him lying on my belly. It made a difference immediately, he was able to sleep easier for longer periods of time. I've also heard that babies like it when you eat garlic, it flavors the milk.
