not latching....

Hello ladies...

My dd is a week old and my plan is to EBF but at this poing i am EP due to the fact that she will not latch on... at all... she shows no interest whatsoever for the breast... i have tried all kinds of positions, tried putting her when really hungry, when not so hungry, when not hungry at all, asleep, awake, crying, happy, expressing milk from my nipples and letting her taste it, touching her nose with my nipple and sticking my nipple in her mouth when she opens, nothing at all has worked... i will put her on my breast and all she will do is turn her face away from it and sleep while laying on me... i have spoken to a lactation consultant gotten help from nurses at the peds office... and nothing seems to work... does anyone have any suggestions as to what may help?? how much time should i give her before i give up an focus on just pumping at least till i dry up?? anyone have any luck just pumping and how long?? btw i have tried the nipple shields and she hates them...

[Heatherm4]

I would think that you should just keep trying and see what happens. Has she ever latched on even once? It must be frustrating!

[wannabeamommy0124]

she hadnt.. till this morning lol!! it was quite funny after i posted this she woke up and i put her on.. she latched on to my left breast for about 10 minutes and i could hear her gulping so i know she was eating... but then wouldnt latch on to he right, and ended up having to give her a bottle... i will continue trying and see if it gets any better... and you are right it is extremely frustrating...

[Clysta]

Even if she only latches on the left side, that's still a really positive sign!! There are many women who feed on just one side (and exclusively without supplements) so it could still be done. Just keep offering it to her all the time and if she takes it that's wonderful. Keep it up!

[rebekah385]

Keep trying! but even if you are just pumping she is still getting breast-milk. As far as how long you can pump it depend on how often you do it and how good your pump works for you. My first baby was born 3 months premature, I had to pump since he started out tube feeding only, then even when he was able to nurse I had to pump and put it in a bottle, because if he drank to much he would stop breathing. I was able to pump without ever nursing him for 3 month without problems, but then my supply started to drop and I ended up switchign to formula within a few weeks. Part of the reason my supply may have dropped though, was because I wasn't pumping often enough.

[need_answers_from_someone]

I use a breast shield since my baby would not latch either.  It is more like a bottle nipple and he eats very well.  He is 6 weeks old and I still use the shields but you can start with the shield then slide it off and try to latch her.  The shield will pull the nipple out so it is very easy to get the baby to latch.  Unfortunately my little man got too used to the nipple shield and wont eat any other way.  Whatever works, right?  Just keep at it.  

[Mumma2many]

Keep trying!! My triplets came home from the hospital on bottle because they weren't strong enough to nurse. 2 of them had never latched, but I kept trying and once I got a good latch I just  stuck with it and didn't offer a bottle again. It is normal for baby to prefer 1 side over the other. But I'd you stick with it, I think she'll do just fine. You may want to look into a Supplemental nursing System that you can use while she feeds.  That way she's getting more for every minute she's at the breast. Once she's use to eating her lunch at the breast, you'll be able to cut back on the SnS, and encourage her to work a little harder for her food.