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1055658 tn?1300845290

Poor latch

I posted this in the breastfeeding forum too but I know this forum is more active.

How do I fix a latch problem? My son was born on 3/7 and I have been exclusively bfing. My milk is in and I feed him as much as he wants (on demand). My problem is when he first latches on he only wants to latch to just my nipple then after about a minute he takes in a big mouth full of the rest. So the first minute or so is like toe curling painful then the rest of the feed is good after he fixes the latch. This has caused my nipples to crack and bleed which is also very painful.

Any advise on how to fix this?
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Avatar universal
What Joy said! You dont let him feed just latched on the nip. You have to seperate bb from baby and have him relatch properly or else he'll make a habit of it.
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676143 tn?1312941771
I had it explained to me that you smoosh your breast like a "hamburger" would go in his mouth.  So, if you're looking down at your breast, and he's laying sideways, to you it may look more like a "hotdog" from your angle.  It's the same as the "C" hold, but imagining smooshing down a hamburger before taking a bite of it, helped me visualize better.  I know, cheesy, but, I did learn it from a lactation consultant! :-)  
And, by the way, I had the same problems as you until I got this hold down better and until my son latched better.  I had the cracking and bleeding and for one or two feeds I used a nipple shield (a clear silicone cover that has a nipple on it that the baby ***** on instead of you) and also used Lansinoh Lanolin cream after EVERY feeding.  You don't have to wash it off, either.  The baby can digest it.  Also, I did breast pump and bottle feed him in the first week a few times because my nipples needed a break.  He adjusted to and from breast and bottle just fine.
I'll be honest, I had pain with nursing for 8-9 weeks, but we managed to make it all the way to 10 months before he was totally disinterested - and by that point, I was only nursing him once at night anyways since he was eating mostly real food and I was about to wean him on whole milk anyways.  My goal was one year of nursing, but we did the best we could and I'm proud of that.
Keep it up!  It is so worth it in the end. :-)  
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Avatar universal
P.S. He'll get it! Don't give up or lose hope! ;-)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My youngest does this. I have to unlatch her and redo it over and over until she gets a large enough mouthful. Stick your finger into the corner of his mouth to break the latch and bring him to the breast when his mouth is wide open. Using the "C" hold on your breast in these early weeks can also help him get more of the aerola in his mouth.
Helpful - 0
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