Latch woes :(

KiwiMommy · #1 July 13th, 2012, 01:16 PM

I thought Matthew had a funny latch from the start. It hurt slightly and I actually got and used nipple cream for a few days once we got home. Something I never did with Ash.
Now he's three weeks old and I swear his latch is worse than it was before! His mouth is open enough and he sucks enough of the nipple in so I have no clue what is wrong. My nipples are crazy sore and when he first latches I want to scream. Then the pain stops/fades away and it's fine aside from the occasional twinge of pain. It's all on the nipple, so I don't think it's thrush or anything. No white spots in his mouth, no cracked/bleeding or red/raw nipple. They just hurt and his latch is killing me. When Ash nurses it doesn't hurt, so it's all him.
I'm thinking maybe a mild tongue tie? It's not to the tip of his tongue and he doesn't have the "heart shaped" thing going on, but when he cries his tongue does go up so I can see the underside (I hear it's a sign of tongue tie?) and he can't stick it out past his lip from what I've seen. It goes to the end of his lip at most.

Any ideas?

Also..anyone have experience with reflux? I think he might have that too. He's soooo cranky after feeds. He gets hiccups a TON (4-5x a day easily) but rarely spits up. He has "wet burps" that I can hear what sounds like milk coming up, it just rarely comes OUT. He can't stand being on his back and needs to sleep on his belly (on me), propped up or on his side. After a feed if you put him on his back he will scream unless he's in a really, really good mood. And he will wake every morning around 5 or 6am and be completely inconsolable. He'll just cry and cry and cry then he'll look to nurse (so SO is convinced I'm starving the kid..lol) then fuss off and on WHILE he is nursing. This is the only time he cries during feeds though..
and he coughs during feeds, but I also have a massively fast and forceful letdown. Poor kid.
And he eats easily every 2hrs. I don't think he's gone even 3hrs between feeds more than once or twice since my milk came in. Totally doesn't help the nipple pain..lol.. but I wonder if his tummy starts to hurt so he uses me for comfort? He nurses for EVERY reason. Tired, hungry, cranky, wants to cuddle, etc. I'm the walking pacifier.

angelsailor288 · #2 July 13th, 2012, 07:11 PM

I would see an LC, she can help you with the latch. I recently had something like that (and my son is exactly 1yr older than yours

) and it was a problem with our latch causing nipple blanching. Hurt like crazy. Have you tried changing the position you are feeding in?

The rest of what you described all sounds like Nicholas at that age. Except the laying on his back. But he would flip out if he was in a bouncer or swing.. had to be his bassinet or laying on one of us on his belly. He hiccuped constantly, wet burps, etc. But never threw up. Wouldnt hurt to talk with your doc though

KiwiMommy · #3 July 13th, 2012, 08:29 PM

I'm hoping his pediatrician office has a LC.. We still need to figure out his insurance before he can even get seen. It's a huge pain in my rear.
If it doesn't, I'm definitely finding one. There was one at the hospital but she didn't check his latch..she just asked how things were and at the time they were fine so I told her that and she left. One nurse manhandled them to get him to latch the first time (which bothered me, but that's another story..lol) and said he latched great.
We do a few positions. Side-lying is the usual at night and in the early AM and cradle hold is the usual during the day. I check his latch, make sure it looks okay.. it does to me but I could be totally wrong. I've tried unlatching and relatching him to no avail. His latch is always the same.

HippyMomOf4 · #4 July 14th, 2012, 09:29 AM

Has he been checked for tongue tie? That can cause issues. Korbin and Thayden both had great latches but would tear up my nipples. I found out that they both had tongue tie.

KiwiMommy · #5 July 14th, 2012, 11:32 AM

No check on the tongue tie thing yet. Thinking it is thrush. He has little bits of white on the inside of his lip that don't wipe off. They weren't there yesterday. Boo.

angelsailor288 · #6 July 14th, 2012, 02:19 PM

I am pretty sure WIC has an LC you can see for free

Doodlebug06 · #7 July 15th, 2012, 09:43 AM

I know what you mean about man handling the baby to get them to latch! It bothered me too but in the end that's how I actually got DD to latch better. She's now 6 months and has been ebf since 9 weeks with the exception of maybe 3 pumped bottles. She was also tongue tied which was fixed at 6 weeks. And had reflux. I feel your pain! I would see an LC and pediatrician ASAP since these type of issues are a big factor in women giving up bf'ing. It's usually a simple fix by someone whose seen it all a million times!!

KiwiMommy · #8 July 15th, 2012, 11:02 AM

I don't mind waiting a bit though I will totally see a LC and pedi just to see what is up. It's not something I think I'd give up breastfeeding for. I'm stubborn..and still nursing my 2 1/2 year old on occasion

Plus I know formula wouldn't help reflux. If anything it'd make it worse. Breastmilk is the easiest to digest

Maddsmom · #9 July 15th, 2012, 04:51 PM

Im thinking maybe it is tougue tie. Have you tried switching positions at every feed. Try the cradle hold at one feeding and then the football at the next. This way he isnt latching on to the same spot everytime. DD had problems latching at first and she had an extremely strong pull. I was so sore for the first few weeks. Seeing an LC and switching positions every feed def helped. I hope it get better for you!

Doodlebug06 · #10 July 16th, 2012, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiwiMommy

I don't mind waiting a bit though I will totally see a LC and pedi just to see what is up. It's not something I think I'd give up breastfeeding for. I'm stubborn..and still nursing my 2 1/2 year old on occasion

Plus I know formula wouldn't help reflux. If anything it'd make it worse. Breastmilk is the easiest to digest

Good for you!!! Dd had formula very early on as a supplement since I didn't have enough bm and I totally think it caused her reflux.

KiwiMommy · #11 July 17th, 2012, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doodlebug06

Good for you!!! Dd had formula very early on as a supplement since I didn't have enough bm and I totally think it caused her reflux.

I think Ashlynn had it a bit as a very young infant. She would eat and eat and eat and scream then vomit then eat and eat and she just wouldn't stop! It was awful. I gave her formula a few times when I went places (I didn't feel comfortable nursing in public at the time) and I think it made it worse because she'd cry a LOT a few hours after having a ready to feed formula bottle.

tobi4 · #12 July 17th, 2012, 09:21 PM

If its not hurting when your other little one is nursing then I wouldnt attribute it all to thrush even if thats evident. If there is no tongue tie, Id look into the nipple blanching as well as checking to see if baby has a high palate. My little man does and until my nipples became accustomed to being in that position, it was quite painful like someone was twisting them all the time, as well as causing some blanching. I hope you find some relief soon!

KiwiMommy · #13 July 19th, 2012, 12:00 AM

I noticed the other day that the frenulum on his top gums goes from the end of his gum (where the teeth will be) to the top of the lip... not sure if that is a concern.
The pain has mostly stopped and the spots in his mouth vanished. I never treated for thrush either. I'm stumped!
Now if only my letdown wasn't so painful