how to get a better latch?

Question

I'm a first time mom and EBF, but when she first latches on it hurts so bad it brings me to tears. It goes away kind of after a few seconds and occasionally she'll bite down in a certain way that spikes the pain again. It only seems to be getting worse as days go by though. So I was wondering if this is a latching problem? And if so, how do I help make her get a better latch?

The lactation consultant in the hospital just told me that "I'm bigger than her, so MAKE her get a better latch at first", but how the hell do i do that? Not really the best advice in my opinion. :/

Answer

I was absolutely in your situation. I would cry every time he was on my breast and would dread feeding him. I used lanolin cream and soothing pads but nothing seemed to help. I finally went on to Kellymom.com and read all of the proper latch instructions and watched some videos on YouTube and realized he was latching on incorrectly. My nipple was going straight in the middle of his mouth instead of being pointed up to the top of his mouth. Whenever I go to put him on now, I put my nipple pointing up on his top lip and when he opens very wide, I push it towards the roof of his mouth. I now have very little pain (still recovering from cracked nipples). I hope this helps and good luck!

Answer

Try to get her to open her mouth as large as possible before moving her to your nipple. As you bring her on have her head tilted slightly back so that your nipple is aimed at the top of her mouth, not just going straight in. The more open she is the deeper, more comfortable latch you can get. It's very difficult to explain and I worry that I did a poor job - check out Kellymom.com it's my go to resource and been so helpful. Also check and see if you can visit with a lactation consultant - they helped us a lot (with things other than latch) and are so knowledgeable.

Also the initial latch pain was only temporary for me, for about two weeks... My body just needed to get use to the new sensation. To help ease the discomfort I'd put breastmilk on my nipple and let it air dry then follow up with lanolin cream.

Good luck.

Answer

I just payed baby on my
Bare chest and squeezed out a few drops of milk at a time and let her lap them up until she'd decide to latch and then if it hurt I'd pop her off and squeeze a few more drops and let her try again. It takes a lot of practice for her to know how to do it well, and it's much easier if she isn't really hungry so feeding super often (like every 30 minutes during the day even) helped me a lot. She also doesn't suck quite as hard if she's not so hungry so that helps it to hurt less too.

Answer

Pinch your boob way back by your ribs into a flatter shape, and when baby pops open his/her mouth, gently press their head onto your flattened nipple. (Think boob taco. You know how you twist a taco to the side to make it flat to eat? Do that for baby) I know it won't look flattened, but it helps them really get on there. You want as much or your areola in babies mouth, even if you think you have a big areola. I keep flattening my boob for up to five minutes, until baby is really fully eating and latched. If baby pops off, repeat.

how to get a better latch?

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