My baby has difficulty latching. I got help from a lactation consultant at the hospital because once my milk came in my baby couldn't latch. I've tried all the positions, expressing, and so forth. He shakes his head a lot and loses the nipple. He pushes against me, arches his neck. My breasts are painfully engorged though I try to empty them. He tries so hard to latch that he sometimes passes out from exhaustion. I don't know what to do other than switch to pumping. I can't let him starve! My husband tries to help but he's become so exhausted he barely wakes up. My follow up appointment with the lactation consult isn't until near the end of the week. I need a decision now on what to do.

Update: thanks for the help everyone! I did manage to get him to latch but then he clamped down super hard! It hurt so much I reactively pulled my nipple from his mouth and it tore skin off the nipple. But I didn't give up and used the nipple shields. My nipples are sore but he's latching onto the shield correctly. He's getting milk and hopefully one day I won't need the shields.