Fixing a latch

[smurfsammy]

does anybody know of a good website with suggestions for correcting an older infants latch. My dd is 3 months and has a poor latch. We're looking for some suggestions from other mom's out there! Thanks:)

[bluebonnet]

Another mom on here and I were just discussing this today...let me find her and direct her to your post!:thumbsup

[KandaceWright]

I can offer suggestions but first it would be helpful to know why you think her latch is bad and what it is.

Are you suddenly experiencing pain?

Are your nipple pink, broken o r raw?

That could be indidicators of thrush and can mess with a baby's latch if they have thrush.

Is the baby sliding down on your nipple? If so, break her suction and relatch making a nipple sandwich and repeat anytime she slids down.

Is the baby not flanging their lips? The best way to do this is to wait for a wide open mouth. If they still manage to curl in a lip, flange it for them but perferable get the wide open mouth.

Anyhow if it's none of the above, describe it and I or anyone else here might be able to offer suggestions!

[smurfsammy]

this is our second bout of thrush. We were doing great until the first one, our latch was awsome! now were having a couple of different issues: slurping the nipple, sliding up the breast to just take the nipple, & clicking (air coming in around her seal). i try breaking her seal and creating the breast sandwich but she's determined to slide up the breast to just the nipple, refuses sometimes to open her mouth wide becomes very mad if i wait too long & no matter what i try i can't stop the clicking. i've tried holding her head creating the breast sandwich & shoving her on as far as i can & still the air gets in. i'll check for the flangingat the next feeding & let you know.

[KandaceWright]

this is our second bout of thrush. We were doing great until the first one, our latch was awsome! now were having a couple of different issues: slurping the nipple, sliding up the breast to just take the nipple, & clicking (air coming in around her seal). i try breaking her seal and creating the breast sandwich but she's determined to slide up the breast to just the nipple, refuses sometimes to open her mouth wide becomes very mad if i wait too long & no matter what i try i can't stop the clicking. i've tried holding her head creating the breast sandwich & shoving her on as far as i can & still the air gets in. i'll check for the flangingat the next feeding & let you know.

Ahh....see thrush causes a lot of those bad latching things. The clicking and sliding. Thrush can make the baby's mouth uncomfortable and so they develop a poor latch.

Ok here is a page on deep latch: http://www.pumpstation.com/pumpstation/dept.asp?s_id=0&dept_id=3228

A little more on the clicking:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/clicking-when-nursing.html

You are doing the right things. I do believe that as the thrush clears so will her latch improve but do not let her stay on with a poor latch. Keep working at it.

[bluebonnet]

The only other suggestion I can think of is to nurse in the football hold. I had a lot of latch issues with my first child and the football hold was my savior. It really helped me to get a proper latch and maintain it longer. (My dd was great at sliding to the tip of the nip too!)

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Gondorian]

If you've not already asked about this, I recommend checking your baby is not suffering from "tongue-tie", which means the tongue cannot come out far enough to latch properly. Our son had his fixed at 10 weeks (it involves a quick snip of the skin under the tongue and the baby is fine straight afterwards so he can feed right away). Since he was fixed, our son has piled on the pounds!

More info is here: http://www.tonguetie.net/

[smurfsammy]

So any suggestions on keeping her calm? If i break her seal more than twice often she will refuse to nurse. I calm her down and try to latch again but she will refuse.