Still not attaching 11 weeks

[poppie]

Hi all, we are still having problems trying to get DD to attach properly (sometimes at all). She is now 11 weeks old and I have been expressing for all of that time as well as trying her on the breast at each feed. I have cracked and bleeding nipples almost all of the time and nothing seems to help. I am on Motilium and have seen Speech pathologists, lactation consultants, G.P's, early childhood nurses, and have even been for a breastfeeding day stay. None of these have been able to help!

I keep thinking that tomorrow she and I will just 'get it' and I will be able to breastfeed for the 13 months I fed DD1.

Am I being unrealistic and has anyone been through something similar? I am just soooo sad about it all and am considering formula which upsets me even more :(

[M O P]

:hugs:huge hugs to you for coming this far :hugs:
you have done great- I'm sure there would have been plenty of days in the last 11 weeks it would have been easy to give up- and no one could have blamed you for that.

I was in the same situation with my first child for 9 weeks- and that was the hardest 9 weeks of my life just about.
But 1 day- it did all just get easy.
I went from having to psyche myself for every feed or expressin' session to it all just happening.

Sounds like you're doing everything you can, and seeing everyone you can so I guess my advice is just hang in there- :fingerscrossed: and hopefully one day, very soon it will all just click.

[justmum]

No I haven't been through this exact situation, but I did have a lot of issues and ended up feeding DS for only 6 months using a nipple shield.

You have gone 11 weeks expressing for your baby, with another to look after - I think you are doing a wonderful job! :thumbsup:

I would urge you to find a way through all this pain and upset because giving up on BF when you are not ready is a heartbreaking experience.

Can you share with us what you have tried? Have you used a shield, different holds? Maybe if you give us an idea we might be able to come up with some suggestions??

:hugs::hugs::hugs:

[poppie]

Thanks so much for your support :hugs:. I have tried sheilds which were really helpful with DD1 but DD2 won't suck with them at all for some reason. I tried the Medella and Avent ones. I have tried quite a few holds and found not a great deal of difference with them. Just not sure what else I can do!:confused:

[meme]

:hugs: sounds like it's been really frustrating.

did the health proffessionals rule out medical issues like tongue tie, low muscle tone, or anything that could be causing any problems?

have you had anyone suggest baby led attachment, or similar techniques where you have skin on skin time to encourage your baby to be comfy at the breasts and hopefully latch on herself.

have they suggested things like bottle feeding next to the breast to get your baby used to the breastfeeding positioning, so that she has a good chance of returning to the breast easily if you can find a way to sort out the attachment problems.

did the lc talk about the best way to supplement feed your baby? perhaps she is getting confused with latching onto a bottle and then breast, a good lc can offer you options to help avoid this.

follow up support from your lc, and support from your local aba group may really help you get through this.
i imagine it would get really upsetting.


i have to agree with others, sounds like you are doing such an amazing job to make this work. all the best wishes.

[justmum]

Has tongue tie definitely been ruled out? Even a very mild case can make attachment impossible.

What about trying the supplementary system that feeds bub through a tube whilst attached to the breast to encourage sucking? Not sure what they are called. Someone on here is sure to be able to help with the name. You can hire them through the ABA.

[poppie]

Thanks so much for your advice.

The baby led attachment is something I should try as that is something I had not considered before. Will let yoy know how it goes!

I really need to join my local ABA group for some extra support to keep going. It can just be a bit hard sometimes to go to these sort of groups with a tantrum prone toddler. Maybe I should try the email support that they offer.

Once again, thanks so much and I find any ideas invaluable :D

[poppie]

Oh, I forgot to say that DD does have a very mild tongue tie too.

[justmum]

Has the tongue tie been looked at hun? Is there any chance of correcting it? Sorry, I am not sure about the procedure for this. But I suspect this would be the cause of your troubles?

I think contacting the ABA would be the very best thing to do. They may have some suggestions. If you go onto their site and join their forums, and post your issues (including the tongue tie and hat you have been through and tried) you can get some advice from a BF counsellor who will respond to your post and point you in the direction of some good resources.

I cannot believe how well you have done despite this - you really deserve a huge medal! :thumbsup:

[M O P]

the ABA counsellors available on the phone are great too
I found the lovely lady on the end of the line a great support and advice giver for me

[olliesmama]

Hi poppie - your situation is the same as mine except I am just going into my third week and I'm so over it. Congrats for getting to where you are - it takes so much perseverance and hard work:yelclap:. My first DS also had issues feeding and I persevered with bf albeit he did take some formula coz he lost so much weight. I am not sure how long I can keep going with second DS as having a toddler as well is very challenging and my toddler is also going through tantrems etc. Luckily, DH and mum are available to help me at the moment but at some point they will have to go back to work :(. My DS also has attachment issues, mild tongue tie, falls asleep on the breast and doesn't have a strong suck. I admit that formula has crossed my mine as well as when DH goes back to work, finding time to express will be hard (esp as I don't get much!) :( I have an appt with the ECN on Wednesday to see whether DS has put on any weight (he lost a little in his second week). All I can say is that I am thinking of you and know exactly what you are going through. Don't forget to look after yourself as well adn do what works for you. Would love to know how you go.