Help - baby won't open mouth wide enough to latch

[Lucy in the Sky]

Just hoping someone can give me a few words of encouragement to help me persevere with breastfeeding...

My DS is 4 weeks old now and is still not opening his mouth wide enough to latch correctly. I have been using a nipple shield since I came home from hospital, so he is getting enough milk, but if I try to feed without the shield it is a lot of work.

DS will gape at half width, desperately try to get the nipple, and get agitated if I withhold it because his mouth isn't wide enough. Sometimes I ram the nipple into his mouth when I decide to reward his widest attempts (still not text book Special K mouth, though) and he does manage to suck and get a reasonable feed, but I have a strong feeling that this would not be considered a good latch, and I am starting to get sore nipples the more I give into him.

Now I have had a few MW's comment that some babies never learn to open their mouths wide enough, and this might be a permanent problem that prevents me from BFing him!

Can someone please reassure me that babies who don't open their mouths wide enough can learn to latch? Can you give me a positive story about this? Please tell me your baby has, even as late as 1 month old… I can keep persevering if I believe that it will happen, it just seems so hopeless right now and I so desperately want to breastfeed!
Thanks

[NibbleCurlynBub]

Perhaps flick his lip or mouth with it, so he thinks he almost has it and then stretches after it.

I think the nipple shield probably would have made it easier for him to not open his mouth up wide.. But occasionally they do just get a little lazy and want it given to them asap.

Yes.. Try teasing him with it and getting him to reach for it a bit.. It might work.

He will get it eventually. :yes:

[bada]

Congrats on making it this far :yelclap: and good on you for persevering!
Sounds like a visit to a lactation nurse could really help. Are you able to see one at your local hospital?
The one I saw made the world of difference to us in just 2 mins!
Maybe calling the ABA could be a good idea too.
Good luck

[SuperGranny]

hi katya, I never used a nipple shield, so I dont know how they look or how they open the bubs' mouth. If you can, try to press your breast into as small a shape as you can, so that the nipple will be sitting free inside his mouth. If you want to reattach, break suction from bub, by pressing your finger at baby's jawline, dont pull the breast away. I would be nervous of playing games with bub as you could get accidently biten, and it hurts. I do think all babies will learn how to attach correctly after time, also your breast could be overfull, and that makes it harder to grip. It might help to express just a little to allow better attachment. There are ways around this problem, and there is no time limit on using the nipple shield. Good luck, Marie.

[kezzaskids]

Instead of placing his mouth near your nipple, place your nipple under under his nose and rolling your nipple into his mouth......hopefully he will take more this way.

[Milk_Monkey]

I would most definately go to see a laction consultant. Preferably one who doesnt necessarily insist on one method of feeding.

I used a nipple shield with DS becaus he had trouble latching on from day one. He was in Special care because he just refused to feed. I saw a lactation consultant who was worth her weight in gold! She showed me attachment which was baby led.

[CeeBee]

Hi Katya

I have exactly the same problem. And I was exactly like you - looking for any hope that things will improve because that was my only means of encouragement to perservere.

We were originally told that my little girl had a small mouth and she would need to grow a bit more in order to open wide enough - but unfortunately that never happened (well, she grew, but she didn't open any wider :no:). She is now just over 10wks old. We have just had to accept attaching the best we can - never ideal though.

Have they checked for tongue tie? (A common question I was asked or checked for when seeking help). Tongue tie can inhibit them from opening wide but can be fixed.

Also, i was told to look at them and open your mouth and stick your tongue out - they might learn to mimick you.

Good luck Katya. Hopefully your bub will learn to open wide soon and you won't have any ongoing issues.

Take care, and I would love to hear how you get on. Feel free to PM me if you want any more info or support.

Cee xx

[GeorgiaAnne]

Hey, good luck and well done, you've done an amazing job to get this far :) My baby boy was the same and our attachment wasn't very good. I saw an LC who helped a bit and just kept on persevering. I was sure my supply was fairly low as a result of poor attachment so I was sure to feed him on demand (sometimes every 1-2 hrs)
He's 5 months now and going well and my supply has definitely improved, as has his latch. Tongue tie was also an issue with us.
But yeah, I would see a Lactation consultant if I were you for some tips.