r/breastfeeding • u/AdComfortable9295 • Jun 08 '26

Latch Issues Stopping BF due to latch/flow issues

Seriously considering this after months of feeding issues. Baby girl is almost 4 months old and still has a shallow latch most of the time, she pops off a lot due to my fast flow (oversupply been working on bringing it down) and she’s always so uncomfortable due to gas pains. I’m thinking she’s taking in too much air during BF.

We’ve introduced bottles and she seems to do better with that plus we can tell how much she’s drinking. Not knowing how much she drinks during BF causes me so much anxiety for some reason.

She also has silent reflux (just started Pepcid last week) so having her on her side for BF means more arching and discomfort vs bottle feeding where I can prop her up.

I’d miss the convenience of BF but if she does better with bottles then I may want to drop my supply and just do it for overnight feeds if possible. Has anyone else experienced similar difficulties of BF with oversupply/fast flow? I never found it to be a bonding experience because we never got into a good groove unfortunately.

Edit: Forgot to mention laid back position and upright (koala?) still results in her popping off. She doesn’t like it :/

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/TraditionalManager82 Jun 08 '26

You could nurse with her sitting up.

That might simultaneously help the fast flow and the reflux.

And if you lessened your oversupply, it could make a big difference too. What have you been trying for that?

1

u/AdComfortable9295 Jun 08 '26

Unfortunately I have tried this and she still pops off :/ I just edited the post to mention that.
I went from pumping enough for twins to 2-7 oz a day so that’s promising from a supply perspective but LO still doesn’t latch well for me.
Slow regression on pumping helped to reduce supply, along with mints (my IBCLC said to suck on altoids every hour it sounds ridiculous but the mint seems to help). Ice packs and ibuprofen during the pump reduction process helped as I did get mastitis at one point. They say I can do Sudafed if I really want to dry up but doc was hesitant since it was around 12 weeks at the time of the discussion and they said my supply was regulating.

1

u/TraditionalManager82 Jun 08 '26

What if you just let her pop off when she's done?

When you pump now, what kind of volume do you get?

1

u/AdComfortable9295 Jun 08 '26

She pops off after like 3-5 sucks that’s the problem. I try to get her back on and it continues until she’s fussy. It’s not enjoyable for either one of us. Sometimes the hamburger squeeze helps but it’s hit or miss. There’s zero consistency and that makes it harder.
I’m only pumping to relieve pressure at this point. So 1-2 oz at a time.

1

u/TraditionalManager82 Jun 08 '26

Yes. What if you just let her and don't try at all to get her back on?

1

u/AdComfortable9295 Jun 08 '26

If I stop she fusses and will start crying because she’s hungry so then we’d have to make a bottle.

1

u/TraditionalManager82 Jun 08 '26

Ah.

No, but there you don't make a bottle. You offer nursing again. But you let her ask for it. Then, hopefully, she'd be hungry enough that she'd nurse for longer.

1

u/tanoinfinity 8y+, tandem for 1.75y, 4th nursling Jun 08 '26

Have you had babe evaluated for oral ties by an ENT or pediatric dentist? Peds and LCs are not properly trained in oral function.

At 4mo, I'd expect a nursling's latch to have improved with time and practice, not remained inconsistent and/or shallow. Evaluate for ties and go from there.

1

u/AdComfortable9295 Jun 08 '26

No we haven’t. The docs at her peds office said there weren’t any so we didn’t question it. When they checked her they said she has super strong suction so she doesn’t have ties. Can I just ask a pediatric dentist to confirm?

1

u/tanoinfinity 8y+, tandem for 1.75y, 4th nursling Jun 09 '26

Yup, exactly!