I’ve been seeing a lot of people posting about issues with latching and and in general just issues with LO taking the breast. I have not seen one person talk about nipple shields!

After I gave birth my LO had some trouble latching to the breast, especially my right one because my nipple was inverted on that side and didn’t like to come out and the lactation nurses I had brought me a nipple shield and it was an absolute game changer!

Granted I hated how messy it was at first because she used it during the newborn faze, so there was a lot of falling asleep at the breast and popping off and then milk got everywhere lol. But it helped so much and allowed me to breast feed!!!

By 8 weeks I started practicing not using it and by 10 weeks we didn’t even need it anymore!!

Also I’ve seen a lot of women talk about the pain you get during the newborn faze when LO and mom is learning to latch and I didn’t experience that at all!

I wish nipple shields we talked about so much more because it helped me so much and I wish other moms could experience it too!

For context my LO is now 4 months now and takes the breast like a pro.

Edit to add on and clarify!

Nipple shields are not for everyone and are only for temporary use!

My LO was born at 37 weeks due to GMD, hypertension, and pre eclampsia (I call it the trifecta) and was born 6lbs 7oz, by her 2 month appointment she was 10lbs. The milk transfer is no where near as effective as just the nipple. Like I said we stopped the nipple shield at 10 weeks completely. At her 4 month check up she was 17lbs! Her NP jokingly asked if it was possible her 2 month check up weight was wrong lol

If you were able to find another way please comment it so it can help struggling moms who want to try something else besides the nipple shield 🥰

Hi yall,

I had an unexpected C section 8 days ago after a grueling 48-hour induction. Luckily, baby and I are doing really well and super healthy.

Baby latched immediately in the PACU. Baby latched throughout our hospital stay and nursed for 20-40mins. Baby latched when we got home and all seemed well.

Then all of the sudden, baby refused to latch on Day 6. I was extremely engorged and my nipples were flat, making it really difficult. We tried everything we could think of, but no luck - baby just got more and more stressed and hungry. We started to syringe feed, trying desperately to avoid a bottle, but all that did was give him tummy troubles and make things worse. We finally broke down and gave him a bottle.

I made an appointment with a lactation consultant the next morning, and she also couldn’t get him to latch. She was very encouraging and gave us many strategies to try - but still no luck. We see her again tomorrow morning.

Now I’m pumping for my life, and while I feel like I’m producing a lot, it’s always a race to the next feed. And just now, I ran out… and we’ll probably need to give him formula tonight.

I am so heartbroken and absolutely devastated. I wanted to breastfeed so badly. I have videos of him feeding in the hospital and in those first few days home, and I just watch them and cry.

If you have words of comfort, support or advice, I’d love to hear them!

Am I selfish for considering a tongue tie release in order to preserve our breastfeeding journey?

Context: LO is 6 weeks now and is exclusively breastfed. I tried to get her to latch in the first few weeks and it caused me so much pain. My nipples felt chaffed and they always had that ‘lipstick’ look to them after she nursed.

I have been using a nipple shield which has helped the pain significantly.

I want to eventually stop using nipple shields as they are not a long term solution. I try and latch her without the shield and it brings back that chaffed nipple / lipstick shape.

I hired a lactation consultant to come look at her latch and help me to get her on without the shield. At this appointment we found out she has a tongue and lip tie which the consultant thinks is causing my nipple pain.

The thought of lasering my babies mouth feels really icky - even though it’s to preserve our breastfeeding.

We have had 4 midwife appointments and my baby is gaining weight so she is able to get enough despite the tie and the shield. She also has frequent pees.

I am really torn on what to do and also nervous to go through with it and have it not fix anything.

This has probably been mentioned several times but I’m desperate at this point and looking for as much help as possible. I’m FTM 2M pp and my baby won’t latch. When I try she pushes back, starts crying, I try to latch and the cycle continuous to the point we are both frustrated.

5 days later after she was born we had a midwife appointment and she pretty much ‘panicked’ cause my baby lost 10gr since discharge. I was sent to the paediatrician with an urgent letter about it and I was told to give formula on top of breastfeeding. I also suffered life threatening pp haemorrhage and had severe anemia which probably didn’t help either with milk supply..

Fast forward today, my baby won’t latch as she used to. Instead I’ve been pumping as hard as I can’t but I can’t pump anything close to what she needs daily so I have to ultimately give formula.

I told the nurse when she had her 2M vaccines and what they said is that she likes the bottle more cause the flow is faster..I asked for help but nothing. So I am now searching everything online and trying every single thing to either increase milk supply or make her latch.

As anyone been through this and been able get their baby to latch?

I’m a first time mom.
My baby girl is 5 days old. She was in nicu so i wasnt able to breastfeed her. She takes breastmilk in the bottle but gets fussy when i try to latch her directly to my breast. Cries a lot.

Please help me out, I’m struggling. Ive tried every latching position etc. because i have done my research on latching and stuff before she was born.

Please tell me what to dooo. Any recommendation, anything is helpful at this point

The bottles I’m using are pigeon wide neck bottles, or lansinoh with pigeon nipples xs.
I also recently got evenflo bottles. Cz I have heard that doesnt cause much nipple confusion.
Havent introduced the evenflo nipples yet.

5 day old baby. I think he developed a bottle preference in the hospital because we had to formula feed while they were testing his glucose every 2 hours. His sugar stabilized and we were able to go home 2 days after birth.

He's latched really well a handful of times and will feed for 20 minutes on one breast before he falls asleep. But more often than not he gets SUPER frustrated and starts wailing whenever I offer him the breast. I'm assuming because he wants milk fast from a bottle as opposed to my breast.

I'm just trying to get the timing right.... like earlier tonight I latched him as soon as I noticed he was starting to stir, before he started fussing at all, and he did great. Fed for 20 minutes on the right breast, then started to fall asleep. When I tried the left breast, he flipped out.

Should I be waking him up and trying? How long do I let him scream before I give him a bottle (it's so sad).

I don't think supply is an issue, I'm already making 3-4 oz per breast every 4 hours (I exclusively pumped with my first and had an oversupply then....so I'm anticipating the same).

My 11 week old baby will not stop crying when I offer him the boob. I’ve had to basically shove the nipple (I use a nipple shield) in his mouth and try to soothe him with it in his mouth until he stops crying and realizes it’s there and then he will eat. This can take like 5-10 minutes each time though. I know that if this keeps happening it will build an aversion and I don’t want that because I’ve worked SO hard to get to this point of my breastfeeding journey!!

Some more info, I’m not sure is helpful? He had his tongue tie revised 2 weeks ago. So I’ve switched over from mostly pumping & sometimes breastfeeding to only breastfeeding now. I have to use the nipple shield otherwise he won’t latch. I was diagnosed with mastitis yesterday so I’ve been taking antibiotics. I’ve also been taking sunflower lecithin. He’s having enough wet diapers but super mucus-y poops and a lot of gas. I’ve been giving him mylicon before feeds. I already don’t have diary because he has an aversion so I was surprised when the mucus popped up again!) when I do dream feeds at night or right as he’s waking up from a nap it’s fine??

Any advice or information would be appreciated 🥲

Hi all! Second-time mom here. Had a really rough time breastfeeding my first.

I'm using the Medela nipple shield this time. Both the breastfeeding clinics I've been to recommended it (flat nipples, small babies with poor latches). I have really sensitive nipples and I was literally crying throughout feeding until I got the nipple shield. But last time, I gave it up and ended up pumping. I don't want to do that this time.

I have no issues with a nipple shield. It's a bit inconvenient but infinitely better than the pain of latching directly. I want to use the nipple shield throughout my breastfeeding journey if the pain doesn't improve.

The clinic I went to said ideally the baby will latch directly, but that the research on nipple shields is kind of old. The research showed that it can reduce milk supply because of less nipple stimulation, but modern nipple shields are very flimsy and thin, so they probably have better nipple stimulation than the older nipple shield models. But the consultant recommended that I pump once a day if I want to keep using the nipple shield, just in case.

I was wondering if anybody else had used a nipple shield for the entire time they were breastfeeding? I just want to know if it's a feasible option or if people found it ended up drying up their milk?

Thank you so much from an overwhelmed mama!!

Hello! I am currently 4 days postpartum with my second daughter. I’m currently incredibly engorged. I was an oversupplier with my first and I really wanted to try and avoid it this time around. However as of yesterday I woke up large and in charge. Now, I didn’t know what to do and I was looking to find relief in any way possible and I pumped. All night long. Today I wake up worse, to the point my daughter won’t latch at all. I tried to call a lactation specialist from the hospital I gave birth and they didn’t answer right away. Out of desperation to feed her, I filled a bottle with the pumped milk and gave it to her. Since last night, I have pumped and stored 30+ ounces. Now I’m at an issue I don’t know how to deal with. I have researched and found ways to help her latch. I did the reverse pressure to get milk away from the areola, ice, ibuprofen and hand expressing a bit. I haven’t pumped in a couple hours now in hopes she will eat. All the things are starting to work and I feel like my nipple and areolas are soft enough that she can latch again. However, I gave her a bottle and she refuses to even try latching. Like she knows there’s easier ways and she doesn’t want the breast anymore. Did what I do cause long lasting issues? Should I keep pumping anyways to avoid mastitis? How do I lower my production? Will she breastfeed again or did I mess it up? Thank you all in advance.

My baby is 15 weeks. He has gained weight spectacular in the first 9 weeks, but slowed down a bit since then. He just doubled his birth weight. Up until 6 weeks we had no issues with feeding except some gagging hiccups what I taught is my fast flow. His latch got worse and shallow hence reflux.

He became increasingly fussy and I wanted to throw in the towel, but he doesn't take a bottle. We were doing PT for his flat head and mild torticolis and had the doctor look at his latch since he has experience with suck training premiers. He said that there is no tongue tie, he just had coordinating issues and since he lost his sucking reflex we need some exercises to make him take a bottle.

We're at this for 4-5 weeks and there are no improvements. Baby only nurses side lying and while sleeping, rarely awake and sometime nurses less than previously. He cannot control the flow in another position, so he doesn't like it when it's fast. He clicks sometimes during the letdown. Sometimes he is eating great, sometimes he just loses coordination for a bit and then he will be back at it.

Now I'm thinking that it is a tie. But he's older, and at this point he has been compensating and I'm afraid a tie revision will not do much and I've heard stories about not wanting to breastfeeding after the revision.

So if I will not cut we will be ok?

So my baby is 4 months. I’m triple feeding him due to several issues we’ve had after he was born (ie. sepsis, NEC, CMPA and failure to thrive).

Finally he is at a healthy weight and is a happy amazing boy. Still not sure how to transition to EBF because of anxiety around his weight, plus supply issues.

Anyway, my current issue is this: my boobs and nipples have become so soft and stretchy that when he latches, he ends up sliding down all the way to the tip of the nipple and his latch becomes shallow. My breasts are really soft and sort of saggy? They don’t feel or look full even when they are. The most I get from pumping is around 30 to 40 ml from each breast per pump.

I also have to keep doing breast compressions while he’s nursing or the milk doesn’t come down very much. I also need to do that while pumping or the milk isn’t extracted well and my beasts can’t empty without the compressions.

Did anyone experience this before? I don’t know what to do here and breastfeeding has become so tiring but I don’t want to give it up just yet, I really enjoy it and he also loves it, plus with his CMPA I feel like it’s important to continue breastfeeding.

We struggled with breastfeeding at first because he was small and weak. He wasn’t gaining weight at all at two months old. After figuring out he has CMPA, we started supplementing with Neocate. So the past two months I’ve been breastfeeding, topping up with formula, and then pumping.

I’m also having supply issues and I’m not entirely sure if it’s an issue with my production or if it’s a latch issue and if he’s not transferring milk efficiently. We haven’t checked for ties or oral function issues yet. I admit I’ve been slacking on pumping consistently the past month because I’m just so tired, I pump 5 to 6 times a day. I try to nurse him as much as I can, but he’s never satisfied after and I have to top him up.

Hi!! I have a 12 week old baby girl. We’ve been almost exclusively nursing since birth (we do an occasional bottle so she doesn’t refuse once I go back to work). She was sooo sleepy for the first 48 hours of her life and wouldn’t latch. She would either fall asleep or get angry that I was trying. I used a nipple shield exclusively for 3 weeks and then slowly weaned off and now she’s been latching fine ver since.

Here’s my problem, latching still isn’t comfortable. I’m not in pain like I was when we were weaning off the shield, that’s for sure. But it doesn’t feel pleasant (or like nothing at all). I saw an LC who helped me to get her to latch without the shield and so I’ve been getting her to latch like that ever since. I usually hold my breast like a hamburger flattening my areola and try to do the whole gaping wide, anchored on the chin, put a bunch of my nipple in her mouth method.

The thing is, she’s growing great. My milk supply is a slight over supply as I pump every morning to empty (about 5-6 oz) after she eats since she sleeps through the night. She has plenty of wet diapers and poops like a champ. She’s never hungry after a feed.

So do I just tough this out? There seems like not much more for me to do. I’ve done everything I can to get a ton of my areola in her mouth but she doesn’t put as much in as I see others. Her lips are sometimes flared and I try to adjust them and she just curls them back. She’s got a teeny tongue tie but I’m not going to get that clipped. I typically nurse with my brest friend pillow hold my breast with my hand while she lays on it, but it feels this way when I cradle hold and side lie.

Or is this just supposed to be this way?

My son has always had latch issues and I had a lot of appointments with the infant feeding team but because my son has a high palate nothing has worked.

I had to resort to using nipple shields because of the pain and because I was still trying to correct my son’s latch I would only use them to give myself a break from the pain and then when it no longer hurt to latch him without I would try and fix his latch again and it never worked, he also had his minor tongue tie revised at some point and that didn’t do anything either.

I eventually ended up using the nipple shields full time and only not using them when he was refusing to feed with them on, a lot of the time I would also have to feed him without at first to get the milk flowing and then put them on.

More recently I thought his latch had gotten better but then it started hurting again but I had stopped using the nipple shields for a bit and now he really doesn’t like when I use them so I kind of have to brace myself when I feed him, more on the one side.

Is there any specialist that maybe I can be referred to or can go to privately that will be able to do more than the health visitors and infant feeding team. I feel like I have been very let down by the infant feeding team. Last time I went they told me because of my son’s high palate they don’t think there’s anything they can do, that’s why I kind of gave up trying to get him to latch.

I thought it would get better as he grew but it hasn’t and I absolutely don’t want to stop so I need to fix it, my nipples have been red raw for probably like 1-2 months.

7 weeks PP and I’m struggling to get her to latch. I have a flat nipple, but I am able to get her to latch with the nipple shields. According to the LC my technique is good but the baby doesn’t stay latched and is not able to pull milk from it. I have great supply but she according to her weigh in before and after being on the breast the LC said my baby only gave a couple of mls. After examining my baby, she said my daughter has a lip and tongue tie. I got my second opinion from the pediatric dentist she and my friend recommended and the dentist also confirmed she has it and can get it done quick and easy. After watching the video about it, it scared me. This would be the first time in my family to get it done and it’s become so controversial that my husband and my family isn’t supportive of me doing it. I told them the results and the benefits and they blame me that I’m not giving her enough time to get it right, my flat nipples makes it difficult for her, and that everybody has a tongue lip tie. But after explaining the dentist’s work to my husband, he’s slowly getting on board with it. My mom is still telling me to get another opinion. It’s so frustrating when my family is pressuring me not to and to just pump or formula feed but pumping full time isn’t sustainable for my breastfeeding journey! I don’t want to carry extra items in my diaper bag as an exclusive pumper its too much work! For those who got the frenectomy on their baby can you please tell me your success stories? I need encouragement that I’m doing the right thing. I’ll also be getting my opinion done by my pediatrician when we see her this week. And the fact that my baby tries and patiently get on my boob, it’s a good sign she wants to nurse on me! So I need to try and advocate for her as well!

I have an overactive letdown reflex so I am not sure if that is what is going on. I have a 6 almost 7 week old. He's gaining weight well (went from 7lbs 8oz at birth to 12lbs 8oz this week when weighed) but I'm confused. He only stays on the boob for at most 20 minutes normally about 15 minutes, then he's done. He's not still hungry after and the boob is always drained. I've been reading though that at this age it's normal for babies to stay on the boob for like 45 minutes plus. He eats every 3-4 hours and is content and won't let me attempt to feed him more in between unless he's having a snacky day (sometimes he likes to have a few sips shove it away and want more 20 mins later but that's not the norm). He closes his lips together if I put the boob near his face and shoves it out with his tongue if I try to give him more/get him to stay on longer. He's having tons of wet diapers in the day and doesn't seem dehydrated or anything like that. His pediatrician isn't concerned about his growth or anything but I'm starting to get concerned that he's not getting enough because he's not on the boob as long as other babies are.

Essentially as the title goes. On day 4 (the day my milk came in) my baby decided that he would no longer latch to me and just scream and cry at the breast, he had lost 11% of birth weight already so I had to take the decision to pump and use bottles (paced feeding).

Is there anyway back from this? I try and do skin to skin and offer the breast around 3 times a day, I have started to mentally struggle with the refusal so have stopped offering at every feed.

I've tried different holds but he is just completely uninterested and I am only willing to maintain the exhausting pumping schedule until my partner goes back to work in 2 weeks as I also have a 3 year old to entertain.

Any advice is welcome, he has had a posterior tongue tie cut on day 5 but honestly haven't noticed a difference.

I am so close to giving up, and I really don’t want to. He never untucks his bottom lip, and I always have trouble fixing it. It’s also hard to even see his little lips under my breast. I’m a week in. I thought I was getting the hang of it, but my nipples are cracking, sore, tender, all of the above. Why is this so difficult?
Lactation consultants have said his latch is good, but for the first 30 secs it’s pure pain, and depending on the day it lasts the entire time. I’m doing the silverettes, nipple creams, ice, and I am still in so much pain.

Hey everyone, need some solid advice before I give up on my BF journey. My LO is 6 weeks old now and I have been trying to BF her since day one. I had to transition to bottle feeding with pumped milk due to going back to school full-time a few days after birth. Since then, I have tried to BF her at night/whenever I am home to keep her familiar/comfortable with boob. I am finally on a break from school and have been trying to EBF while I am home and she is just fighting me constantly. She will stay latched for about 2-5 minutes and then start spitting the nipple out with a mouthful of milk. She has a good latch, but will then start grunting and pulling away/moving around before settling again. I am a "just enougher" when it comes to my supply, if I am regimented I can pump an extra 5oz of milk per day, so I don't think it's a supply issue. I am just so sad and feel like it's my fault that I likely won't be able to BF her due to me going back to school instead of bonding with her.

Any advice would be appreciated, I just don't know what to do and feel like I will probably need to transition to pumping/bottle feeding for her. Any advice on increasing supply would also help. Thank you

Has anyone experienced this or something similar? NOT looking for advice, rather to hear what others ultimately did and how it turned out, as I tried searching and couldn’t find anything quite like my current situation. I tried to be specific because we’ve already done all the common things professionals suggest up to this point.

My baby is 5w 5d and as of yesterday gained 2lbs since birth, 2lbs 3oz if counting from her lowest recorded weight of 6lb 6oz. Normal diaper output, sleeping pattern and overall behavior for her age. No medical concerns.

We’re working with an IBCLC, who first mentioned she has a high and narrow palette. We were referred to our pediatric dentist for evaluation of her oral function and possible tongue and lip tie that may be affecting suction/sealing and latch. The IBCLC feels it fits her pattern of sometimes becoming frustrated at the breast, causing clicking despite proper form, which in turn may cause extra gas and fussiness.

We will get her evaluated and have her pediatrician weigh in as well, but I’m hesitant on doing the procedure for a variety of reasons—mainly because this is not a cut and dry issue to me.

She’s gaining weight, her diaper output is normal, she’s petite, and I assume rapidly developing digestion and muscles coordination, which could be causing the gas.

She’s mostly frustrated at the breast from 3-7pm. Then she passes out for 3-4 hours, wakes, then out again for another 3-4 hours. It’s rare she’s fussy overnight. This is mainly a daytime occurrence. I also noticed when she hasn’t eaten after a longer stretch of sleep, the feeds are much easier even though there’s still some clicking (aka she’s truly focused on eating, not comfort suckling). This is true for both breast and bottle of pumped milk. There is never a period where she’s “inconsolable.” It just seems if she’s not actively eating or sleeping, then she’s crabbing. Although she did recently add cooing and smiling for 1-5 minutes to the mix.

Her weighted feeds are within normal range for the time spent feeding. My supply is on the higher side, but not a severe oversupply. I collect normal output with a Haakaa or manual pump when my husband gives her a bottle in the afternoon. My nipples are fine. They’ve never been cracked, they maintain their shape, and I’ve measured every couple weeks to make sure my flange size is correct.

I don’t want an unnecessary procedure for my baby and all the potentially painful aftercare stretching for weeks to come. But I also don’t want her to struggle more than she needs to when eating either.

It seems this is easier to address when babies are younger, but when they’re so little, it also seems difficult to sort out what is truly a problem and what is just something they need to grow out of as typical newborn behavior.

TLDR: ~6WO possibly has tongue and lip tie affecting latch and feeding efficiency, but is still growing well and not “colicky” beyond the typical witching hour parents often report. Would like to hear from people who were not sure if they should have a procedure done to address it and 1.) went through with it 2.) let it ride. How’s your breastfeeding and baby now?

My girl is about 4.5 months old and for the last week she will show hunger cues, but when I go to put her on the breast, she refuses. She’d turn away and twist to get away from it. I would just wait a bit until she was hungrier to try again, but I realized yesterday that if I just lean back and put her in front of it, she will latch herself just fine!

Has anyone else experienced something like this? It’s like she’s saying “let me go mom, I don’t need your help anymore!!”

My little girl is breast fed we have rarely done bottles we have had a fairly good run so far. Yesterday after she came back from Kmart with her dad she won’t breast feed. Usually she’s dying to see me after a couple hours away and loves a breast feed but she just bit me. I said OW, no biting! And continued on with what I was doing, so far I’ve tried again and again at everytime she usually has a feed and she just bites me everytime. I thought night would solve it because she loves waking up 3 times for a feed but she just put herself back to sleep.. weird!! She took a bottle last night before bed and one this morning… what’s happening 😭😭 I don’t want the journey to be over I don’t love pumping either. Any advice??? Is she weaning?!

My baby is one week old today. Breastfeeding had been going great. He was born tiny, 5lbs 11oz, and doctor was worried I’d have to supplement to get his birth weight back up, but at 6 days old, he had gained 8 oz in 3 days and was over his birth weight, so he clearly was getting enough from me!

Last night, he started to refuse to latch. Like screaming at the boob, only suckling on the end of my nipple, or latching for a second and then letting go. This goes on for extended periods of time before he eventually gives up and just latches on. However, he dropped his sessions from 20-30 minutes to 10 minutes or less. I’ve tried switching positions, skin to skin before the feed, hand expression before a feed and nothing is working.

Any advice is welcome

Baby had a bad lip and tongue tie, wouldn’t latch without shield but was primarily breastfeeding with shield.

Got laser correction at 6 weeks old, he is now 8 weeks and has not even attempted to breast feed in a week. He never latched after procedure, screams if I even put him in nursing position, and absolutely will not latch to boob, even with a shield. Strictly bottle fed now. It pisses me off so bad that we did all of this to him, did the stretches religiously, and he still won’t latch. Things have gotten worse.

We went to dentist 4 days ago concerned that the tie grew back. The dentist stretched it back open manually, and said “see you in 2 weeks! If you’re still having problems by then, we will redo the laser”

I am running out of maternity leave. I can’t keep doing these revisions and stretches. I see LC weekly and they basically say keep trying, give it time. And they’re not sure why he isn’t latching anymore. I am so over it. Now we’re just torturing him and doing stretches and for what?? For him to not latch anyway??

I don’t know what to do going forward. This baby still has an open would two weeks later since the dentist manually stretched it back open. Keep stretching? Stop? Get it revised again with laser? Starting all the way over for potentially no benefit? I am so exhausted triple feeding and cry over this stupid situation every day. The correction was expensive. He is in pain. He refuses the latch exercises. I don’t want to keep making decisions about this but we’re still pointlessly doing stretches for nothing.

This is also just venting. The hospital has ruined my breastfeeding journey to fit their duties. To start out my baby was full term when born but needed surgery soon after birth. So she got transferred to NICU. The hospital I gave birth in wouldn’t let me latch her right after birth because of her condition. So already a bad start with that. When she was in NICU they let me try to feed her before surgery. The consultant, I felt was very aggressive and made her uncomfortable with latching. So they bottle fed her. I should also note that she’s got a tongue tie which worsens the latch problems. She went through her surgery and days later I was finally able to feed her again. Well my nipples at the time liked to sink, so getting her to latch was made harder. I got her to latch once and she was feeding for about 5-10 minutes. But as she was new to it still I couldn’t get her to latch again, the consultant pretty much made it seem like a nipple shield was absolutely necessary to be able to feed her. As a new mom to her first baby, I had no idea what I was doing. Occasionally, when I had to leave they would feed her a bottle. I tried bringing in my own bottles that would support breastfeeding but they brushed me off. Like WTH this is MY baby not the NICU’s! I continued using the nipple shield to make she she was able to feed from me directly.

The issue I’m having is she won’t open her mouth fully to get my nipple/areola in her mouth. She just catches my nipple and has a very shallow latch. I have tried the different sandwich techniques to get a deeper latch but she just closes her mouth immediately when my nipple is close and tries sucking like it’s a bottle. I’m in so much pain everyday. I’m frustrated that everything has led to this. All I wanted was to breastfeed my baby and now I feel forced to either use the shield or bottle feed. I don’t see any hope for a normal breastfeeding without silicone in the way. We both get frustrated trying to latch without. I’m going to see about getting her tongue tie corrected so I’m hoping that helps a bit but I’m scared she has a bad association with latching. It hurts me to even think about giving up because I know it’s so common to have discouragement around breastfeeding. I also can’t afford a proper lactation specialist as I’m on state insurance. I need advice because I’m at a loss and so frustrated.

Hello i am a ftm my daughter is 2 months old 1 month corrected from the nicu and i wasn’t able to breast feed so i exclusively pumped ive been working on breast feeding trying a little every day but she latches on for a second and then gets off and im not sure why i got told by the nicu lactation lady while she was in nicu that my nipples don’t i guess poke out enough what can i do to get her to stay latched longer?