Dealing with a Difficult latch

Never did I think I’d have a hard time with breastfeeding, especially with my THIRD baby. I mean I’ve nursed my two other kiddos til they were 2 and 1 so I honestly thought this time would be a breeze. Immediately after birthing Sonny, he found my breast, latched, and started nursing just as my other babes did. I could sort of sense that something didn’t feel right, but I also just birthed him and was exhausted so I didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until day 2 or so that I could finally feel that his latch wasn’t right.. that my nipples were extremely tender and I was headed for a tough breastfeeding start.

(Think of when you first start working out, your hands are soft and smooth, you start lifting weights and after a few days/weeks your hands start to peel and get open sores and then eventually callous over.. yea that’s what my nipples were doing!)

We went home Sunday afternoon, and by that night I was bawling with pain from my nipples being so sore. I knew that he wasn’t latching correctly, he wouldn’t open his mouth wide enough which led him to only latch onto my nipple causing extreme pain! Toe curling, tense, instant tears in the eyes pain. Monday I called a lactation nurse at the clinic and made an appointment to see her that same day.

She basically told me everything I already knew.. not that I’m an expert but I already knew he wasn’t latching correctly. I already knew he wasn’t opening his mouth wide enough, and I knew what we were doing wasn’t working. She recommended I hold him in a different position, the football hold. Might I add, I hate that hold. It’s just not comfortable to me, I always just cradle my babies and that's what’s worked for us.. usually. Well she informed me that different holds can allow baby to open their mouths wider, and I was desperate so I gave it a try. It somewhat worked, but I just could tell that Sonny couldn’t physically get a good latch. We went home and I proceeded to nurse him the incorrect way, just hoping and praying that things would get better, that he would just figure it out lol

Well the next day Sonny had his 2 day check up and I told his pediatrician that nursing wasn’t going well, that he’s been my most difficult child to breastfeed. He knew how much nursing meant to me, and my history of nursing Oliver and Attikus so he actually suggested using a nipple shield until my nipples could heal. As he was examining Sonny, he did mention he had a tight jaw which was hindering his latch and being able to open his mouth. I asked if taking him to the chiropractor would be beneficial, and so our chiropractic journey began.

In the mean time I used a nipple shield for 2 days and not with every feeding, but just to give my nipples some relief between feeds. I was lathering my nipples in every kind of nipple suave you could buy, I was putting hydrogel pads on my nipples for temporary relief between feeds, and mainly just praying that things would get better. I would also try and pump or relieve my breast before I fed him so that they weren’t soooo engorged and not allowing him to get a full latch.

We started seeing Dr. Kyle Trontvet, a family friend of ours, at Restore Chiropractic in Maple Grove, MN when Sonny was just 4 days old. I could honestly tell that his latch was slightly better after his first “adjustment” and so I took Sonny to the chiro twice a week since that first day. Although, I noticed his latch was better, it was still not great even after 3.5 weeks. I constantly was trying to shove more of my breast in his mouth with each latch so that he wouldn’t just latch onto the tip of my nipple and spent more time focusing on breastfeeding than I wanted to. It wasn’t until my good friend came over and we were talking as Sonny was nursing that she suggested I went to see this Dentist in Blaine that specialized in lip and tongue ties. Her son had the same issue and got it revised at this Dentist so she noticed some of the symptoms Sonny was having while nursing, specifically this clicking sound.

Each time Sonny would breastfeed he would constantly latch and unlatch during our session which caused this clicking sound. He had other symptoms too like the falling asleep at the breast after a short nursing session, would be fussy because of all the gas he was ingesting from latching and unlatching, when he cried his tongue would curl into a cupping shape, and the obvious signs like my breast being cracked and bleeding, sore and the latch being incredibly painful each time. I honestly didn’t think that he would be lip or tongue tied because both my pediatrician and lactation consultant said that he wasn’t, so I just chalked it up as he was a bad eater and prayed that as he grew older things would get better.

I’m so thankful that my friend recommend I see this specialist because the day we got his tongue tie fixed I noticed an immediate change for the better. The Dentist we saw said that most everyone is lip and tongue tied to some degree, it just depends on the severity of it. Sonny was both lip and tongue tied, but since his lip tie only meant he might grow up to have a gap in his teeth and wasn’t really impacting his latch, we chose not to have it fixed because it was mainly a cosmetic procedure. His tongue tie however was very tight, I saw the before and after of his tongue and immediately noticed a difference in his latch right after. The procedure was done with a laser so it was super fast, they medicated him with some sweet ease to help with the pain and we were out of there and on our way to hopefully successful breastfeeding! We had to do exercises that he did not like.. did I mention he didn’t like them?? Yea, if I’m being honest I rarely did them, bad mom but he screamed bloody murder every time and I just got too anxious. Thankfully the amount of times I did do the exercises kept it from growing back.

All in all, like I mentioned earlier I never thought that I would have troubles breastfeeding, but I did and I’m sharing this with you in hopes that you do find encouragement from this. To know that breastfeeding doesn’t always come easy, it can be a lot of work, it can be painful, and it can be time consuming, but it is all sooooo worth it. I did everything I could do to get Sonny and I to a place where breastfeeding was enjoyable. It took over a month of cracked and sore nipples to get to a place where breastfeeding was “comfortable”. If nursing your baby is something you want to pursue, than I urge you to fight and do everything you can to help you and your baby with that process. Don’t give up, even when it sucks and you want to quit. I had to see a lactation consultant, a chiropractor, wore a nipple shield, endured the pain of poor latching for over a month, and in the end got his tongue tie fixed… which means if I can do it, you can too! I hope this story proves that dealing with a difficult latch can end in a successful breastfeeding journey and I encourage you to keep pushing towards that goal if it’s something you truly feel passionate about.

If you have more questions or concerns, please leave me a comment below. Thanks for stopping by, as always

XOXO Mari