Breastfeeding. Sigh.
Last time we did this, breastfeeding was probably my biggest source of anxiety. I cannot tell you how many times I was reduced down to tears after unsuccessful sessions, deep breast pain, and unspeakable injuries to my nips. It was one of those things that I should have talked about more with others - not just write about on this blog, but actually talk out with real people. Because what I learned, over the last three years, is that breastfeeding is HARD now because we don't have a village.
Think about it. We learn to do a lot of womanly things because of our "village." We learn to braid hair from our "village." We learn about our periods from our "village." We learn how to push a baby out from instructions that the "village" gives us (OK OK, from our labor and delivery village). So why in the world can one expect a new mother to know instinctively how to breastfeed correctly and efficiently, especially if she herself has never witnessed breastfeeding herself? When I thought about this yesterday, my mind just about blew up.
Anyway, this time around I'm not afraid of asking for help. Not just internet help. HELP.
My fave resources:
-Lactation consultant. They are there for a reason, let them do their job! Called once and saw her once already, and 2.0's only 6 days old.
-My husband (because 2 extra hands is exactly what I need sometimes to get the F'in proper latch)
-My mommy friends. Because TMI is not a thing between us.
Today, I'm going to talk about the one root cause of all my issues - from this breastfeeding adventure to the previous one. The LATCH.
Almost all problems with breastfeeding originate from poor latching technique. Again, I'm not saying there aren't real physiological concerns that contribute also (for example, AJ also had a milk tongue-tie issue). However, much of issues related to pain have to do with poor latch. Just think about it. Visualize what you think a latch should look like. Are you thinking about one of those formula commercials where baby is sucking away at a bottle with his mouth centered around the nipple? If that doesn't make sense, think then about how babies suck on binkies. Again, how is the baby's lips positioned? Centered over the nipple right?
Well guess what, THAT there is what is wrong. When babies naturally nurse on the boob, their mouths are not meant to be centered on the nipple. In fact, doing so would result in what I like to call a nipple sandwich (translation: squished nipple which, if you've never felt before, feels like a knife is sheering away at your flesh). Why exactly do we think latching should be centered? Again, how many of us ladies grew up watching babies being breastfed? Now how many of us have fed a baby with a bottle before? Mmmm hmm.
Anyways, what you want to get, to avoid the nasty knife-like pain, is a DEEP latch. Do this with me. Run the tip of your tongue along the top of the inside of your mouth. What are you feeling? The hard palate. It should feel bony and hard (chuckle). Now run your tongue further back - at some point, the hard palate transitions to a soft palate structure. Now pretend you are a nipple with a ton of nerve endings. Would you rather be squished between the hard palate and the tongue? Or in contact with the soft palate instead? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Tid bits I've learned to help achieve the DEEP latch:
1. If using the cross-cradle feeding position, position baby so that his ears, shoulder, and hip all align into a straight line. As big people, we drink our fluids with our ears, shoulders, and hips all in a straight line. Babies are just mini versions of adults, so this rule applies to them as well.
2. NEVER push the breast into the baby's mouth. ALWAYS bring the baby's mouth to the breast instead. Whenever something enters your mouth, the reaction is going to be biting down. OUCH. When you push the baby's mouth to your breast instead, there's a much higher chance that the baby's mouth with close AFTER the nipple has reached the correct depth.
3. Align the nipple with baby's nose. This will feel much higher than needed, but bear with me. The reason this is needed is so that the rest of the nipple can tickle or stimulate baby's chin area. Doing this somehow creates a reflex for baby to open his mouth wide. Once the mouth is wide, hug baby close to bring the mouth over the nipple. The nipple instead should be pointed towards the roof of the mouth to get a deep latch.
4. How to get a good assessment of latch technique. Well, the first thing to assess is pain. Is it painful or is it not? Some stinging upon latching is OK - especially if you have an old injury, but this should go away in like 30 seconds or less. Any sort of pinching pain is an indicator that something's wrong. Finally, when you pull away from the latch, look at the shape of the nipple - if it looks squished, in one direction or another, with a line down the middle, the latch is no good.
Happy latching!
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