Bruised breasts and baby choking on too much milk

Bruised breasts and baby choking on too much milk

Hi,

Got 2 questions here. I'm breastfeeding my 6 week old son and it's been painful from the start. I keep trying lots of different things but nothing has seemed to work.

To give you some background, I had my son via Emergency Casearean and he's huge. Weighed 9lb 4oz at birth and was 10lb 7oz at 3 week weigh in. Not sure how much he weighs now but he's about to out-grow his 0-3 month clothes!

Anyway, my problems are this:
1. He tends to 'dive' at my breast when it's feeding time - I'm not able to see how big his mouth is a lot of the time and it's generally too small.

2. When he's not 'diving' I'll do what all the advice suggests - point my nipple towards his mouth, get his chin to touch my breast and wait for him to open up. But as he attaches he makes his mouth smaller.

3. I find it really hard to support him and control his head. I need to use both hands just to hold him (one for his body, the other to support his head) which makes it really hard to detach him when it hurts.

4. With the different positions I've tried he bruises the underneath of my breast with his lower gum and often ends up pinching where my nipple joins the areola with his top gum.

5. Just to add to the "fun," when he's on my left side he seems to get too much milk and starts choking and then comes off screaming as he can't breath.

So lots of different issues - probably lots of them inter-related. I really don't know what to do. I've spoken to a Breastfeeding Counselor on the phone, but their suggestions seem to make it more painful rather than better. I really want to be able to breastfeed him but this has been going on for so long that I'm really thinking I may have to give up soon.

Please help!

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Bruised breasts and baby choking on too much milk

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Jul 31, 2009
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It's all about the latch
by: Heather ;-)

Dear friend,

What a big hungry boy!!! He sounds like a barracuda feeder!

As the mother of a Barracuda nurser, I can commiserate. They are so anxious to start eating, that they latch on wrong, and then oversuck (hence the choking...). It's exhausting for both of you (not to mention painful and frustrating).

Here are my initial thoughts. I wanted to write a response the moment I read your post, so I may post again if other things pop into my head, or if you respond back. If you've already tried these suggestions, post back and we'll start over.

Timing is everything. If his mouth isn't wide enough to get the entire nipple in, you're going to hurt. Also, depending on the size of your areola, the advice to "get the entire areola into his mouth" is not really useful. Instead, try to make sure his mouth is open as far as possible.

1. Use pillows, a "My Brest Friend" pillow (a personal favorite), a bobby, or a Nuzzler to hold his body up close to your chest. Use one hand to hold his head. (At the beginning, don't be ashamed to make latching a 2-adult event.

2. Use one hand to guide his head, use the other to gently pull his chin down as far as it can go. Because he's such a fast eater, you'll have to be even faster getting him on the breast. Holding the chin down as wide as possible will help as well.

The bruising and pinching suggests what you suspected: that his mouth is not getting enough of your nipple, and he's left gnawing on the tip.

Call your local hospital and see if the lactation consultant will see you face to face (and if it's free or they charge.) You can also look up your local chapter of Le Leche League and see if someone would stop by your house or meet you to help with your latch. Having someone physically there watching and helping you get him latched on is invaluable when you're having troubles.

As for the choking, all women produce different amounts of breast milk on each side. It sounds like your left side is your "overproducer". Try expressing a little milk from that side before he begins to feed, either manually by pinching gently with your fingers, or with a pump (to freeze for later).

You AND your baby have to learn to work together to breastfeed, and that takes some time. Even though he's a big baby in weight, his mouth is still pretty small! Hang in there, what you're dealing with now is normal and can be overcome. I went through this, and managed to breastfeed both my girls. It just takes some adjusting and hands-on practice.

much care,
Heather

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Jul 31, 2009
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Submitted by: Heather ;-)

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Dear friend, What a big hungry boy!!! He sounds like a <a href="http://www.the-essential-infant-resource-for-moms.com/Newborn-Nursing.html">barracuda feeder!</a> As the mother of a Barracuda nurser, I can commiserate. They are so anxious to start eating, that they latch on wrong, and then oversuck (hence the choking...). It's exhausting for both of you (not to mention painful and frustrating). Here are my initial thoughts. I wanted to write a response the moment I read your post, so I may post again if other things pop into my head, or if you respond back. If you've already tried these suggestions, post back and we'll start over. Timing is everything. If his mouth isn't wide enough to get the entire nipple in, you're going to hurt. Also, depending on the size of your areola, the advice to "get the entire areola into his mouth" is not really useful. Instead, try to make sure his mouth is open as far as possible. 1. Use pillows, a "My Brest Friend" pillow (a personal favorite), a bobby, or a Nuzzler to hold his body up close to your chest. Use one hand to hold his head. (At the beginning, don't be ashamed to make latching a 2-adult event. 2. Use one hand to guide his head, use the other to gently pull his chin down as far as it can go. Because he's such a fast eater, you'll have to be even faster getting him on the breast. Holding the chin down as wide as possible will help as well. The bruising and pinching suggests what you suspected: that his mouth is not getting enough of your nipple, and he's left gnawing on the tip. Call your local hospital and see if the lactation consultant will see you face to face (and if it's free or they charge.) You can also look up your local chapter of Le Leche League and see if someone would stop by your house or meet you to help with your latch. Having someone physically there watching and helping you get him latched on is invaluable when you're having troubles. As for the choking, all women produce different amounts of breast milk on each side. It sounds like your left side is your "overproducer". Try expressing a little milk from that side before he begins to feed, either manually by pinching gently with your fingers, or with a pump (to freeze for later). You AND your baby have to learn to work together to breastfeed, and that takes some time. Even though he's a big baby in weight, his mouth is still pretty small! Hang in there, what you're dealing with now is normal and can be overcome. I went through this, and managed to breastfeed both my girls. It just takes some adjusting and hands-on practice. much care, Heather

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Aug 01, 2009
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additional suggestions
by: Danielle

I am empathizing with your pain and frustration! The good thing is help is out there. I want to echo Heather's suggestions, especially what she said about finding a lactation consultant.

I had lots of trouble nursing my firstborn. I found a wonderful (fantastic!) lactation consultant by attending a local La Leche league meeting. All the other women where talking about this consultant. I went to see her the next day and that meeting changed everything for me.

One of the things she explained related to the latch. She said that we must be careful not to hold our baby directly behind his head since that keeps him from tipping back to latch on. Picture what you do when drinking from a glass. Think about supporting his head closer to his neck and you will give him more freedom to latch on correctly. The "tiny mouth" syndrome comes from this lack of freedom. If you have a breast feeding pillow this will help you balance everything!

I hope this helps! Do whatever it takes to get some extra support for yourself in this endeavor.

God bless!