[blparent] latching on?

[Dena Wainwright]

Lesly.

My best advice is find yourself a very good lactation consultant - 
particularly one with experience working with premature babies. Find someone 
who is willing to be flexible with feeding positions, as many of the 
"standard" positions are not blind friendly. E.g., when I was first 
breastfeeding Elise, I would have nurses say "OK, put this hand under your 
breast, and this hand behind your baby's head..." I was like, "and which 
hand would you like me to use to feel whether or not her mouth is on my 
nipple properly?"

another thing that helps with keeping a hand free to check out what is going 
on with your baby's mouth and nose (the nose can get smushed up against the 
breast, so you need to check this) is a nursing pillow. this gives you a 
supportive place to lay your baby so you don't have to worry about his head.

also, from what I know, the sucking reflex is one of the last ones to 
develop, and given that he was born so early, he simply may not have the 
ability to suck well yet. that's something an experienced lactation 
consultant can educate you about (like when it should be fully developed). I 
know people who had early babies, and they had to spend the first several 
weeks using bottles or finger feeders.

I would also recommend that you ask your lactation consultant how to 
gradually ween him off of the nipple shield. I used one with Elise, and, 
frankly, it was a total pain in the ass! half the time, I couldn't get it to 
stay on...and the other half of the time I was wondering where the heck I 
had put it (sleep deprivation will do that to you). if your baby becomes 
totally dependant on the shield, you won't be able to feed him without it.

finally, if you do end up having to only give him bottles, there is 
absolutely nothing wrong with pumping. it is a lot more work than straight 
breastfeeding or than only using formula, but I pumped exclusively for 22 
weeks, and it was well worth it for the benefits it gave my baby. I would 
have done it longer if my body had let me... both my husband and I got sick 
last winter, and our daughter was absolutely fine. I'm convinced it was the 
antibodies in my milk that protected her.

keep trying until you find someone you feel comfortable with. I wish I had 
done this, as I think it would have saved me from pumping exclusively.

good luck,

Dena




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Leslie Hamric" <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 1:44 PM
Subject: [blparent] latching on?


> Hi all. For those of you who breastfeed or did so before, do you have any
> tips on getting your baby to latch on consistently? Of course, I know this
> wil take practice. I use the nipple shield to tickle his mouth and get him
> to open up. Sometimes, he opens up wide right away and I can get him to
> latch on.  But other times, he'll turn away and keep his mouth closed as 
> if
> to say, don't put this thing in my mouth. Any tips would be great. I 
> notice
> that it's harder for him to nurse at night and I'm guessing it's because
> he's so tired.  With him being a premie, I have to use the nipple shiled
> since it will allow him to get my milk easier.  Sometimes, the nipple 
> shield
> falls off and I'll have to put it back on which can be a pain.  He'll take
> his bottles no problem.
>
> Leslie
>
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