I am an LLL Leader in Foley, AL. I'm hoping some of you wise ones with
more "clinical" experience than I have can help me with this situation:
My co-Leader did a home visit with a mother and her newborn. In brief,
the mother has huge nipples-- my co-Leader compared them to the size of
her own big toe in circumference, and she does not have dainty feet. I
don't mean the areola, I mean the actual protuberant nipple. The baby
has been unable to latch on- she can get the tip of the nipple in her
mouth and makes a few attempts to suck but that's about it. The mother
is pumping and bottlefeeding, has a good supply already. She breastfed
her two older children, and experienced some  difficulty the first few
weeks with them as well, but this baby evidently has a smaller mouth.
The mother also has large breasts. My co-Leader tried every position she
could think of, even having the baby in a sitting position in a sling,
so mom's hands would be free to support the breast, to no avail. We are
stumped.
The mom seems willing to pump and bottlefeed, my co-Leader discussed
cup, syringe, dropper feeding etc. with her. It struck me this morning
that perhaps she could try finger-feeding with an SNS. Isn't that easier
than the other methods, as well as avoiding the artificial nipple worry?
Is there some trick that would help this baby achieve a decent latch and
suck? We appreciate any ideas any of you can offer us. I will search the
archives in the meantime...
Thanks!
Joanne Hamilton