Dear Peg,

One trick to use with really large breasts is for mom to cut a fairly small hole out of the ends of a regular, well-fitted bra, just large enough for the nipple, areola and small amount of breast tissue to protrude through.  This keeps the rest of the breast away from the baby's face and gives mom more control.  With really soft, flat tissue it is hard to get enough stimulation of the palate in some babies to get them sucking well.  Not the best candidate for a bottle nipple anyways as the rubber nipple is such a strong stimulus - might want to cupfeed this one if possible, and work very hard on the latch.  If baby absolutely will not latch anymore, and you are faced with weaning or long-term pumping/bottling, then you could try a nipple shield which would at least get the baby to breast.  Of course, there may be other issues which are interfering with the latch/suck which have nothing to do with her large, soft breasts.  And these issues may or may not have anything to do with mom's milk supply, or lack thereof.

How much milk is this baby getting everyday anyways, what with not nursing or bottling very well and sleeping through the night?  How are the poops, pees, weight gain?  Seems like she needs another in-person consult to check on a lot of things.  Make sure this baby is getting enough to eat, one way or the other.  This baby is not going to do anything well if he is getting weak and lethargic from lack of food and fluids.


Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, ASCP, IBCLC
Newark, NY (near Rochester on Lake Ontario)
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