Arggh.  Why, why, why, do my mamas who want badly to breastfeed get these
goofy babies!  Have a new baby, born yesterday, induced at 41 1/2 weeks, but
labor unmedicated except for pitocin and short and uncomplicated.  Baby born
spontaneously after short second stage, 8 lbs 15 oz.  Mom's 3rd baby, nursed
the first two also, for several months, but last baby now 10 years old.
This little guy just would not latch.  He clamps down when anything touches
his mouth, and doesn't suck.  His jaw is very recessed, he has a significant
overbite, and his palate is high, with his upper gum almost hooking in.  He
has no noticeable lingual frenulum, but his tongue stays firmly behind his
bottom gum.  With holding him prone, and allowing him to suck on my finger,
after quite a bit of time he started to suck rhythmically, but still kept
pulling the tongue back every so often.  Mom is very, very patient, and has
tried latching him in a variety of positions, including in football hold
with his head extended, but had very little luck.  She has been hand
expressing teeny, tiny amounts and giving it by spoon, but until this
evening (at now around 28 hours of life) the best he had done was 6 sucks in
a row at breast.  We finally tried a nipple shield this evening, and he did
appear to latch deeply, and sucked pretty steadily for 12 minutes, then fell
sound asleep and couldn't be roused again.
What do I do with this kid?  Will he grow into his jaw?  Are there other
positions, techniques to help him?  Is the nipple shield a bad or good idea?
Meanwhile, I have term twins in the next room who are rooting all over the
place and mom has no interest whatsoever in putting them to breast, despite
the fact that her mother nursed her and her 2 brothers and is very supportive!
Jennifer Tieman
Family Physician
Mom to 4, including my toddler nursling Caroline Rose

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