Fiona,
This may or may not be it, but-----
I've had several babies who gaped, rooted, tried to latch on, then acted
very frustrated despite a dripping breast. In fact, I just had another
one of these last night, and a mom with very soft, flat nipples. I notice
with these babies that they often hold their tongue in during latching,
and what seems to happen is that if they haven't dropped their tongue, it
blocks the entrance of the nipple/breast despite their "sucking"
attempts. They don't realize that they are the ones sabotaging their own
attempts to breastfeed, and they act very mad and frustrated, as if mom
was playing a mean trick on them. Some of these babies get tired of
trying rather quickly and "check out", appearing to fall asleep though
they are hungry and yet unfed.

Two things that I do for this:
   1) When bringing baby in for latch on, I try to land the breast on the
bottom jaw just a touch before allowing the top lip to hit; this has the
effect of "pushing" the jaw down slightly, and helps encourage the tongue
to drop below the nipple at the same time.
   2) "Suck training" - ie, having baby suck on a properly placed finger
between and before feeds helps reinforce the idea that the tongue goes
*down*; if the tongue isn't extending with the suck, a gentle forward
pull with each suck also helps to encourage that motion as well.

With a few successfull feeds, baby will usually start getting it right
pretty quickly. The first several times, however, they can seem to
"forget" and mom feels like she is starting from scratch. Emotionally,
this is the most vulnerable period for her.

Good luck!
-Lisa

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Lisa Marasco, BA, LLLL, IBCLC
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