Saw a Mom of a 10-day old. Had not fed at breast, at all, since Day 2, in the hospital. Mom had been pumping (8 times a day -- 10 minutes tops -- 5-6 ounces at *each* pumping session!) and bottle-feeding. Mom thinks her heavily swollen breasts were hard for baby to latch onto .... baby got red-faced angry .... Mom got tense and anxious .... out came the bottle (but at least B has had 100% breastmilk).
So, I FIRST described to Mom the typical process of self attachment, a la Tina Smillie's fan-tab-u-lous new DVD "Baby Led Breastfeeding." Mom is topless, Baby is diaper only, and placed skin-to-skin. Baby may fuss and chew at hands, and bob around a bit. Baby may then "lunge" to one breast; or Baby might "bob" over there. Touching the nipple with the cheek helps the baby to zone in on the target. Tongue explores the nipple, often the fist is kneading the nipple and seeming to be in the way. Baby's head bobs up and down a few times ... the hand figures out how to get out of the way ... Baby self-attaches, prone position -- maybe after a few test-drives -- with a wide-mouth latch, body resting at a 45-degree angle (if B is nursing on the right, her toes are hanging over Mom's left hip bone).
Oh. My. God.
You should have seen it work.
That baby self-attached -- just like in the video -- just precisely as I had "scripted" it might happen. I really did feel like I had one of those magic wands they all think we IBCLCs carry. The whole process took about 4 minutes.
This baby was "mad" at the breast at first. But I told Mom we *both* have to just keep our hands off of her (other than Mom encircling her baby, Mom's own hands on baby's back, and her arms acting as a sort of bumper.) Baby was trying to attach on the left, but wasn't quite there yet; Mom was leaking like mad on the right. So, Mom put baby closer to the right breast (without "positioning" her), and after one or two bobs Baby was on, and suckling comfortably for 20 or 30 minutes, and transferring 2.5 ounces.
The hardest part was the "Mad Baby phase" -- for both Mom and IBCLC! But it really only lasted about 45-60 seconds. And I kept reminding myself of what I learned in a presetnation a few years back by Nikki Lii: the baby is *where it is supposed to be, with access to something it knows how to use.* This is a different picture from a baby wailing away, alone, in a crib.
What a wonderful moment to witness!Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLCWyndmoor, PA, USA
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