My baby latches, but only drinks for a minute while my let down is quite strong, then gives up and sort of waits for the milk to fall into her mouth. How can I encourage her to "work for it"?
@@castroscorner8466 if your baby is ‘surfing the letdown’ it’s quite likely this is due to poor tongue function. I’d suggest checking out my video on tongue tie and having your baby assessed for this. This behaviour can also be common in babies who have gotten used to having bottle feeds.
@@alissabrownibclc Hi there Thanks for your reply. She doesn't have a tongue tie, but has been drinking from the bottle since birth as her jaw was too weak to get sufficient colostrum. I would offer her my breast, she would do what she could and then we would finish off with the bottle until my milk came in and she is strong enough to feed from my breast. At 2 weeks she was still tiny and needed help, so we used a nipple shield. Now at 4 weeks I'm trying to wean her off the nipple shield and she of course prefers the easier methods - bottle and shields. She latches without it and drinks beautifully, but only for a short while and then stops as if she's waiting for more. My breasts are not drained properly and she could still eat. So I put the nipple shield back on and she then finishes her meal. Should I just be patient until she gets the hang of working harder on my breast alone or is there something I could do to teach her or encourage her in any way?
@@castroscorner8466 Keep trying with some time without shield then putting shield on when she needs it. Trying switching sides more often - when she starts to struggle and you’d be tempted to put the shield on switch to the other side, then same again switch back to the first side. This will give her a quicker easier flow of milk :) Breast compressions can help too
This is so so useful! Thank you so much!
@@Natalia22687 you’re welcome!
Thank you
You’re welcome :)
My baby latches, but only drinks for a minute while my let down is quite strong, then gives up and sort of waits for the milk to fall into her mouth. How can I encourage her to "work for it"?
@@castroscorner8466 if your baby is ‘surfing the letdown’ it’s quite likely this is due to poor tongue function. I’d suggest checking out my video on tongue tie and having your baby assessed for this.
This behaviour can also be common in babies who have gotten used to having bottle feeds.
@@alissabrownibclc Hi there
Thanks for your reply.
She doesn't have a tongue tie, but has been drinking from the bottle since birth as her jaw was too weak to get sufficient colostrum. I would offer her my breast, she would do what she could and then we would finish off with the bottle until my milk came in and she is strong enough to feed from my breast. At 2 weeks she was still tiny and needed help, so we used a nipple shield. Now at 4 weeks I'm trying to wean her off the nipple shield and she of course prefers the easier methods - bottle and shields.
She latches without it and drinks beautifully, but only for a short while and then stops as if she's waiting for more. My breasts are not drained properly and she could still eat. So I put the nipple shield back on and she then finishes her meal.
Should I just be patient until she gets the hang of working harder on my breast alone or is there something I could do to teach her or encourage her in any way?
@@castroscorner8466 Keep trying with some time without shield then putting shield on when she needs it. Trying switching sides more often - when she starts to struggle and you’d be tempted to put the shield on switch to the other side, then same again switch back to the first side. This will give her a quicker easier flow of milk :) Breast compressions can help too
@@alissabrownibclc Oh great! I'll try this thank you :)
@@castroscorner8466 you’re welcome :)