Latching for Short Nipples

I have short nipples. I only learned about this after I gave birth and my baby struggled to latch. At first I worried that my baby might be tongue-tied or lip-tied so I had him checked. He had an excellent suck so it was me. My nipples, as the medical experts described them, are cute.

It is frustrating that lactation nurses, breastfeeding books, seminars and videos do not anticipate that others may have short or inverted nipples. This is my way of helping people like me, the unfortunate ones who go about life thinking they have good old regular nipples only to find out during delivery that they in fact, are not normal. 

Here are the ways I used to let the baby latch. Some did not work for me but who knows, maybe it's just me.

Nipple Puller Lactation nurses used a makeshift nipple puller made out of a syringe. They used two kinds, one with a small diameter and another with a big diameter. The first pedia, he has had four so far, of my son advised me to pull my nipple for five minutes, which easily translates to forever because of the excruciating pain. By the time I give the baby my nipple, it has gone back to its original cute state.

Tugging and Pulling Another technique the lactation nurses did was to put my nipple into my baby's mouth and tug and pull until my baby is able to suck. This worked a total of two times. I could never replicate it so needless to say this did not work for me.

Ordinary Farlin Nipple This was suggested to me when I got home. This is just a very small nipple. You just place the nipple atop your nipple and let the baby suck. This works but there is just too much blinding pain involved. The hope is to elongate the nipple but my nipple remained cute, only this time, it was also flat.

Medela Nipple Shield I read about this from a breastfeeding book. My baby liked this because he was really able to get some milk. I did not like it because the Medela name is embosed on the thin film of silicon that can either rub on my son's upper lip or chin depending on the orientation we prefer. This also hurt like crazy. At one point, when I pulled out my breast from my son's mouth there was blood. I do not mean a tinge of blood. I mean blood pouring out. You would think that would be the last time I would use it but in my desperation, I still used it at least three times more.

This is not recommended by lactation experts because this can cause nipple confusion. 

Breast Shield I never got to use this but I read that this helps those with short or inverted nipples as this pulls out the nipple during the day for as long as you wear them. I almost bought a pair for myself. I am glad I did not.

What worked?

Good old plain trying.

When my baby is calm, meaning, he is not kicking and screaming for milk, I try to latch him using different positions. The position that worked for me are as follows:

Laid Back Position I laid down with pillows supporting my neck and head and I had my baby on prone position atop my breast. I squeezed my breast flat like a sandwich, or at least as flat as I can so it fits my baby's mouth. I made sure he can breathe and then I let gravity do its thing. Just like that, my baby was able to latch.

Side Lying Position I did not want to try this before because I felt it was a complicated position. It is not. My baby was able to latch using this position as well.

To help the baby latch, I push the underside of my breast into my baby's mouth so he can get a good latch. I keep my hand there so the breast does not slip out.

The more I latched, the more the baby learned to adapt to my short nipples. I am happy to say that now we can do the cradle position and not have any problem. I can now take my baby anywhere and not have to worry that he might starve.

I still bring pumped milk in bottles just to be sure though.

Giving Up

When I learned I was pregnant, I started reading books, online materials and watching videos to learn about what to expect, how to take care of the baby and how to breastfeed. Nowhere in the books does it say what you will need to give up when you become a mother. Here are things I had to give up when I became a mother:

• Sleep This is a tad bit of an exaggeration. I still get to sleep but not the kind of uninterrupted sleep I used to get. The most difficult was when my baby was a month old because he had to eat every 2 hours but he gets hungry an hour before that. He could not latch directly yet so I had to carry him to soothe him. After feeding, he needs to be upright for 15 minutes and then a while after that he will need to be changed because newborns poop every after a feed. I had to pump in between to collect the 2oz he needed to take in. Between the pumping, burping, calming and feeding, I was left with almost no sleep. 
• Shopping I did not heed the advice of a friend who advised me to shop for bigger sized bras (2 cups bigger than the current) because I was unsure what my size was going to be. By the time my baby joined our tiny family, I could not leave the house anymore caused in part by my C-section and my inability to drive but mostly because I needed to express milk for my baby. I could not wear my smaller bras because tight bras can give you breast lumps that can develop to mastitis. When I was single, I hated the feeling of not wearing a bra, when I gave birth I was without them for almost two months! 
• Going Out Because of my C-section, I could not go up and down the stairs, this meant I could also not go out. The first time I went out, not counting two quick trips to the OB and another to Medical City, was when I attended a seminar for my son's Christening. This was two months after I gave birth. It is with no exaggeration when I say, the light outside at 3:00 PM was blinding. 
• Haircuts I do not get haircuts often. In fact, when I got married, I have not gone to get a haircut for a year. They said it would be harder to fix my hair if it were short. When I got pregnant, I did not want to go inside a parlor for fear of inhaling chemicals that may be harmful to the baby. After I gave birth, my hair was already up to my waist. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be able to find the time to get a haircut. Almost four months after I gave birth, I finally was able to get the needed haircut. I now understand why some moms chop their hair really short after having a baby. 
• Baths I still take baths but what used to be a bath that can last up to an hour now cannot extend beyond 20 minutes. Any longer and my baby starts to cry. 
• Make-up, Moisturizer and Sun block People who know me know that I cannot step out of the house without sun block and cannot sleep without moisturizer. This is long gone for fear that the baby might lick the gunk off my face. 
• Nice Bras I do not know why nursing bras that provide good support are so hard to find. Particularly for my size. I am now making do with bras that are a cup smaller because they do not have my cup size. The brighter side is, my bra is now a fifth of the price of my former bras. 
• Movie Dates When I was pregnant we stopped watching movies  as soon as we realized how risky it is for me to catch certain diseases. When in a movie house, you never know who you are next to and what disease you can contract. Nowadays, we do not watch movies because leaving the baby at home seems unfair. We already work on weekdays and the hours on weekends are hours for the baby. 
• Eating Out My husband and I used to eat out when we need to go home late because of a meeting or what not. We now rush home after a meeting regardless of time because we want to be with the baby. 
• Going Out with Friends Friends have been inviting us for get together dinners but we just have too many constraints. Dinner has to be near our place, it must not end too late, the list goes on that we just say we are not going to not inconvenience people. 
• Travel I have a bad case of wanderlust. Have had it since I was a kid so I jump at every chance I get to travel. Recently, I was given an opportunity to go to the US for two weeks. I would normally say yes without batting an eyelash. This time around though, I had to say no. I could not be away from the baby for too long because I need to feed him. While travel used to be something I sought after, it is now something I try to avoid as much as possible.

The list goes on. Had I read about these things I had to give up for motherhood, I still, without a doubt, would not change a thing. A smile from my little one is worth everything that I had to give up. For now. Eventually, I know things will normalize and get easier. In the meantime, I will revel in the sight of a baby who looks up to me anticipating the milk I give to nourish him, the warmth and comfort my arms provide and the smell (no matter how bad) that calms him.

Bringing Milk Back

Just recently, I was on a two-day hectic business trip. I only had time to pump at around 4am and then at 5pm. Recommended intervals between pumps is 4 hours, 3 hours if you really want to maintain your milk supply because milk supply works based on supply and demand. While away, I also got dehydrated. I was not able to take my Moringga supplement (Natalac), was not able to drink Milo nor was I able to take in soup. I was also without my trusty Spectra S2 dual electric breast pump. I was afraid I might damage it in transit so I just brought with me a Spectra Wide Neck Pump. Towards the end of the day, I was so engorged, it was difficult to focus on what people were saying. I just knew that my breasts were hurting. I could already feel the lumps forming. The manual pump did its job,helping me express 12oz after the first working day. On the second working day, I had to pump in the van going to the airport, I was able to get 9oz. Needless to say, my milk supply took a hit. 

My milk supply is still not like before I left but steadily,  I think I'm getting my milk back. Here are things that I did:

1. Drink lots of water. During the time that I was away, I had access to very limited water supply. On my first night, I had to make do with just 500mL. In the morning, I got to drink a few glasses of water and then went on until 1pm without water. My body got used to this a bit so it was difficult to force myself to drink many glasses of water in a day when I got back but I knew I had to. 
2. Take moringga supplements. I did not overdose. I still took 3 capsules per day as prescribed by my son's first pediatrician (He has had four but this deserves a post of its own). 
3. Sleep. Or at least I tried. I had to attend to my son when I got back so sleep was still elusive but I tried to steal a few winks here and there with the help of my husband. 
4. Drink Milo. In the absence of soup, I take in hot Milo. I drank Milo during breakfast and dinner. 
5. Drink Ginger Tea. I drank a mug of ginger tea every lunch when I can. 
6. Pump every three hours. This was a challenge because each session, I produced so little and that was disheartening and stressful. I had to wake up at night to pump. At work, this turned out to be quite a challenge. I would pump in the morning and then again after lunch and on the way home. My electric pump does not have a battery so I had to use a manual pump in the car. I did not mind but recently, my husband asked me to buy a Spectra 9 Plus portable dual electric pump (this also deserves a post of its own). 
7. Try not to get stressed. Before I left, my three month old baby was downing 5oz per feeding. When I got back, my baby seemed to need more than 5oz per feeding which means, a bottle now had to have 6oz. I was only pumping 3oz per session after the trip. My stored refrigerated milk went from 13 bottles to a mere 3 bottles. It was a race I had to win. My husband tried to calm me down by telling me there is a lot of frozen milk bags in the freezer. This comforted me a little but I did not want my baby to consume the frozen milk as breastmilk when frozen loses its vitamin C and other micronutrients. 
8. Let the baby latch. I let my baby latch on to me whenever he can so that he can stimulate my breasts to produce milk. I could feel his frustration and disappointment whenever he latched as he tugged at my breasts for more milk. 

It has been nine days since I got back from the trip and while I am not yet freezing milk again, at least I now have 12 refrigerated bottles at 6oz each in stock again. There is hope.