She latched on!

[ijhmommy09]

That's so exciting! I remember how happy I was when my son finally latched on...and yes, it does hurt lol

[darateacher]

That's so cool! Wish Noah and Adam would've latched on.

[tracym]

My NICU nurse told me I'd know she was latched on properly if it made my toes curl ;) And for such a tiny baby, she certainly did latch well :) I found it got better after several days, thankfully.

[patty]

Yeah for her latching that is great. About the pain I would have an LC watch the next time and make sure you have a good latch going. It can be hard to get the nipple back far enough in their mouths when they are so little. Though some pain is normal in the first weeks it should not be that intense. One more possibility is tounge tie that you can get the drs. to check for or perhaps the lc as well. You probably just need some time to adjust and get use to it. It does get better I promise. You can always use a nipple shield as a last resort if it gets too bad. Good Luck.

[dolphinjen]

I'm using Lanisoh, it says you don't have to wipe it off before nursing. We went again tonight and she didn't nurse for long, I think b/c she got a bath and used all her energy crying that teeny little head off, and when she latched on my toes curled and I felt like crying. I usually have a moderate pain tolerance but boy oh boy this is ouchy!

Paracetamol is Tylenol, I think. I will try a pain killer. Still totally excited that she's latching on, hoping she continues to do so even after she's done with gavage and they start her on bottles.

[susheli]

Yay for Lily, that's just wonderful!
And I know what you mean about those painful nipples in the beginning, I don't know if it was the constant use of the breast pump or Aurelia's tiny mouth, but mine were SO sore too. You can ask the NICU nurses if they can recommend a nipple cream you can use (and wipe off before she latches on), in Europe they say Lanisoh is best, I don't know if they have it in the US? I was also told I could take paracetamol (the mild painkiller you can use in pregnancy too) and that helped me through those early pumping/nursing weeks too.
Good luck!

[lilliputianmama]

Yay, that is awesome news!!!

[season]

That is exciting. A NICU victory!!! Usually the pain is only in the beginning, like Jenn said.

[jenn]

YAY!
Ya' know now that you mention it, it's all coming back to me - yea' it hurt. But fortunately it only hurts right at the beginning until your nips kinda' toughen up and adjust to being used. I remember getting little blisters right after Talia was born. Ouch... but yet rewarding :o)

I'm SO excited for you guys!!
Congrats to you and "shark girl" ;o)

[dolphinjen]

We went to see Lily and we did some non-nutritive sucking, and she totally latched on and started sucking! Noah never did that, no matter hard we tried to get him to. I'm still only pumping like 10 cc's per session which is really discouraging, so this felt like a victory. Maybe breastfeeding will work this time! And, I'm not complaining at ALL, but no one ever mentioned to me how much it can hurt! The nurse called her a little shark.