The principles of breastfeeding have been brought to the forefront of my own breastfeeding experience once again.

If you’re a breastfeeding mother you’ve heard all about & probably know first hand just how important latch is. It’s one of the first things taught in breastfeeding class. It can be one of the hardest things to get right. It’s objectively subjective – meaning you can give great detail about how to do it with all the evidence based information available, but how the information is taken in and  applied varies from each mom/baby dyad. Mom or baby can change the equation in less time than it takes to say “OUCH!”

You know all about my most recent experience if you’ve read this post. Third baby, disastrous start to breastfeeding.  She’s almost 2 1/2 years old now you’d think we’d be completely past any issues. But I’m here to tell you all it takes is one night.

My sweet girl had a cold. Not a bad one, just a cold.

And then came the first night. After we both had fallen asleep, the stuffy nose started. Suck suck suck, breathe. Frantic latch, suck suck suck, Breathe. ** lather, rinse, repeat all night.

After that first night I was sure I had woken up with a newborn who had torn my nipples to shreds. The damage was done. We used saline & the ever popular (NOT!) nose sucker but she was still very snurfly.

This has gone on for many many nights until just the last couple.

Why am I telling you this? All it takes is one time, one really bad latch & the breakdown of the nipple begins. And when that latch can’t be improved right away, well, even I started cringing at every request for a feed. And there are so many moms that would throw up their hands at this point because they don’t have the support to get over the hump and back to normal breastfeeding. Many moms simply wean.

Older babies and toddlers still gain a tremendous amount of benefits from breastfeeding, especially when sick.  Breastfeeding gives a child the nutrients and antibodies they need to recover, especially when that child has decided not to eat and drink while ill. Breastfeeding may be their best source of nutrition when even a cup of water is being refused. And that breastmilk has a higher fat content at night so those calories your sweet bub decided they could do without during the day is given at night.  Breastfeeding not only serves as an important physical component, but an emotional one as well. Sitting down to breastfeed a clingy, needy, sick child does more to aid your child than anything else possibly could. It’s a wonderful excuse to just sit and cuddle.

Latch is so important. If you start having pain at any point in your breastfeeding relationship the first thing to look at above all else is latch & positioning.  Pain is a sign that something is not right. Pain is never normal. In this last experience of mine it did take a little time to clear my child’s airway to get a good latch & get things healed again (momma and baby). But if your child is not ill and breastfeeding is painful, step one is still to check the latch & positioning.  (Does the baby have breast tissue not just the nipple, is the baby’s body facing mom’s, is mom supporting the baby’s head from the neck not the back of the head, etc etc etc) If you’re unsure about how to check latch & position or know you’re already having a hard time, please seek a breastfeeding professional, a breastfeeding counselor, La Leche League Leader or an IBCLC for help. You’re not bothering anyone, we’re here to help.