“Nursing is the most natural thing. Your body was made for it”
Ok cool… Maybe… But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. For a lot of moms, it’s not.
I was really lucky with G. We had some pain at the beginning but I figured out how to help her open her mouth wide enough to get a deep latch. Once we figured that out, we rarely had issues. She bit me a few times. And when she would cut teeth, nursing might hurt a bit but in general, nursing her was easy. She nursed until she was just over 4 years old. She mostly self weaned with a little bit of a push from me. Once her brother was born, I had to put some boundries in place because she wanted to nurse all the time. I just couldn’t keep up.
M was a different story. From his first latch, I knew something wasn’t right. I was sore from nursing and pumping while pregnant so I was hoping that’s all it was. But the pain didn’t go away. And I could tell his mouth wouldn’t open far enough.
Thankfully, I had an awesome pediatric NP and I was really active on my local La Leche League’s Facebook page. I knew the pain wasn’t normal. My NP suggested we get him checked for ties. I made an appointment with a tie savvy dentist for the next day.
No ties, but he had a really tight jaw and neck. He recommended a chiropractor.
Now, I love going to the chiropractor. But taking my baby was a little scary. Thankfully, I go to a chiropractor that had special training on pregnancy and babies. So, I felt comfortable giving it a try. Hubs thinks chiropractic care witchcraft (I mean he’s mostly joking… I think) but if it works, he’s all for it.
I was so impressed with how she handled it. She explained what she was going to use gentle pressure on him. Kinda like checking a tomato for ripeness.
Can I tell you how awesome it was? I had some relief almost immediately and then total relief after about 3 appointments.
It legit saved our nursing relationship.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. M decided to cut 8 teeth back to back. EIGHT TEETH. His latch sucks. Nursing hurts. We will work through it. Neither of us is ready to wean but OMG it hurts sometimes.
At one point I took him to the same dentist to make sure he didn’t have any ties again. I didn’t think he did but I was desperate. Nothing.
So, we go to the chiropractor. I am starting to think Hubs is right and it is witchcraft. Because, I kid you not, he basically got a little massage on his back and it was fixed!! I know it was more than that but from what I could see, it was a massage.
He’s still working on those 8 teeth. I think we are about half way through. His latch sucks again. I think I will call the chiropractor again….