Latching Exercises: Products for Breastfeeding Solutions
The breastfeeding journey is exactly that: a journey that is different for every mother who experiences it. For some, it may come naturally and easily. For others, it may take a while for their milk to come in, it may never come in at all, it may be too painful or uncomfortable, or their baby may have some latching issues. Some mothers may choose not to breastfeed anymore, or they may choose to try to make it work. Either of these choices is perfectly great! If you’re looking for ways to try to make breastfeeding work, we are here to help. Keep reading to learn some great breastfeeding solutions, such as latching exercises and some products you need to help you along the way!
What Can I Do To Help My Baby Latch?
If you’re dealing with the challenge of a poor latch—whether your baby may have a tongue tie issue, can’t get deep enough, or simply does not want to—there are things you can do to help encourage a better latch.
Signs for a good latch include: (source: Women's Health )
- The latch feels comfortable to you and does not hurt or pinch.
- Your baby's chest rests against your body.
- Your baby does not have to turn his or her head while drinking.
- You see little or no areola (the darker skin around the nipple), depending on the size of your areola and the size of your baby's mouth.
- When your baby is positioned well, his or her mouth will be filled with breast.
- The baby's tongue is cupped under the breast, so you might not see the baby's tongue.
- You hear or see your baby swallow.
- Some babies swallow so quietly that a pause in their breathing may be the only sign of swallowing.
- You see the baby's ears "wiggle" slightly.
- Your baby's lips turn outward like fish lips, not inward.
- You may not even be able to see the baby's bottom lip.
- Your baby's chin touches your breast.
Some ways to encourage the above signs include:
- Create a calm environment
- Hold your baby skin-to-skin
- Let your baby lead
- Support your baby, but don't force the latch
- Allow your breast to hang naturally
- Try some latch exercises with teethers
Products to Encourage Latching
Giving your baby the opportunity to practice essential breastfeeding movements is key to encouraging latching. Mobility and strength are the secret sauces to preventing poor tongue posture, clicking, and other challenges.
In addition to being great for oral development, these teethers adhere to the highest Safety Standards ASTM F963 and EN71 and use the highest quality TPE available because Innobaby wants the best for your baby, just like you!
Teethin SMART EZ Grip Fruit Teether
This adorable teether will help your baby with one of the most important parts of breastfeeding: Opening up wide! If your baby struggles with getting a deep enough latch, this is the product for you. Innobaby’s Teethin SMART EZ Grip Fruit Teether’s shape is nice and wide, so babies can practice opening wide and fitting it into their mouth.
EXERCISE TIP:
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Start little by little! Turn the teether vertically into your baby’s mouth so that they can practice opening wide and cupping their tongue. |
EZ Grip Star Teether / Oral Sensory Developmental Toy
This oral development teether is super gentle and unique. With tons of shapes and textures and an easy-to-hold handle, it will have no problem garnering your baby’s curiosity.
EXERCISE TIP:
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Gently offer your baby one of the tips on the star. Move their tongue around with it, push it onto their palette, and work their way up to more. Any time you see your baby working against gravity with their teether, they work on their tongue strength! |
Help to Soothe Sore Nipples
Every new mom knows that pain! Sore nipples are a tough challenge to overcome during the early days of breastfeeding. The good news is that it does not last forever; the pain will go away after the first 2-4 weeks. But while you’re still getting used to everything, you are going to need some relief!Innobaby Silicone Massage Mitt
Lovingly nicknamed our “Mama Mitt”, the Innobaby Silicone Massage Mitt is perfect for new moms.
This dual-textured mitt is going to be your new shower bestie! Use the side with the smaller bristles to easily lather up your body, then switch to the side with the larger bristles to give yourself a heavenly massage with your favorite shampoo.
Innobaby Silicone Mini Fish Scrub
Zero in on sore nipples and engorged breast pain with our Innobaby Silicone Mini Fish Scrub!
This tiny scrub has over 3,000 tiny micro-bristles that gently massage away your worries (and dead skin!) It has a handy suction cup on the back so that it can stick easily on your shower door or bath wall, and it is made of mold-and-mildew-resistant silicone.
Bonus:
This scrub can be used to gently massage away your baby’s stubborn cradle cap and dry skin! It is gentle and safe enough to use on newborns and can also be used as a facial scrub.
For more parenting tips and awesome products for you and your baby, head over to Innobaby.com!