kellymom.com is a GREAT resource!

My daughter did not latch at all for 8 weeks, so I am not sure how much I can help with a poor latch. We ended up having to use a nipple shield and then wean off of that. Maybe you could try usuing your nipple to get her mouth open wider by pushing down when you insert it... if that makes sense? I would almost pry her mouth open to get enough of the nipple in for a good latch until she got the hang of it.

Good luck and I hope it gets better soon! Nursing those first few weeks is a definate learning curve!

1. It will get better and easier!
2. Practice makes perfect.

3. Try using your thumb on her chin when you latch. I found the cradle or cross cradle hold to be easiest when assisting my little one while latching. I would prop her on the Boppy and help her latch properly. If you think, she's latched incorrectly, unlatch her right away and try again.

It can be frustrating and painful but it's so worth it in the long run. My daughter is 7 1/2 months and we're still bf'ing. It's emotional and wasn't always easy. I cried a few times from a painful latch... You are so amazing for giving your babe what's best. Keep up the good work!

I would definitely recommend contacting Le Leche League. They are a tremendous help. With them, I was able to nurse AFTER having a lift and a lot of nerve damage. It took lots of trial and error, but I made it to 15 months and I have no feeling at all on one side.

Something that helped me was to swipe the bottom part of DD's mouth with my finger when I inserted so that I could gently help pull her jaw down into position. They need to be further up on the nipple on the roof of the mouth than the bottom. You want to really stuff yourself in their mouth which seems weird at first but it works.

For soreness, I highly recommend lanolin....I use it to this day for everything including chapped lips or cracked heels.

Not much to add to what people have said above but I've been there too and it will get better! My daughter finally started latching on well at 6 weeks and was then a consistently good feeder from 8 weeks - after a bit of a roller coaster. But La Leche League were fantastic support for me so if you have someone you can get in touch with there I would definitely recommend it.

We also used nipple shields for a bit, but then my dd rejected them. She also rejected any bottles so we had a cycle of attempt latch, feed by syringe, express as much as possible for a while, although I wasn't very good at expressing (despite the hospital grade pump I hired and spending up to 6 hours a day on it!) so we had to top up with some formula (which I didn't want to do, but luckily was only required until she was 6 weeks old and latched on properly).

Sorry - that doesn't sound like a positive story, but it is because she did grow and get the hang of it eventually and then fed very happily until she self weaned at 15 months!

It definitely gets easier - I remember scabs on my nipples when my daughter was first nursing! By 6 weeks everything had smoothed out and we were were good to go - it's a combo of baby being small, and a learning curve for both of you. It gets better - I promise!