Breastfeeding info, even within the marvelous La Leche League organization, is not as complete as many mothers need it to be. I was very lucky. I struggled to breastfeed my son for what seemed like close to 18 or so hours a day for 16 weeks before one lady I called (a LLL counselor) stumbled over a technique called the Charm Hold in some ancient LLL material she had on her shelf from the 1940s! It was extremely helpful. Immediately after the Charm Hold, my son was able to successfully latch on and suck the milk instead of only managing to lick. Lifesaver! Otherwise I would have had to consider formula feeding.

The magical Charm Hold goes as follows: Lay the baby belly down on your lap and hold the baby’s forehead with the hand furthest from the baby’s head. Let the baby suckle the pinky finger of the hand closest to the baby’s head. When you feel the baby suckling, and with some babies it’s immediate (it was with Karl), turn the baby face up and begin breastfeeding.

It sounds ridiculous but it worked for me and Karl. So that’s it! With some babies, it may take more than one try.

I hope this helps other moms the way it helped us.