wrote:

In the meantime I need to help in finding a way for him to get him
mouth open wide enough to get a decent feed.

You've probably tried these things already, but the tricks I know a

1. Cross-carry hold. Use the arm on the opposite side to put him on the
breast. This way, you can support his head by having your finger and
thumb in a V-shape at the base of his head, which gives him lots of room
to tip his head back. That in turn gives more room for his mouth to
open (try opening your mouth as wide as possible without bending your
head back, and you'll see what I mean). This works better than the
conventional 'cradle' hold (holding the baby in the crook of the arm on
the same side as the breast you're nursing from) because with cradle
hold your forearm gets in the way of him getting his head back.

2. When you bring him to the breast, bring him in with his nose, rather
than his mouth, level with your nipple. This way he has to open his
mouth wider to get it around the nipple. (Again, try holding some food
level with your nose and then with your mouth and taking a bite, and
you'll see that you open your mouth wider when it's level with your nose.)

Also, you mentioned you were holding the breast to position it - are you
holding it with your finger and thumb either side of the breast so that
you can flatten it slightly in line with his mouth? Some people make
the mistake of putting finger and thumb above and below the breast,
which makes it harder.

Oh, one final thought which I always ask about - have you had him
checked for tongue tie? So simple to sort out and so often missed...
(yeah, ask me how I know...)

Good luck & congratulations on your baby & on managing to get breast
milk into him against the odds!


All the best,

Sarah
--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell