Q. My daughter is 4.5 months old and has suddenly started slurping pretty loudly when she feeds. I heard somewhere that slurping is bad (plus it makes for indiscreet feedings in public). But how do I make her stop? Is there something wrong with her position? And how can I correct it?
A. You're right. Slurping is bad. There probably is something amiss with her positioning, and that can be easily fixed.
Here's what you need to be seeing when the latch is correct: her tongue should be curled around the nipple and you can just see that at the corner of her mouth. Lips should be open, not pursed and not sucked in at the top or bottom. If you see a sucked in bottom lip, gently pull down on the front of her chin.
Make sure the mouth is open when you first latch on~the nipple should not be slurped into the mouth. The nipple needs to be slightly pointed toward the roof of the mouth as you latch on. When you hear slurping, there is a place where air is going through, and a proper latch avoids that.
