Shield Questions

klc31883

I am trying to wean my 5 wk old off of a shield - we use it due to my nipples being slightly flat.  We are successful at her feeding without it on one side for about 5-7 minutes, then all of a sudden she starts bobbing, pulling off, and crying.  When I put the shield on, she is fine again.  Any ideas what is happening? 

 

Also, when I try to nurse without it, I am finding that I have to "sandwich" my breast for LO to latch and stay on, when I let go, she also detaches and gets upset.  I hear of women not using their hands at all to nurse, but I am stuck with using both (except when the shield is on).  Any tips on this as well?  Thank you!

Mrs.Greg

I used the shield for the first 3 weeks with my twins.  Once we stopped using it, my little one had a hard time keeping up with the milk flow after my milk let down.  She would try to keep up, swallowing like crazy, and then after a few seconds, she'd throw her arms around and de-latch and cry while the milk sprayed her in the face.  If she wasn't so upset by this, it would actually be kind of comical to watch.  Anyway, maybe your LO is having a hard time keeping up with your milk flow?  On the other side of the coin, when I was BFing my first DD, I had a slight milk supply issue and when she wasn't getting enough milk fast enough, she'd get frustrated and de-latch crying.  So it could be that your LO is getting a good amount for the first few minutes and when it slows down, they get upset.  My DD1 would grunt when this happened too.  HTH!

aspade

Are your nipples getting used to the breastfeeding?  In other words, are they less flat?  It could take a little more time for the baby and your nipples to get the hang of things.  The learning curve with most babies and moms, period, is 4-6 weeks, so things are still going as expected.

I'd say use the shields for a little longer, gauging from time to time the efficacy of nursing without them, and stop when it feels good to everyone. 

gwenathan

I'm in the same position! DD is 4wks and I'm trying to wean her off, mostly because she's starting to suck my nipple through the holes in the shield and it is VERY painful, which is making me not want to breastfeed, but rather pump and bottle feed. 

I have to sandwich my breast and after bobbing and being fussy, she'll finally latch on. but if I let go she immediately detaches and cries. I feel like she's so used to having a huge nipple to latch onto that if she doesn't feel something on her tongue/roof of her mouth she won't latch on. This doesn't really help you that much, but you're not alone! 

AKBrideinMD

gwenathan:

I'm in the same position! DD is 4wks and I'm trying to wean her off, mostly because she's starting to suck my nipple through the holes in the shield and it is VERY painful, which is making me not want to breastfeed, but rather pump and bottle feed. 

I have to sandwich my breast and after bobbing and being fussy, she'll finally latch on. but if I let go she immediately detaches and cries. I feel like she's so used to having a huge nipple to latch onto that if she doesn't feel something on her tongue/roof of her mouth she won't latch on. This doesn't really help you that much, but you're not alone! 

this is us exactly,  too. 

starskristen79

AKBrideinMD:

gwenathan:

I'm in the same position! DD is 4wks and I'm trying to wean her off, mostly because she's starting to suck my nipple through the holes in the shield and it is VERY painful, which is making me not want to breastfeed, but rather pump and bottle feed. 

I have to sandwich my breast and after bobbing and being fussy, she'll finally latch on. but if I let go she immediately detaches and cries. I feel like she's so used to having a huge nipple to latch onto that if she doesn't feel something on her tongue/roof of her mouth she won't latch on. This doesn't really help you that much, but you're not alone! 

this is us exactly,  too. 

Me, three!

 

belleaur

I have been in the same boat though miracle of miracles he seems to have got it all of a sudden! We haven't used the shield for 2 days.  It still takes a few times to latch and I still have to do the sandwich and slowly release but I'll take the progress.  There is hope!