Fast letdown, leakage, and nipple shield

TRyan86

So baby girl is 11 days old. She was born at 36 weeks so was late preemie.

Had troubles latching when milk came in and was engorged. Since baby was preemie they were very concerned with her weight (lost 9% body weight in first few days). So nurse suggested I try a nipple shield. It had been a lifesaver and she is eating really well now and gaining weight.

Now there are these issues:
1) worried about using nipple shield too long and effect on supply- using about 50% of the time (sometimes she'll latch first and feed but won't relatch after burping - she is super sleepy all the time so think this is laziness. Other times she won't latch due to fast letdown so I use shield at start and then try and latch her after.

2) leakage!! Holy Man. I was stuffing my bra with Prefolds while feeding the other side. Then I bought milkies milk saver and I leak at least one ounce off side I'm not nursing from... Normal? How long will this last?

3) think the leakage is due to fast letdown. When do I start to worry about fast letdown and over supply? When is milk more regulated? Wondering if I should book appointment with LC now or weight a few more weeks to see if it all settles down.

surpriseaddition

For questions #2 & #3, leakage is completely normal and will last for several weeks.  Baby's milk needs increase frequently over the first 6 weeks.  Once you are 2-3 months into it, your body will start to regulate more and you will be more in synch with your LO.  The leakage will definitely stop by then.  The good news is you have enough milk, so no need to worry!  As long as your LO can keep up with the fast letdown, it shouldn't be a problem. 

jenn43

LO is 9 weeks old, and we have been using nipple shields the entire time.  The LC in the hospital told me I had to pump to ensure good supply, so I started pumping after the first morning feed from day 1.  I had a small issue with oversupply, which sorted itself out.  I still do the morning pump, and get about 7 oz total after nursing.  Honestly, I think the traditional advice about nipple shields interfering with supply arose with the older, thicker shields.  The current silicone shields are so thin and malleable that I think they affect supply much less.

flcl

If you have access to a LC, get in contact with one. The ones in my area are great because they were able to answer my questions via phone calls, emails or person to person apps.

We used a nipple shield in the beginning but weaned as soon as LO was able to feed without it.  Leakage is different for everyone.  Mine was pretty bad until 12 weeks.  I had a horrible case of OS and OALD during week 3 but was able to troubleshoot through it by the end of week 4.  GL and congrats on LO!

vvvvvfee

RE the nipple shield- yes, it can make it harder for your LO to remove milk from the breast (not to mention it's a huge pain in the ass). it's great that you're already nursing some of the time without it, and i'd stick with it to try to get your LO weaned off of it completely. don't try to nurse without it if your LO is desperately hungry or she will get frustrated. i'd just start the session with it, then slip it off. you can squeeze/flatten your breast with one hand to make it easier to latch. RE sleepy during feedings- try putting a cold, wet washcloth on your LO's head or tickle her feet.

opheliainwaders

Hey there! DD was also a 36-weeker, and we used a nipple shield for a few weeks. We DID wean off of it as soon as possible. A few thoughts -
- The fact that she's already latching 50% of the time without it--to me--means she's probably ready to ditch it. (congrats!)
- If she's having trouble latching because you're engorged/letdown is too fast, let the excess spray into a towel for a couple of minutes, and then latch her on.
- If she won't relatch after burping, don't worry about it (seriously!). Just keep her near you (skin-to-skin if possible), and let her eat whenever she wants. If she goes more than a couple of hours, then you may want to wake her and encourage her to eat (we had to wake/feed at least every 3 hours until she was 6lbs, which for us was 4 weeks, per our pedi/LC's requirements - not sure what you've been told to do/how big your DD is now).
- If she's sleepy and doesn't want to latch, but it's been long enough that you need to make sure she eats, strip her down to her diaper, and rub/pat her back/neck/head to keep her awake. We also did some clavicle/jaw massage to help improve her latch, and she HATED it, so...that woke her up.

I feel like I constantly recommend this, but my LC had us take a "nursing vacation" - basically, I just hung out in bed, topless, with her (DD, not the LC, haha) doing skin-to-skin and feeding on demand for a couple of days. Have your DH or a friend bring you water and snacks, get some magazines or a good book, and hunker down. It actually really helped us, and was the turning point to get us past the shield.

I'm having a bit of a crazy day at work, but I'll lurk this thread if you have any specific questions - it sounds like we've had very similar experiences.