anyone have luck with a nipple shield?

marbear81

just curious.. I know these are typically used for women with flat or inverted nipples.. but I also read it may help preemies... I could use all the help we could get!

At1stsight

We used one for one side. DS didn't have problems latching on the right but did with the left. We used the shield for about 1.5 months and then weaned it over the course of one week. He definitely needed the help latching on that side (I suppose it was somewhat flat, at least compared to the other side).

It's defin. worth a try if they're having trouble getting/staying latched on. 

Kimmy08

I breastfeed the girls every other feed and they will not breastfeed unless I have a shield on. The NICU nurses said with preemies, they typically do better with shields because they are used to the "bottle-like" feel and a lot of the little ones get tired quicker without the shield.

I am looking forward to weaning them off of it because it can sometimes be a pain, especially when they are grabbing at it. Good luck and I hope it works!

monstergurl

I wish I could give you mine. Will hated it. I tried it a few times.

kar5162

Yep.  DS was tounge tied in addition to being a preemie and still will rarely latch without it.  For a long time I really wanted to get rid of it, but now it's just a small pain and not a big deal. 

nicnjed

I used one with DS for about 3 weeks after pumping around the clock for the first 3 weeks and thinking we'd never be able to breastfeed.  It took about a week to completely wean from it.  We went on to EBF until DS was 13-months!  I will admit that using the shield was sort of a PITA- awkward to use, wasn't able to nurse in public early on because of it, and it took longer for DS to nurse with it, but it saved us.

 Good luck!