Has anyone ever used a nipple shield for a short period of time? (Like less than a week?)

Timshel17

My nips are killing me.  My DD is about a week and a half old and my nipples are cracked and bleeding, I think from when we were in the hospital just starting to BF.  We weren't quite getting the hang of it then and now her latch is much better, but my nipples haven't healed and seem to get worse every time I BF.  So I was considering using a nipple shield, but everything I hear about those is that LOs get hooked and it's hard to wean them from the shield. 

So I was wondering, has anyone used the shield for just a day or two? Or even only a week?  If so, was it still just as hard to wean your LO from it? 

I've considered introducing the bottle and pumping instead of BFing for a day or two so my nipples can heal, but I'd really rather wait to introduce the bottle for at least another week.  But if worse comes to worse, I may do that. Right now I'm just toughing it out.   TIA for any advice!

Chicwed

I used a nipple shield for my left nipple for about 2 weeks to allow my nipple to hear from a crack at the base of my nipple.  LO had no problem going back to the nipple.  Actually, when I wanted to wean her from the shield, I would start with the shield and then a couple minutes later remove it.  LO would latch right back on.  I did that a couple times to kind of "ease" her back to my nipple.  

JuneBugsMommy

My LO wouldn't latch while we were in the hospital so they had me use a nipple shield. I continued to use it when we went home but tried to get him to latch multiple times a day before using the shield. Finally around 6 days old he was able to latch just fine and we have not had to use the shield again.

RooBear

After two weeks of me crying in pain every time baby latched and seeing two lactation consultants, one convinced me to try the shield and it saved our breastfeeding relationship.  I definitely would have given up without it! 

We ended up using it for two months or so and he had very littl e trouble going back to the nipple after that.  When weaning, we would just start with the shield and then remove it after a couple of minutes and within a few days we were done.  Even if LO doesn't wean from it easily, I don't see a huge downside to using the shield indefinitely. You have to keep up with it and clean it but if that's what it takes to keep nursing, no big deal I think. 

Also, we introduced the bottle once a day at two or three weeks and he never had any "nipple confusion" that I was so worried about.  In fact, my best friend who is a speech pathologist told me that babies begin to lose the ability to learn to bottle feed after 3 months old and she has never seen a real problem with "nipple confusion"  but does see older babies who can't learn to use the bottle when it's introduced too late.  That's more than you asked for and I am not an expert in any way so for whatever that is worth

Best wishes.  Figure out what works for you and LO and I wouldn't worry so much about what LO gets attached to.  You don't have to do it the same way as anyone else

Aviee

We had to use a shield AND bottle due to flat nipples/engorgement.  We weaned DD off of the shield by 4 weeks (feeding by feeding saving nights for last) and we've not had any nipple confusion. 

I think pumping would stink just as bad as nursing.  It always makes my nipples hurt so bad.  Hopefully a shield can get you some relief as you heal and continue to nurse.

stahlop

I used nipple shields for the same reasons.  DS just killed my nipples in the first week.  We ended up on the nipple shield for 7 weeks.  It took me that long to heal.  DS got back on the nipple no problem even after that long.

SnoopyLuv

We only used it for three weeks. I would try and slip it off during the middle of a feeding to see how she would do. And then eventually I was able to feed without wincing in pain and she would latch no issue.

AliandJimmy

I began using a nipple shield in the hospital to help with my son's latch.  We kept this up for about 7 weeks just because it was easier on me to give him the instant statisfaction at the breast.  We were able to wean off of it in about 2 days simply by starting with the sheild and a few minutes into the feeding removing it. 

StrikeGirl

It is 330am and I popped on here looking for answers after a couple days of horrible pain. DH brought DS in to nurse and I just started crying when he latched on. DH gave him some formula but I felt awful. Just wanted to say thank you because this is exactly the situation I am in. I don't know what to do! Silly me didn't really know the shields could help that much, I will be getting some when the store opens. Thank you for this wonderful board!

bunnymama625

afraid my experience is different-- we started with shields for the same reason and it has been impossible to get her off of them!

If I had to do it over, I would only use them for every other feeding.

chocoholicchick

I had to use a nipple shield for my left breast for about 3 weeks. I had an inverted nipple and the only way DS could latch on was with a shield. He was finally able to latch on without it when he was 3 weeks old and we haven't looked back.

funchicken

elisamariaortiz:

afraid my experience is different-- we started with shields for the same reason and it has been impossible to get her off of them!

If I had to do it over, I would only use them for every other feeding.

Your baby is still really little.  I wouldn't give up.  I used the shield exclusively until I weaned DD off of it at 7 weeks.  Give your baby a few more weeks.  Her mouth will get bigger, and it will be easier for her to latch without it.  Once my DD realized that she could get the milk a lot faster without the shield, she started pulling it off herself.