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Help! I don't want to use the shield anymore!

Mrs.GregMrs.Greg member
in Breastfeeding
I've been using a nipple shield when BF'ing because I had flat nipples.  They look so much better now and I'm ready to stop using the shield.  It's such a pain and so messy!  Is DS too young to take off the shield?  She's not even four weeks old.  She's gotten so used it.  She feels it on her mouth and immediately opens and starts sucking.  How do I start feeding her without the shield?  TIA!
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Re: Help! I don't want to use the shield anymore!

  • BabyHatchBabyHatch

    I don't know if this is the "correct" way to do it but it worked for me...

    I'd start with the shield and then take it off halfway through (when she was a little more calm) and get her to latch without. I gradually just stopped using it. I think it took me a couple of days to stop using it. This process has worked for me twice--once around 2 weeks old and again last week. I don't know if it was nipple confusion or what but she definitely went through periods where she would only latch with the shield. Thankfully she's over that, for now anyway!

    G/L!

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  • leanneraeleannerae

    I went to a LC to stop using it and I did that at a little over a week.  It's certainly fine to stop if your nipples have shaped up!  Babies ate before the shield ;-)

    I think that the above posted (BabyHatch) has a great idea about reducing it down and then eliminating it.

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  • found_the_1found_the_1
    Definitely stop using the shield ASAP. I used one for about 3 1/2 weeks and I think that's why I had some supply issues (you don't get the same amount of stimulation with a shield). I would try having your baby suck on your index finger (fingertip pointing to the roof of her mouth) for a minute before feeding to get the hard palette stimulation she's used to and then try offering her the breast. I would do that and then make a V with my fingers around my breast before offering it to my son and that worked. Good luck!
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