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Nursing Issues: Please help.

sarahmae8sarahmae8 member
in Breastfeeding
Hello...I have been using a nipple shield for 2 months with my LO and over the weekend I decided it was time to get rid of it. So I started to ween him off and lo and behold, he can latch without it! This is great news...I have not used it since Friday afternoon. The issue is that now he only stays on one side for a few minutes. He chugs, as I can hear and feel him swallowing, then he stops swallowing and starts to just suck, like a pacifier. So I pull him off and he cries like he is still hungry so I put him to the other side and he does the same thing. Well tonight we did that around 5:30pm and he cried until almost 7pm. I tried changing him, rocking him, the moby...every thing until I warmed up some BM and he took 3oz no problem. I am worried he is not getting enough from my breast....any ideas as to what might be going on? Should I go back to the nip shield? He has had very wet diapers...so I know he is getting it. Thanks
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Re: Nursing Issues: Please help.

  • savernesaverne

    I never really used a breastshield so I don't know how that may change things.  But I can say that my DD loves to just hang out at the nipple and comfort suck .  I usually let her do it.  For one thing, that sucking can help increase your milk supply.   They can want to nurse a lot during growth spurts.  They are usually at 3 and 6 weeks and 3 and 6 months, I think.  But they can happen at different times for different babies.  I think my DD went through one at 2.5 months and all she wanted to do was suck. 

    If your baby is making wet diapers and gaining weight then he is getting enough.  He may just be sucking for comfort and/or going through a growth spurt.  I wouldn't worry.  It may be inconvenient for you though! 

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  • PAmiler82PAmiler82

    I don't know much about nipple shields, but as pp said, comfort sucking can be beneficial for the baby and for your supply.  Is there any reason to take him off?  If not, I'd probably just get comfy somewhere and let him hang out. 

    I'd bet money that he won't do it forever.  Maybe he just needs to get used to this new way of nursing and needs a little comfort.  Maybe it's a growth spurt.  Maybe it's some other phase like thing.  In my experience, just as soon as I get used to one way of doing things he changes it up on me!  For better or worse, it's always something different.

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  • At1stsightAt1stsight
    I used a shield for a while too. I would NOT go back to the shield if I were you. As PPs suggest, just let him comfort nurse. DS would fall asleep still comfort nursing and do that for like an hour. If I unlatched him, he'd get upset. Hopefully you have the freedom to just let him do his thing! I know it can be time-consuming (I wasn't back to work yet when he was going through this stage).
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  • Jeni182Jeni182 member
    DS does this sometimes. Like PP said, it's just comfort sucking. I let him do it and he usually goes back to eating eventually.
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