Nipple shields and nipple cream??

seannasmommy16 · November 2013

What nipple shields and nipple cream worked best for you?
How do you pick out nipple shields?
Any tips or tricks to help sore nipples?

WhiMiMa · November 2013

I used several different brands of nipple shields and I didn't really find a big difference. They can be a bit annoying, pooping off every once and a while and filling up with milk when the baby pops off, but they certainly were life savers for a few weeks!

ksulli · November 2013

Not everybody needs nipple shields- it's mostly if you have inverted nipples or if LO has a terrible latch, so I wouldn't get those until you know you need them. I used Medela's lanolin for cream and it felt great.

ZebNMichelle · November 2013

The hospital gave me some.

jenskurn · November 2013

Someone makes reusable gel pads for soothing nipples that were amazing in the beginning. They are at BRU and I wanna say in a purple box.

momofmanyinthemitten · November 2013

Soothies, the gel pads, were great with baby #1. The hospital provided those and Lansinoh lanolin for me, which I took even though I had some at home. After I was done needed it for nursing, I used it for lanolizing my cloth diaper soakers. I was amazed because I had such a horrible pain for 6 weeks when DD would latch (like needles stabbing my nipples). There wasn't much that could help that. With baby #2, I had sore nipples for a day or two and that was it, thank goodness.

thomas930 · November 2013

Never needed nipple shields.

I know I suggested it before, but Motherlove Nipple Cream has been my favorite. It works so much better than Lanolin and it's not near as thick and goopy.

Just remember to use some sort of cream after each feeding.

frolic32 · November 2013

Agree with @LalaMama81 - try to stay away from the nipple shield unless advised to use one. Speaking from experience, they're a real PITA if not necessary, and especially annoying when nursing in public. Can be hard to wean a baby from them, too.

Lanolin is great. I also really love Motherlove Nipple Cream.

Rrrrrachel · November 2013

Most lactation consultants will tell you to avoid nipple shields if at all possible. They cause more problems than they solve, usually. Soothies, motherlove nipple butter and earth mama angel baby nipple butter are all great. So is letting your nipples air dry after a feeding, if you can bring yourself to let it all hang out!

katiedidthat · November 2013

I use a medela shield. They gave it to me at the hospital but we're still using it at 12 months with no adverse side effects. It is a pain to nurse in public with it and I had quite a few times of panic in the earlier days when I couldn't find it or forgot to take it with me when I went somewhere. DS was never able to wean off of it due to a lip tie that was missed until he was 9 months old and now he's just too stubborn to nurse without it and I'm not willing to wean him over it. I have heard that the thinner a shield is, the less problems it is likely to cause, and that ones with a cut out to allow for skin contact are good for supply. As for nipple pain? I still had it, even with the shield. It went away by the time he was a month old and then the only time bf hurt was if I developed a bleb. I used lanolin for about 6 weeks then got tired of trying to find it for every feeding.

myschlove · November 2013

I was lucky to have a lot of support from my mother who nursed four of her babies. As well as advice from some really excellent lactation consultants. My nipples were flat and the baby will draw then out but it can be uncomfortable. You really really want to avoid nipple shields! Like some PP have said they can cause more problems than they solve! It would be better to pump and give your baby breast milk from a bottle and try to nurse once a day for a while then to use nipple shields!

After you nurse your baby put a little bit of breast milk on your nipples and allow it to dry this can be some of the best stuff you put on your nipples but then I always play it medala lanolin on it and it was excellent!

My best advice is to hang in there! Get a lot of support and don't be afraid to call the lactation consultant every day if you have to! It does get easier if you hang in there!!

pdilly2b · November 2013

ksulli said:

Not everybody needs nipple shields- it's mostly if you have inverted nipples or if LO has a terrible latch, so I wouldn't get those until you know you need them. I used Medela's lanolin for cream and it felt great.

This. I bought some to have on hand and ended up not needing them (it's also something to have to ween baby from if they get used to it, so I would really not use them if not needed).

My best advice is to insist on a good latch. A bad latch will tear you up. It's hard sometimes because you just want baby to get on and s/he finally does but it's a bad latch, but you really need to stick your finger in there, break the suction, and try again. Best for everyone in the long run to keep your nipples in good shape.

I tried using natural type nipple creams and they are good when you're not really hurting and just need some moisture, but in the early days before your nipples are used to it, Medela or Lansinoh are the way to go. I got a small Medela sample at the hospital and loved it. It spread easier than Lansinoh for me, but I already had Lansinoh at home and it works great too for relief, just a little more sticky in my experience.

The biggest thing to know is that the pain of it all doesn't last forever. You will think that it hurts so bad that people are nuts for breastfeeding, but it really does get better with time. Just take it a day at a time (or an hour at a time) in the beginning and you'll get through

RedDawnsRevenge · November 2013

If you need a nipple sheild see a IBCLC, she may be about to help you correct the problem. If the problem can't be easily fixed then she can fit you for the correct size shield.

seannasmommy16 · November 2013

Thank you for all the tips

I know I will learn all if this when I take the classes or while I'm at the hospital but I have a few more questions,
When you say the baby needs a good latch does that mean the baby needs to be sucking on the nipple or the nipple and areola? And how long do they make you wait too feed the baby after birth? Do they put the baby on your boob right after he's out or do they wait a few hours?

katiedidthat · November 2013

Most hospitals will encourage you to latch baby as soon as possible. If you have a chance, look up the

katiedidthat · November 2013

Most hospitals will encourage you to latch baby as soon as possible, because nursing will help contract your uterus back down too. If you have a chance, look up the "newborn breast crawl". It's really neat to see how babies are hard wired to find our nipples and attempt a latch. You want the baby to have nipple and a good portion of your areola, otherwise it will be really painful and not stimulate the milk production as well. I really recommend a good breastfeeding class and hooking up with a lactation consultant before baby is born, since many nurses in the hospital don't really know how to help and can make breastfeeding more stressful.

thomas930 · November 2013

You can also look up a lot of good youtube videos that will show you how to get a good latch and what one looks like with real mothers and babies nursing.

Both my kids started nursing with-in one hour of being born.

strawberrytree · November 2013

The best and cheapest way to soothe sore nipples is putting some breastmilk on them and letting them air dry. This isn't widely advertised because it's hard to profit from it

. I tried lanolin but found that it was easier for me to just use BM. Just a warning- some women are allergic to lanolin. I have two friends who found that out the hard way.

DS latched for the first time within about 15 minutes of his birth. We had an hour of skin to skin time before he was taken away and cleaned up, so unless there are complications you should be able to have skin to skin and try to latch right away.

There is a little gif on this page showing a drawing of a baby latching on: https://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/latch-resources/

There are some really good books available that have pictures of what a correct and incorrect latch look like. I found Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding helpful.

seannasmommy16 · November 2013

ColleenSwerb said:
BM on my nipples did nothing.

Really though, all these questions can be answered with a little research online, and a good book or two.

I know it but y'all's opinions are important to me. I will be taking some classes soon

thanks again for all the help from you ladies

pdilly2b · November 2013

I really like the book "So that's what they are for". It has good pictures of a good latch. As a general rule, try to breastfeed as soon and as often as you possibly can in the first few days. Basically, nursing is the signal to your body about how much milk it needs to make. You logically know that you had 1 baby (as opposed to twins) and that your baby is alive and needs milk, but if you don't tell your boobs that (by nursing), they have no way of knowing to make 1 baby's worth of milk as opposed to 0 or 2 or 3 or whatever. This is also why it's better to tough it out as opposed to supplement so you're not sending signals to your boobs that your baby didn't survive. Good to get them with the program as soon as possible.

myschlove · November 2013

seannasmommy16 said:
Thank you for all the tips
I know I will learn all if this when I take the classes or while I'm at the hospital but I have a few more questions,
When you say the baby needs a good latch does that mean the baby needs to be sucking on the nipple or the nipple and areola? And how long do they make you wait too feed the baby after birth? Do they put the baby on your boob right after he's out or do they wait a few hours?

There all great questions!

First here is a wonderful article on getting your milk going. This website has a lot of good tips on some of these questions as well

https://www.llli.org/nb/nbjulaug05p142.html

Baby Center has some good articles and videos as well!

First, remember it's breast-feeding not nipple feeding! You're wanting to get as much in their mouth as you can!

The sooner you try to breast-feed the better! Even with the C-section they brought him to me and initiated nursing as soon as possible! Some babies find it and start nursing before they're even cleaned up! And that's perfectly okay

Oh in breast milk on your nipples actually helps prevent thrush which is like a yeast infection on your boobs more than it necessarily soothes so that's why I recommend letting breastmilk dry on it and then putting cream on it and if you're at home you got to go Amazon woman and let those girls air out as much as you can!

A soft stretchy sports bra that's not too tight and my bathrobe and a good comfy pair of PJ pants is literally what I lived in for three weeks after DS was born! Easy nursing access and easy to air the girls out

jsoubel · November 2013

I cannot stress this enough: HAVE NIPPLE SHIELDS ON HAND! USE LANOLIN LIBERALLY AFTER EVERY BREAST FEEDING SESSION. No one told me this before I had the baby, not the idiot woman who taught the breastfeeding class and not my midwives. A visiting nurse/my sister told me, and I never had a cracked or bleeding nipple even though we initially had latch problems (solved by nipple shield).

Now that the PSA is over, I used medela breast shields size 24 mm, which is the "average size" and works for most women. For lanolin, I used Lansinoh and CVS brand. Then I got smart and bought a tub of lanolin from amazon. I got 10x as much for the same price. I use the lanolin on diaper rash and dry skin on LO, too, and I still haven't gotten through that tub.

EDIT: I'll also add that we did not have bad latch problems - LO just wanted to suck her bottom lip. And my nipples are totally fine. LO and I just needed a little extra help to get going. We used the shields for two weeks and then nursed for 6 months without. Don't be scared to try them if you need some extra help.

myschlove · November 2013

I'm glad you were able to use shields and continue nursing but I have friends who used them and then their baby would not nurse after. It's basically a bottle nipple over your nipple. So it IS a last resort! Which is why most lactation consultants don't recommend them.

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