Weaning off the nipple shield

dancer7889 · April 2014

At 12 weeks old, we are finally making progress weaning off the nipple shield! I am soooo excited- it just clicked with her one night. I've noticed that her eating habits are a little different now. With the shield, she'd feed for 15-20 minutes and often comfort nurse for 10-15 afterwards. Now she's only eating for 5-10 minutes at a time, not frequently comfort nursing, and wants to eat more often. I'm just worried she may not be eating enough at each feed. If she's acting really hungry or frustrated afterwards, I'll offer the shield (and she'll often take it) but I really do not want to depend on it anymore!

Anyone else experience this? Without the shield, are babies more efficient? Any tips for making the last steps away from the shield?

flcl · April 2014

dancer7889 said:
Anyone else experience this? Without the shield, are babies more efficient? Any tips for making the last steps away from the shield?

Congrats on the progress you've made! DS was definitely way more efficient without the shield. Once he started feeding without the shield, I would feed him on one side with it and the other side without. After 2 days of doing this, I stopped using the shield completely and he didn't have any issues. It was tough to figure out if he was eating enough because his time went down a lot (from 20ish mins to 10ish mins) but his doc just had me keep an eye on his diapers and he was definitely making a LOT of diapers! GL!

AriaAmante143 · April 2014

Yep, Brooklyn's nursing time cut in half after we weaned off the shield. She does cough and sputter sometimes since it comes out faster now, I just try to lean back during nursing and burp her more often and she does just fine. Watch her diaper count just to make sure.

Doesn't it feel great to be done with it??

dancer7889 · April 2014

Good to hear that babies eat faster without it. Still plenty of wet diapers. I have noticed that I have to burp much more.

Guess we'll just keep doing what i've been doing. Ill try leaning back- something we haven't tried yet.

@AriaAmante143‌ - it feels awesome! The first time she ate without it for the majority of a feeding was in the middle of the night- I almost woke up DH to tell him bc I was so excited!

pepperedmoth · April 2014

Congratulations!! We are off it too now and it feels soooooo good.

We, too, had the same experience: much faster without the shield. I had the same worry as you but his diapers didn't change and the LC was reassuring. I guess babies are just more efficient without it!

matitice · April 2014

I'm in the process of weaning LO too. We have good days & bad days but I'm hoping to be done within the next week or so. I have the same issue with my LO in that sometimes he's just to fussy & won't nurse unless we have the shield so I let him nurse with it. I'd rather work a little longer at weaning than have a angry & hungry baby. Good Luck!

Newmom Dee · April 2014

Did you ever supplement? I had my baby of the shield n I used to supplement. She is off the shield but I'm afraid I don't produce enough milk I pump 7 times a day sometimes after she nursed other times instead of nursing I have bottle of my BM but I only produce 1 -1/2 oz

she is drinking 2-3 oz. my question is on diaper count how much pee should I see? Formula =. Heavy duty diaper I change every feeding BM= not so much pee still pee though. I'm just scared I'm not making enough when she eats off my boob

SandiaLiz · April 2014

I am so glad you posted this! We are almost completely weaned off using the shield (and it is AMAZING!) but the last week has been quite stressful. I almost feel like I am starting at the beginning of nursing all over again because I don't know what to expect (and of course the poor sore nips).

She has been nursing for way less time and I was so worried she wasn't getting enough, or was sick and not wanting to eat. We have also been having some trouble with fussing and pulling off during feedings, but it sounds like this is pretty normal for a LO learning to nurse without a shield.

I keep track of diapers and there hasn't been a change in the number of wet diapers, but about how many should you expect in a day? We usually get about 5 or 6 and she is six weeks old today. Ignore my pregnancy ticker that will not change, what's up with that?!?

edited - forgot the last two paragraphs (mom brain is a real thing!)

rachthebaj · April 2014

This thread answers so many questions I've had as we have just started weaning from the shield

BTBergstrom · April 2014

I am in the process of weaning as well. She does nurse quicker but I have been worried that she isn't getting as much hind milk since she isn't nursing as long and we have had some green poops. I usually always use the shield at night and then during the day always start a feedin without it and if she is fussing or not latching then I put it back on

Hdhtk4 · April 2014

We quit using the shield cold turkey at 4 weeks old and she suddenly was able to latch better than ever. She also became a much more efficient eater and according to our weighed feedings went from eating 1 oz in an hour with the shield (we were supplementing) to 4 oz in 30 minutes without the shield.

Edit-I wasn't planning to wean cold turkey, but I took the shield off one day just to see how she would do and she latched fine and has continued to for three weeks UNTIL two days ago. She has been fussing, coughing, pulling off, but she does this with the bottle too at daycare during the day. Not sure what's going on there!

Weaning off the nipple shield

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