Nipple shield

whitneyshay · May 2014

I had problems drawing my nipples out to breastfeed. I started to use the nipple shield in the hospital and now my baby is 12 days old and I'm trying to wean her off of it but she wants nothing to do with my nipple without the shield. Was wondering of anyone had any tips or advice on how to wean her off. I actually like using the nipple shield but I was told to only use it for a couple weeks then she needed to get off of it.

Crazijewel · May 2014

I used it with my first and when I tried to wean him around two weeks old he did the same. At that point I said screw it and continued to use it bc it was working. We used it for 6 weeks and that's when he weaned himself off. I honestly wouldn't worry about continuing to use it as long as your supply has been fine.

bumpuser9353653 · May 2014

Have you tried using them just at the beginning of a feeding? That way your LO can have them at first when she's most hungry, then you can take them off once things get going part way through the session.

whitneyshay · May 2014

@RugbyMamma‌ yes, that's what I've been trying to do at each feeding session but she gets all worked up until I put the shield back on!

MrsT2008 · May 2014

Meh. I have a friend who used one the entire 13 months she nursed her son. I wouldn't push getting rid of it if you're both okay with it.

SMM1986 · May 2014

I have heard that some people pump for a few minutes before the feeding to draw the nipples out.

lrmrtn · May 2014

We are doing the same thing. This morning was the first time I had success without the nipple shield. I gave babe an ounce of pumped milk to calm him down first and then he latched on.

haylo33 · May 2014

I'm using the shield and I plan on using it as long as I need to. The LC said it can mess with supply but I haven't had an issue. Hopefully my nipples will take on a new shape after a while so I can wean but I'm not too worried if I cant

Lizmullen · May 2014

The nurses when I delivered kept calling it a temporary fix. The pediatrician AND LC said use whatever works. No judgement here, I'm using it as long as I have to!

RachelCA29 · May 2014

I'm currently using one and I plan to keep using it as long as I need to. LO started feeding from a bottle in the NICU, so he has no concept of latching to flesh. With the nipple shield he latches and he actually gets a lot, and just today (4 days PP) my milk is starting to come in, and at the rate the LC said it would.

She warned me the nipple shield might lower my supply, but I figure if I pump a couple of times a day (I got 10 ml from one 10 minute session this morning) I can top up with that if the nipple shield is really affect how much LO is getting.

I'm going back to see the LC on Monday, so hopefully she might be able to gauge my supply with the shield and pumping better to know if we need to so anything else.

krissy3435 · May 2014

I used it with my first one and then basically exclusively pumped around 3 months. DD wasn't a good eater. It was such a hassle to always have the shield around that with my second I tried hard to not use it. No inverted issues though so a little different, but DD didn't latch well. DS was much better and we never used it. It's a great invention and your nipples don't hurt at first like regular bf'ing but I found it to actually be huge burden I didn't care to repeat if I could help it.

usernewname · May 2014

A fellow flat nipple BFer i can say it was crazy painful at first and hard to get him to latch. Now it's relatively painless and my nipples have been drawn out. They rub against my shirt but I can feed now with no problem. I didn't use a shield or pump. Just let DS draw them out.

Hang in there! It gets better!

eghulse · May 2014

I used it till I switched my ds to formula at 4 months, and plan to use it as long as I need to. A friend of mine was still using it at a year. I say let her wean herself from it

MinaE01 · May 2014

I used it with DS almost the entire time I nursed/pumped (4 months). I'm using it now and will continue to as long as necessary. Do what works and don't stress yourself out! Every so often see if LO will latch without the shield, and if not, put it on, no biggie!

Meg&Austin · May 2014

My daughter is now 4 weeks and we just weaned off ours. Def dont try if baby is stressed. I got her off it by starting with shield and removing after about 5 minutes when my nipple is drawn out.Always try without if baby is not starving/stressed out. Now we have been two full days without.

I was really stressing about ditching the shield. Just remember anything is better than nothing and you are doing the best you can to give your baby the best you can! Stay strong and just keep trying it will come!

whitneyshay · May 2014

Thanks for all the advice and support! We aren't having any issues so I will continue to use it and in time try to get her off when she's ready!! You all made me feel reassured! Thanks!

bookishnerd · May 2014

whitneyshay said:

@RugbyMamma‌ yes, that's what I've been trying to do at each feeding session but she gets all worked up until I put the shield back on!

Mine is the same way. I would really like to stop using the shield, it's such a pain in the butt and doesn't stay on well, but there's not really a point during a feeding where she's calm enough to try to get her to latch without it. We'll see at her next weight check if it's all worth it, but right now my whole bf experience has been 90% frustration.

iqwedding3 · May 2014

I have the same problem, I'd like to wean off the shield. I talked to a LC, she said that you want to get LO good at sucking, and that it may take a while (at least a month) before she's ready. This especially counts for me as my LO is 3 weeks preemie.

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