nipple shields

[Milk_Monkey]

My bub is about 5 weeks old. he had a lot of troubles latching on to begin with so we began using a nipple sheild which worked wonders. I'm wanting to stop using it, but whenever i try, he wont take the nipple. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Bearskin]

Hi Leigh,

I used a nipple shield for the first 6 weeks with DD; I had damaged my nipples by not correcting poor attachment and they helped a lot.

I decided to wean DD from them as I had read they can affect supply (although not in my case, I think!) and how I did it was:

- Put shield on and let bub feed until the let down happens then gently remove bub from breast and slip shield off and reattach bubs. It gets a bit messy with milk going everywhere but bub had no choice but to latch on and drink! I tried this a lot with DD when she was nice and sleepy and it seemed to work wonders.

- Or you could hand express until your let down comes, then attach bubs and see how it goes? Its hard if bubs is used to the shield; might be easier to slowly remove it from feeding.

Don't expect it to work overnight; it took about a two weeks to fully remove the shield from feeding.

Even now when DD is distracted, she will bob on and off the breast but as soon as the let down happens (and for me this can take a while) she latches on and stays on!

HTH

[xkwzit]

I had to wean DD1 off nipple sheilds too. We had a light bulb moment when she had refused and I expressed off a bit of milk directly into her mouth. It was amazing - you could almost see the thought "oh, milk comes from here too?". Just persist and eventually he will work it out. A LC might be able to give you some advice too.

Cheers

[zenifa]

A LC might be able to give you some advice too.

Cheers

In those first few weeks of bf, I also had some attachment issues, sore cracked nipples and even gave DD EBM to give myself some relief. I also used nipple shields which seemed to work.

My advice is to get a good LC (lactaction consultant), its worth the money. I was lucky I got a good recommendation (from some BH mums), she was able to come within half an hour of my call and within the hour, we had practiced good attachment and never looked back (my DD is just over 12mths and I still bf). My LC also recommended the right nipple teat for dummy/bottles but was very anti-nipple shields and told me I didn't need to use them (for eg, I didn't have inverted nipples). Good luck

[squishysmum]

A LC suggested to me to gradually cut the top of the nipple shield until there is none left. That way the change is gradual. The only thing she said to be careful about is making sure there are NO SHARP EDGES once you have cut it (otherwise I suppose it would cut bub's tongue:no:). I haven't tried it myself so can't comment on how it works. Good luck.

[JE's Mum]

Don't stress too much about it. We used a nipple shield for 5 1/2 months because we had attachment problems initially. I used to try feeding without them but he was never able to get the hang of it until he was that bit older and his mouth was bigger. I used to express a bit after feeds here and there to keep up my supply but the jury is out on whether that is necessary. Some lactation consultants I went to recommended expressing 2 or 3 times a day while others didn't see the need given that these days nipple shields are thin silicone, where as they used to be thicker rubber. There is a lot more stimulation to the breast with the modern shields.

The main advice I was given about weaning of the shield was to offer the breast without the shield once a day or so for a few days. If there is no interest, give it a way for another few weeks and don't stress about it. Some lactation consultants talk about snipping the end of the shield but others since told me that this method was better with the old rubbery shields. It doesn't really work with the new silicone shields as their edges are quite sharp when snipped (regardless of how you snip them). My DS was really upset when I did this so all it resulted in was a wasted shield that I had to throw in the bin!

We fed with a shield for 5 1/5 months and then without it until he was 15 months. At 5 months I tried offering him the breast without it again and he just latched on a bit here and there and then all the time.

In the meantime, I was told the best shields to use were those with a large nipple to make sure as much breast is sucked into the shield as possible to aid stimulation. I used the Medela contact shields which were very good.

Anyway, don't stress to much. They seem to get the hang of it in their own time and if they don't, the shields work well anyway!

All the best :hugs:

[Milk_Monkey]

Thank you all so much for your advice and for sharing your experiences! Its very reassuring to hear that breastfeeding after nipple sheilds is possible.

I've been trying without the sheild and he'll take it for a couple of minutes as long as he isnt really really hungry, so there is some success :)

Thanks again!

[Angelmist♥]

I've been trying without the sheild and he'll take it for a couple of minutes as long as he isnt really really hungry, so there is some success :)

:yelclap: That's excellent! Just keep trying to feed without them and :fingerscrossed: he'll get the idea soon!If he's getting distressed though don't worry too much about weaning.Try again when he's relaxed.:thumbsup: sounds to me like your doing a great job!

[mummy2sophie]

I read on the Medela website (forgotten how I found it) that the baby will decide when it doesn't need the shield anymore. WHen I read this I thought it was rubbish but the VERY NEXT feed I had DD on my lap and I was trying to put on the shield and she was so hungry she was just going for it. So I let her go without it! She wanted the shield a couple of times after that (on left booby - her least favourite) but now, after 5 months, we are nipple shield free! :yelclap:

I would just try feeding her without it a few times a week and let her decide when she doesn't need it anymore. This worked so great for me.

The jury is still out on whether shields decrease supply. The studies done have been insignificant and have generally been on the older, thicker shields. Not many people discuss the study on premmie babies where nipple shields actually increased supply for most mums!

Personally, my supply seemed to vary and go up then empty all in one week whilst on the shield and now I'm off it that does seem to have improved a bit.