Anyone using/used nipple shields??

[keelie_b]

i started using them when Dylan was 5 days old as feeding got too painfull and wasnt sure i could continue otherwise. after that he never took to the bare nipple again and gets really stressed so i just stuck with the shields as i was desperate to breast feed. will i cause any problems still using them constantly? i know he needs winding more. i'd really like to get rid to be honest because its more sterilising, hassle positioning them and if ever i lost them or went out without i'd have BIG problems! any advice??

thanks xx

 

[Laur_250]

I used them as LO had to be bottle fed as he wouldn't latch so we had to bottle feed until my milk came in, then we bottle fed EBM until someone suggested shields as they resemble the bottle teat. So i then started using them for a couple weeks but still persevering trying to get him on the nipple until at 6 weeks he suddenly took to nipple without and from 6 weeks old has been breastfed without So just keep trying, a big tip to get him on nipple is to wait until you have milk literally coming out so when you put his mouth to it he tastes it straight away as then he will suck straight away rather than if he has to work for it, thats what finally got my LO to realise what to do after hundreds of times where he'd just scream and refuse nipple.

There is absolutely no reason why you cant breastfeed using shields long term if LO wont take nipple, i know a few people here are/have. Its a myth that it cant work so dont worry about that.

Good luck xx

 

[sunnyday]

I used them for 13 weeks and they were a godsend. The HV kept saying I should stop using them as its believed that the baby can't get as much milk. I never had any problems with LO not getting enough and for me it meant I could breastfeed...without them I wouldn't have been able to. I did try and get LO to latch without them but he just used to slip off!

If you're happy to use them then do so - its worth stocking up on a few sets though to minimise the sterilising.

 

[keelie_b]

thanks for the replies both. il keep trying to latch him on to the nipple then. but at least i know it wont do any harm if i have to continue using them.

big tip to get him on nipple is to wait until you have milk literally coming out so when you put his mouth to it he tastes it straight away as then he will suck straight away rather than if he has to work for it,

great advice thanks. il try that at night when my boobs are close to exploding

 

[charlotte_]

i used nipple shields in the hospital, and have had to ever since. it annoys me a bit, they're such a pain, sterilising them, harder to feed in public etc. but at least he's still getting breast milk! he really won't take to my boob without them, i've tried everything, when he's full, when he's hungry, when i have milk leaking out (like said above) but he just won't latch on. i think it might be because nipple shields are easier, like a bottle, they don't have to put any effort into it, and now i've got a lazy baby!

 

[Mildly]

I have used nipple shields since birth or thereabouts. Occasionally he will latch on without a shield providing I whip the shield out during a pause in his feeding towards the end. His tongue tie makes it difficult for him to stayed latched on just the nipple though so I haven't managed to ween him off it completely and probably never will.

I have a cold sterilising unit on the go (water and milton changed every 24 hours) in the kitchen and and I use a small flask like container filled with sterilizing solution to carry the nipple shields with me all day. If we go out all I have to do is put the flask in the changing bag when we go out and then the shields are clean to use for multiple shields. i know it seems a hassle at first but it soon becomes second nature.

If you do try to get him off the shields be really careful about his latch as it is easier to get away with a bad latch whilst using them.