Has any one else had to use a nipple shield for breast feeding before?

Question

I just had a little boy on the 9th and the only way he will breast feed is with the nipple shield and i dont know if i will ever be able to breast feed him normal!Please help!

Answer 1

My wife used one for our first child and did not like it. It eventually led to us just straight bottle feeding. My 8 month old daughter never used it and took to my wife easily. My wife believes the shield really affected my son and made it difficult for him to learn on his own.

Answer 2

Yes, I used one also and you will be OK with patience and time. You will need to be careful about using the shield for an extended period because of what others have said...decreased milk supply and something else too... breast infections (mastitis) due to the baby not emptying all of the ducts efficiently with the shield. This is what happened to me. But, hang in there! It will get much easier. It might take about 6-8 weeks until you will really feel comfortable with breastfeeding & you will be so proud of yourself for continuing! It's the best nutrition for your baby!

At each feeding, start with the shield and then remove it after the baby starts suckling and your milk is letting down. Be patient with this, because it can be very frustrating. For me, there were a lot of tears & I never thought it would work, but my baby eventually got the hang of it & I've been breastfeeding for 6 months now.

I would also suggest calling a lactation consultant to see if they can help you with the latch. Many insurance companies will cover one visit (mine did--Blue Cross) to your home from a lactation consultant. My insurance company actually covered 2 visits, which I did not think was possible until I called them again & requested another visit. I found this to be so helpful! The lactation consultants are very understanding and will give you a lot of encouragement in those first stressful weeks.

Good luck and congrats on your baby!

Answer 3

Hey congratulations! on having your precious little baby boy and also on making the decision to breastfeed.

My first would not feed without a shield and it took 10wks before he did. It's ok to use one as long as you bear in mind that it may affect your supply because you baby is not directly on your skin (there are different shield designs which may help with this). I found that I did not have any problem with supply due to using a shield.

Also, bear in mind that it is a temporary measure and that your son will eventually feed straight off you. The shield is just helping him while he is still so small and just learning what to do. Keep offering your breast without the shield first and one day he may just get on and feed.

I suppose it depends on why you're using it in the first place. You're doing great and keep going! What a wonderful start to life your boy is having. And when you make it to 6mths you will be so proud of yourself for providing everything your baby needs.

When my baby finally got off the shield, I had very sore nipples because I was not used to him feeding off me and I needed to adjust his attachment. We then went on to feed for 2yrs.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Yes, I did. Don't think of it as it being "abnormal". And see, I didn't get to breastfeed my baby at first because I she was a preemie so I had to pump milk, so I didn't know that I needed one until she got out of the hospital. But I'm not gonna lie, it was an inconvenience, but if that's the way she had to eat, then I would do it. But if you don't want to put him on the breast but still want to give him the milk, just pump the breast milk out and feed him to the bottle if you feel it's too difficult to do. However he gets the breastmilk is the bottom line at the end of the day.

Answer 5

Don't worry. You'll be okay :)
I used one with my first 2 kids. All I would do was once a feeding began, I would quickly try and slip the nipple sheild off and re-latch my baby on my breast. Because the sheild would help to draw out my small nipples, it made it easier then when I would try and latch them right from the start.
This may take a week or so of trying at every other feed, but your baby will "get-it". Right now he is just used to a firmer nipple, but he will learn to nurse effectively, with "your" patience of course.

**Beware that the barrier on your nipple from the sheild can reduce stimulation and eventually lead to a lessened milk supply.....you'll want to make every attempt to rid yourselves of this device. To kerep up your supply, nurse your baby on demand, as often as he wants to. I would suggest this system regardless...it's a fool-proff way to ensure your baby receives enough milk. Heck, it's not like we can *see* what they get at each feed, so we have to trust them to tell us.

Answer 6

I'm still using one for my four month old son. I use it because I have flat nipples and he can't latch on. Normal is over rated. What is normal anyways. As long as he's getting breast-milk your doing a good job.

Answer 7

Yes I did and it didn't work. Your only supposed to have them suck for like 5 minutes so your nipple can be pulled out then get him to try and latch. Your not supposed to use them for long periods of time. If it doesn't end up working out try just pumping and make sure to rent a hospital grade pump.......

Answer 8

I have the shields for other reasons but they don't work and they are uncomfortable I hope when my son is born that I will be able to nurse him with the problem I have.

Answer 9

As someone who used a nipple guard, i might want to caution against making use of one for discomfort. the ingredient is, once your toddler receives used to the guard it might want to be frustrating to get him to latch on without it. it may decrease decrease back on nipple stimulation and for this reason harm your provide if used too lengthy. in the precise, my nipple guard ended up causing more desirable affliction than it prevented (in the type of my daughter and that i both bawling even as she couldn't/does no longer latch on). I actual do no longer recognize what the issue is, yet no matter if it really is that painful i might want to pass to a distinct LC or l. a. Leche League chief and get her to guage your latch very, very heavily. something only isn't top. I had nipple discomfort in the course of feedings for a lot longer than familiar to boot, yet mine ultimately went away and we loved a lengthy and constructive breastfeeding relationship. the in elementary words reason my LC replaced into in a position to imagine of for my discomfort replaced into that the toddler had a severe arch. no longer a lot i might want to do about that--we mounted the latch as proper shall we, enable my nipples air dry (even as i could not I used Medela breast shells in my bra), and used lanolin. in case you may not use lanolin there are another creams obtainable (like the only in the resources) and that i imagine lots of them might want to be left on even as toddler nurses. wish you experience more desirable sensible quickly!

Answer 10

then he proably will be better off with the bottle, jsut express your milk, i usd the shield and my son loved it too, but its not good for your abailty to produce milk, you need stimulation. i hope everything works out for you, congrats adn just remember that you are mom adn if you dont want to use the shield then dont, he will eventually get used to not having it.