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Breast shields

So Im a new mom my baby girls was not one week ago. When I was in the hospital and trying to breast feed I found out that I had flat nipples. The lactation nurse game me a nipple shield and this allowed baby to feed. She said that my nipples would stretch out, which one side has, and then I could switch baby to just the breast. Well that is not happening... She will not even try to latch on with out the shield. Any advise on how to ween baby off the shield? I also still need it for one breast so am I fighting a loosing battle? Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by NewmomK on June 16, 2012 at 2:32pm

Born one week ago... Sorry

Permalink Reply by mama0313 on June 16, 2012 at 11:06pm

i would personally just wait then until you don't need it at all otherwise i'd think you'd have more problems. that is what i'd do. i never did use a sheild though. i thought about it because i was pretty flat nippled too from being so engorged that first week or two. so it does get better. one of mine never did get as tall as the other. do whatever is going to get you there to the point where your goal is though. if that means you use sheilds for a year so be it if that's what is makes it easist for you. there is no right or wrong way to nurse. i always caught grief bc i would nurse laying down on the bed topless. that's what worked best for me and lo though. she just self weined at 15 months,. so obviously it worked for us. the lactasion consulant told me that if you have to use shields oakay but she didn't advise it that is unless that's is the only way we could nurse and to use it for as short of a time as possible. i would advise though that if you keep using the shield make sure to keep plenty on hand. i hear it really sucks if you need to nurse at 2am and you can't find/lost your shield. g luck to you whatever you decide. just keep up at it bc trust me it may not seem easy now but it will become just like breathing later.

Permalink Reply by samanths hines on June 19, 2012 at 7:46pm

my daughter used it for 3 monthds than i got her off the breast shield and sucessfully breastfed with out we just tried once ot twice a day to latch without it tell she got the hang of it

Permalink Reply by mom2 on June 22, 2012 at 12:39am

It took us six weeks for her to latch!!! I was literally leaning over to get the shield and she decided to latch on her own. Be patient, it can take a while, but after she did finally latch, I didn't need them ever again! ;)

Permalink Reply by rainbowbrite on June 22, 2012 at 1:15pm

My daughter is 6 months and is still using it, just not nearly as much. For the past 2-3 months, she's been eating without it, then she gets mad and I put it back on. I mostly use if at night cuz its easier for laying down. But there have been times where I'm I'm the process of getting it and she just latches on lol. Just wait, it will get easier. I tries many times to wean my daughter off it when she was smaller, but she refused to eat without it, she just wasn't ready to give it up, so I stopped trying. Just recently started trying to wean her off and its going a lot smoother.

And yes, make sure you have more than one lol. It's such a pain to make sure you don't lose it and you have to wash it. And if you are going out, to make sure its in the diaper bag. I forgot it one time, luckily she didn't get hungry while we were out, but it wasn't fun.

Permalink Reply by salvi*suzy on June 26, 2012 at 3:06am

i would wait a little longer. Im a first time mom too, and i also had flat nipples. breastfed my baby girl for a week with pain, peeling, cracked and bleeding nipples, and then tried a nipple shield, which helped A LOT! i used it for about a month and while at the mall one time i forgot to bring it with me and when it was time to feed her i braced myself for the pain but there was none and she latched on without a problem. i tried 3 more times that day and although i was tender, it was tolerable and my nipples were out the whole time. it took a couple of weeks but my nipples stopped being so sensitive and got used to a direct latch. my little one switched without a problem and didnt even notice a difference, shes just happy that milk is coming out. now shes 3 months old and breastfeeding like a champ and i can pull my nipples out pretty damn far now lol. dont give up, wait till shes about a month old cus she should have the hang of feeding by then and try it one feeding at a time, adding another feeding every couple of days until shes latching directly 100% of the time. just watch out for choking on milk when switching cus a nipple shield controls your flow and when they go direct it comes out faster than theyre used to.

Permalink Reply by mama0313 on June 26, 2012 at 2:59pm

i was also going to tell yal about the Lansinoh - LatchAssist Breastfeeding Aide. it helped my flat nipples draw out to were she really could latch easier. i decided to try it before the shields to see if it would work and it did, like a charm. it's easy to use, fast, and not painful at all. it kinda like gets a good latch already set up for baby with the nipple shape. really helped me when i was engorged.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lansinoh-LatchAssist-Breastfeeding-Aide/1...

Permalink Reply by HannaBella"s mommy on July 7, 2012 at 11:23am

I had to use nipple shields for the first 8 weeks. After baby gained weight and got the hang of using the shields I would let her nurse for a few min with shield then take it off to latch with nipple. The first 4 weeks she couldn't get it but I would always try at first then put on the shield when you switch to the other breast try without shield first if baby starts fussing or isn't latching put on the shield. It's going to take awhile but one day you will go to nurse and baby will latch naturally. Just make sure you are calm. Baby will sense frustration. It's a much of a learning process for you as it is for baby. My daughter had a problem it my set breast up until 3 months I would have to slightly lift my left leg while using the boppy so she could latch properly. What greatly helped me as well was feeding in bed laying down. For some reason my daughter had an easier time latching while lying down. Jus don't give up, try did positions until yo find what works and again switch from shield then nipple and soon enough you will be nursing naturally an will baby even remember the shield! Also very important to no give baby any pacifiers or bottles since breastfeeding is not yet established using these things can confuse baby and bottles/pacifier use is a different the of sucking so it will do nothin to help what your trying to accomplish. Good luck?

Permalink Reply by skylark97 on July 7, 2012 at 9:02pm

I used a nipple shield until my LO was 4 months. Mostly, it's a personal thing. If she's getting enough to eat and you don't mind the extra couple of minutes it takes to wash the shield (I had four or five of them lying around the house in case I lost one or needed a clean one asap), then there really is no harm in using it until she's ready to wean herself off of it. I thought for sure that mine was going to use it forever and then it was like magic. Around month 4 she got frustrated one day waiting for me to get the shield on and just latched herself right on and we've been shield free ever since.

My advice is to not sweat it. There are plenty of other things about mommyhood that are going to freak you out. This really shouldn't be one of them. As long as she's fed, what's the harm? And you'll know she's getting enough based on how many wet diapers she gives you. There are people who say that your supply will go down with a shield, but I never experienced that. I will say though, that with a shield, it did take my baby twice as long to feed. She'd go fifteen to twenty minutes whereas a no shield baby would do it in five or ten. So, you know, you have to have some patience there.

But ultimately, a healthy baby is what you want, and if a shield is what it takes to breast feed, then, imho, it's a small tiny price to pay.