Hellobee Boards

I've been using one for ten weeks and I'll occasionally try to feed with out, but it just doesn't work for us. I'm not stressing about it, as baby is growing well and nursing is stress free. I did a lot of research and there are many women that have used them for a year or more w/o a problem. Why are you sensitive about it? If it helps you reach your goal of one year, and baby is doing well, who the heck cares? that's my take, anyway....

Do NOT panic! We used a nipple shield for almost 4 months. I started using one initially because of really, really bad nipple damage from an aggressive latch. My daughter wouldn't even consider eating without one once we started using it. I know, firsthand, the anxiety you're feeling. I slowly started to wean my daughter around 4 months and the trick for us was to try without it about every other feeding and never try going without it when she was too tired or too hungry because then she just got pissed. I typically tried to get her to latch 4 or 5 times and then would get out the shield. Eventually, she didn't need it at all. She's 6 months now and nurses like a champ.

Hang in there mama! Using a shield is NOT a bad thing. You're still breastfeeding your sweet baby. If you need it, you need it.

Just to clarify, our LC was very supportive either way. It was my choice to want to wean him off of it just because it was more of a hassle for me and we had a more awkward time nursing with it. He would pull off a lot and pull the shield off with his mouth making milk go everywhere and such. If it wouldn't have worked I would have just kept using the shield but it was starting to make nursing a little more stressful for me and then in turn for him too. I do agree to do whatever works for you and your LO!

Don't worry! We have been using a nipple shield from the day my DD was born (flat/ inverted nipples) and i also have a really fast letdown. She is a little over five months and BFing is going strong. I see no reason we will have to stop before my goal of at least a year. In a perfect world would I want to use one? No way but my daughter is healthy and growing and I'm able to BF her when otherwise I might not have. Occasionally I try to feed her without it but she looks at it now like it is some foreign thing and will not latch unless it is on.

I think the times I feel the most down to be honest is when I look at other mothers who nurse easily without it. I had to come to terms with the fact that for some people BFing is easy and I am not one of those people. We had to work really hard to get the BFing routine/ relationship we have now. I will never be that mother who comfortably, easily and naturally feeds her baby on the go. But I try to remind myself that nipple shied or not I love the cuddly nursing times and if using the shied is what I have to do then I'm ok with it.

Good luck with whatever works best for you!

I didn't wean LO off it until she was three months old.
I just kept trying and trying, and one day she just got it!

I've succumbed to the shield.

He started on it because my nipples are inverted and he couldn't latch on. The LCs and nurses kinda gave me grief about it so I tried to wean him right away. He got off it on the left side completely, and on the right side he went a whole day with no shield. Unfortunately I got thrush that day too, and it was excruciatingly painful to nurse. So back we went. Now I have over active let down on the left, previously good, side. So I am just gonna use it. Oh well.

It's a pain to keep track of and keep it clean, but what else can I do?

My son had to use one for first two months, but I started offering the nipple without the shield at every session for 4-6 latch tries without and if he got really upset at that point, I'd put it on again. After about 4 days of this routine, he started taking the nipple without the shield more often and then suddenly one day after about 2 weeks of shield weening, he took the nipple without and never turned back. One downside for me at first (and for maybe the next month of nursing without the shield anymore) was that when he first would latch on and before my let-down occurred, those first minutes were very painful. It took that long for the connective tissue *behind* the nipple to stretch out enough to not be painful anymore.

One thing I learned about the term "flat/inverted nipples" is more of a connective tissue issue than a nipple appearance. My nipples stood out so I didn't think they were flat and certainly not inverted... But since the connective tissue behind the nipple is so tight, if the baby can't draw the amount of aureola into their mouth to get a good latch, then technically you have "flat" nipples. What I found as the only/best way to break that connective tissue down so that the nipple could get into the right position in my baby's mouth was to have him nurse without the shield - the force of his suck eventually loosened the connective tissue enough that it wasn't painful for me anymore. It was hard to stick with it at times due to the initial latch pain! I think I never realized how long it would take to get pain free. Especially since the books tell you, if its painful the latch is incorrect... But that's not always the case... Sometimes the pain is an anatomy issue, not a lazy baby sliding off the nipple! I didn't find this out from any book, but I did read about right connective tissue and pain from AskKelly.com, which has been a great resource for me on so many topics, but especially nursing advice.

Fwiw, once I started talking about my latch issues to other female relatives, I discovered that having tight connective tissue is indeed hereditary, as quitting nursing due to pain went back two generations to my grandma and her sisters (which is when bottles and formula started to be pushed more heavily after WW2). My great aunt even wore a glass (!!) nipple shield to try and nurse her son, but have up after a week and switched to formula. She was so amazed to hear how easy and cheap the silicone ones were now, lol!

Anyway, if you want to get rid of it, just keep trying every day and every nurse session if you can wait it out. I've actually never heard of someone making it to one year with the shield still on, as eventually they either switched to bottles or the baby eventually took the nipple without. Best advice that got me thru it was someone telling me, "when you want to quit, tell yourself one more day". Inevitably, the next day is better and suddenly you find yourself in the place you want to be. Good luck!!

@mama_byrd: Oh my gosh, I had NO idea about the connective tissue thing! DD is completely off the shield but those first few minutes can still be pretty painful. Everything makes sense now, haha!