G is 2 days old and poor guy is trying hard to latch on, but my soft flat nipples are giving him a hard time! Have any of you experienced this? I would be grateful for any help!
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Not sure but you might have to use a shield but maybe you could contact a lactation counselor for some help
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Use breast shells! Philips avent makes a great one. Much better than getting addicted to shields.
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Try to see a lactation nurse/consultant ... They can fit you with a nipple shield which could help a lot
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I had them and used breast shells like @Mrs. Bee: said. It took a few weeks to "draw out my nipples", but they did help. Pumping can also help.
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Nipple shields work for my flat nipples. I have the breast shells too but don't like them. Dd is 5 weeks and my nipples are much more drawn out than before but still not all the way
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I don't have flat nipples, but I agree with @Mrs. Bee breast shells (not shields) are awesome. They were made for flat/inverted nipples but they were just generally awesome for the early breast feeding days. They helped my LO latch when I was engorged and helped my nipples air out and feel more comfortable between feedings. If I tried to go without them in the early weeks my nipples would get really sore. I wish hospitals/lactation consultants handed them out rather than soothies...they were so much better for me!
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I have soft, flat nipples as well and in the first few weeks wore these Medela nipple formers. You just position them over your nipple and tug everthing into your nursing bra. Worked REALLY well for us and spared us from having to use a nipple shield.
http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/592/softshells
The ones with the smaller inner circle.
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I had a little trouble with soft, flat nipples at times and I didn't use a shell or anything like that, I just played with them a bit until they were more erect so she could get a good latch.
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There is also this latch assist thing by Lansinoh. I used it and one thing that's good is that it also kind of draws the milk out a little to entice the baby to suck.
I wish I would have found it sooner-- next time I'm taking it to the hospital.
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The nurses popped a nipple shield on me. He still wouldn't latch well. So we dropped a little sugar water on the shield to get him started. I didn't want to use any of these things but after 2 days straight of crying and frustration I gave in and figured it out and we actually got it working. It was a relief! We're still using the shield but we ditched the sugar water really quick after he learned that there was milk to be had!
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My mw helped me with technique. In addition to playing with them to get them erect, when LO opened his mouth to latch I would also help him by pushing my boob into his mouth and put pressure down on his bottom lip with my boob to make sure that his mouth got around the nipple. It also helped to hold my boob like a hamburger (like squish it flatter) to help LO get his mouth around it. I don't know if my description makes sense but I hope helps. I dont know if I could have done it without support from my mw.
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I used to pull on the nipple to make it stand up. I sometimes still do that when I am getting ready to pump.
@rrachael: Just wanted to say that I love your name! My sister spells hers the same way.
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We used nipple shields the first 2 months or less. Weaning from them wasn't stessful for us at all and it is absolutely why led
To our successful nursing relationship! -
I nursed for 18 months and used the shield starting the end of day 1 . . . I didn't find it troublesome so I never tried to wean off. and though they say it can, I certainly did not get supply problems from it. I always had way more milk than needed.
it was a huge lifesaver in the beginning! if it helps I wouldn't feel bad about it. ask a lactation consultant for help at first and they can also help you wean off it when you want to try.
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We use a shield, too: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2901997&cp=2255982.2256161.16917356&parentPage=family
It is the only way that she will latch! At first, we had to do some suck training with my finget and an eye dropper full of formula or colostrum, but after a few days she got the hang of the shield. It works beautifully now!
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We also had to use a shield. Little man weaned himself off of it right around 2 months.
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16 comments