Nipple shields

I have been using nipple shields since baby was born because it was very hard to get him to feed in the hospital, he was a forceps baby and came out extremely battered and bruised and in pain and didn't really know how to suck we had to teach him that too. The only way to get him consistently feeding at the time was with a nipple shield.

We are still using them and it's going ok but still stressful at times because he has a very small mouth and finds it hard to latch on tight enough, often just getting the shield not the nipple and we have to try again. But he is gaining weight well and well fed for sure once we get that latch going. But sometimes he fights me and pulls off or grabs the shield and pulls it off (I know, he's only 2 weeks old lol but he does that)

Anyway, I find the shields time consuming and frustrating but Im so not confident at all with feeding yet so Im not sure Im ready to give them up.

So my question is when should I be thinking of weaning him off them? I want to as I feel I can't feed in public confidently with them. I have tried a few times to get him to latch naturally, but aside from his small mouth I also have small nipples which makes it REALLY hard. Breastfeeding is at times very stressful so Im worried adding weaning him off the shields into the mix will tip me over the edge a bit.

Anyone know why he might be fighting me on it? Getting him latched on is such a big deal sometimes we have to have a few goes before he can get it tight enough.

Thanks for your help

I used nipple shields with Chloe too (for about eight weeks!) because my nipples were cracked and bleeding. The shields seemed to help her open her mouth more and get a better latch. Eventually when she got older, her mouth got bigger, she got better at latching, and I was able to wean her off them.

My midwife told me not to stress about weaning baby off them. She said as long as she's feeding well and gaining weight there's no real issue (other than how annoying it is!). I think the other problem is that the baby might not accept the nipple when you try to wean. Chloe didn't at first, but I just kept offering it to her when she was in a good mood. Like what nicandtyler said, start off with the shield, then quickly slip it out and put baby back on. When they're really worked up it just doesn't work.

Are you using the small sized shields? My favourite brand was Medela, and they have a small size that may be easier for your baby to take into his mouth?

I ended up having three shields. I kept them in a little waterproof container full of milton-sterilised water, and I'd wash them and put them back in there when done. And then I'd have a clean one to use. That container went everywhere with me!

I know a lot of what you read on the internet is very negative towards nipple shields, as it has the potential to cause nipple confusion. BUT, you are already using them. I say, do whatever works for you and baby! Like I said, Chloe fed through shields for about eight weeks and she now feeds great without them.

Feeding is SO HARD at the beginning (it gets better, really!), you might as well try and get the hang of it before you wean baby off the shields. In my experience, once baby is a bit more efficient at latching and feeding, it might be easier to wean him off them.

I know though, they're such a pain, but whatever works!

I used nipple sheilds for the entire time I BF - 6.5 months! Gabrielle was prem and had major issues latching, was a crap slow feeder with a weak suck and then refused point blank to accept the nipple without a sheild despite me trying from week 3 for about 4 weeks. Plus I have flat nipples which didn't help. She still gained weight (plenty of it - by 6 months she looked like a average 6 month old despite being 6 weeks early) and feed fine with them so I decided it wasn't worth the battle to get rid of them. In the end it was a choice between continuing to feed using the sheilds or having to give up BF.

I totally agree it is a pain in the arse with the whole feeding in public thing but it can be done. I did what MissShell did, had several sheilds and kept them in containers of sterilisation solution and carried them everywhere with me.

I am not sure why latching could be a problem but I did have this issue with Gabrielle too, particulary when she was under 3 months. Sometimes it could take me 10 minutes to latch her properly by which time she would be screaming with hunger. For some reason at about 3 months the whole feeding thing just clicked with her (or maybe I got better at it, I'm not sure) and we didn't have too much trouble from then on. Sorry, I know thats not very helpful.

I don't think there is a right time that you have to get rid of them, just whenever you feel like it. I was pretty ok with just staying on them long-term, because they made breastfeeding SO much easier (DS kept slipping off, and his bad latch led to major cracks) but I did make the shift at about 6 - 8 weeks.

It took us two tries to get off them properly, the first time his latch was still bad and led to so much pain I went back on them. The second time I was really vigilant at correcting his latch, and it's worked perfectly.

So I would say don't stress about them, theres no right time, but when you are ready get some help. I had the LC at the plunket Family Centre helping me right through it, which was really helpful.

It definitely makes nursing in public easier!