anyone used an avent niplette?

[frazzledfairy]

a friend gave me one to try and within a couple of days it had stopped working, i just assumed it had reached the end of it's life and sent dh off to boots to buy another yesterday.

anyway now one of those isn't working (ie no suction) what am i doing wrong?!

it is becoming known in our house as the 'niplette of doom'

maybe i should just accept i'm not cut out for this breastfeeding malarky

[frazzledfairy]

oh by the way it was working yesterday.

and don't know if it's relevent but am pregnant

[Amberjee]

hi frazzled, why do you need the niplette?

[Scree]

I've been through a few, this shouldn;t happen. The suction should be very strong. Get your money back and keep trying, it's brilliant!

[frazzledfairy]

helloo! i'm using because i didn't manage to feed either ds1 or 2 and (in hindsight) wondered if it was because i have small ish nipples?!

anyway am now pg with no3 and would like to give bf my best shot especially as this is going to be my last (planned) baby.

when it works the suction is strong but sometimes there is no suction at all.

did you use it to help with bf scree? and when you say you've been through a few does that mean they stopped working after a while?

[Amberjee]

frazzled, if you can find a breastfeeding support group in your area, it might be worth going along to chat to a breastfeeding counsellor. could be any number of reasons that you had breastfeeding problems with first 2. BREASTfeed, not NIPPLEfeed. As long as baby can take a good portion of the breast into his mouth (baby's mouth and gums should bypass the nipple entirely and latch on to the areola), most types of flat or inverted nipples will not cause problems with breastfeeding. Some types of nipples are more difficult for baby to latch on to at first, but in most cases, careful attention to latch and positioning, along with a little patience, will ensure that baby and mother get off to a good start with breastfeeding. If you can get help in the early days with position and latch, you might not need to use the niplette at all. In fact, when the baby is latched on properly s/he will probably be able to draw the nipple out even if flat or inverted.
i really hope all goes well. breasstfeeding can take a bit of perseverance at first, but once you get going it is so wonderful. please don't be afraid to get help though to establish breastfeeding as early as possible.

[Amberjee]

oops, should say 'babies BREASTfeed, not NIPPLEfeed'

[frazzledfairy]

hi

beleive me there was more than a little patience involved with trying to feed ds 1 and 2! and millions of breastfeeding counsellors

apparently there were no probs with my positioning etc loads of milk, basically nothing they could pinpoint as a problem and therefore 'solve' iyswim. no-one mentioned the small flat nipple thing (!) but common sense tells me that it can't help.

i think mentally i need to know i've done everything i can do to assist bf, don't want to be looking back and thinking what if.

has anyone else used a niplette or similar? would really appreciate some advice

[Amberjee]

didn't mean to insinuate you hadn't done everything you could .

jsut wanted to make sure you had the right help, sometimes it can make all the difference.
hope someone has some expereince of the niplette. xx

[frazzledfairy]

i didn't read it like that at all!

it just made me laugh cos trying to bf has been the biggest ever test of my patience

[Amberjee]

was the biggest test of mine as well at the outset. sometimes it still is with a 6 month old who won't stay still for 30 seconds!
i hope it works out for you this time.if its any help, i feel like it took about 8 weeks to really feel like breastfeeding was no longer a struggle. was a long 8 weeks.

if you feel you have flatish nipples another suggestion i heard was to put ice on them before a feed to draw them out.

xx

[deaconblue]

I used it from being about 5 months to 8 months pregnant, every day for about 20 mins. Made a big difference to my nipples and I was able to successfully breast feed for six months (chose to stop then). I found I had to put a little bit of moisturiser around the suction cup bit and that helped them to stick. LOL at the advertising which claims they are discrete and can be worn all day tho. BIt like sticking a couple of froot shoot lids up your jumper imo

[deaconblue]

Thinking about it, I also found using an electric pump for about a minute before feeding him helped in the first week when he struggled to latch on, kind of draws the nipple out

[frazzledfairy]

i tried the breast pump thing with ds2 but didn't work although i suspect the whole thing was so fraught by then we were beyond help!

umm yes not discreet at all, i answered the door to the postman in mine (was wearing a jumper too thankfully)

i thought you were supposed to wear it as much as possible? i have been wearing it during the day when ds2 sleeps and also all night (ie 8pm untill 7am) perhaps thats excessive? i can't wear it when he's awake because i still have to lug him round loads (he's only 10 months) and if he knocks it it bloody hurts!

[deaconblue]

You are devoted. I found if I moved it fell off so used to sit still and watch tv with it on. I think you'll find you have more success having used it, good luck