Help needed pls,,, nipple shields inverted nip reduced feeds and expressing!

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Hi

I'm desperately looking for help. I've got one inverted nipple and one normal.. ds never latched on to the inv. side. a few days after ds was born I developed mastitis in that boob... a lactation consultant gave me nip shields (medela) and told me to use them both sides so I did I was totally elated he latched on both sides DS also had a tongue tie which we got snipped a few days after ? he wouldn?t go back to without nip shields but thdey said not to worry it wouldn?t change overnight. After a week DS was always hungry and his weight didn?t increase, so I called the nct helpline and they told me about reduced feeds with nip shields which I am sure I have, so I started expressing -DS now feeding for about 30 mins each side with nipple shields, then I feed him expressed milk, then I express for the next feed. Its all becoming too much (4 weeks) especially in the night when he wakes twice so I am up for at least 4 hrs each night. I desperately want to b feed but am now hardly getting a chance to bond with my ds let alone leave the house unless I miss out on expressing and feeding myself and just give him a bottle but then I don?t have enough ebm for the next feed and have to use formula also worried about reduced supply now without nip shields as used them for so long.

Any tips for getting off nip shields, on reduced feeds or what to do next?

Thanks ? one very low, confused mummy

Hi, not sure I can be of much help but I have huge sympathy for you. No experience of inverted nipples but my DS was tongue-tied and I used nipple-shields for the first 3 weeks (until it was snipped) to try to cope with the terrible pain (caused by the tongue-tie). I found them fantastic despite all the dire warnings you hear about them

Just to clarify, are you saying your DS won't latch on without the nipple shields?
Are you expressing because you think he's not getting enough milk or to increase your supply? Or both?

You'll find a way through this one way or another - this feeding hell won't go on forever.

Sorry can't really suggest much- hope someone else will pop up soon to help.

Here's some questions though..
Will he latch on to your 'normal' nipple without the shield?

How is his weight now- gaining or static?

Why are you up for 4 hours each night? Are you expressing in the night too? Have you tried co-sleeping?

I have hugely inverted nipples and had to use medela shields so DD could latch at all. I didn't express after feeds nor offer formula and DD has always been a slow and steady weight gainer. It was a long process to get her off the shields, I had to use them until 26 weeks then suddenly she stopped using it on one side and a week or two later stopped on the other. We're still going strong at 36 weeks now. This study into milk transfer via nipple shields helped me stop worrying about DD not getting enough thetruthaboutbreastfeeding.com/2009/12/07/nipple-shields-and-milk-yields-an-update/ as like you, I was worried about that.

It's so hard in those first few weeks but I really found literally taking it feed by feed and if I got through that one then worked towards the next one it seemed a little easier.

Hi Girls

thanks for your replies, sorry my post wasn't clear - was typing one handed holding ds with other arm and shedding a few tears! DS feeds through nipple shields but is not really latching on more sucking on the nipple part of the shield. He gained weight at the end of week 2- but I hadsupplemented with formula as I couldn't keep up with expressing (i'm better at it now but still having times when I express and barely anything comes out - expressing 6 times in day 2 times in night)and I haven't had him weighed since - will get him weighed this wed. I am expressing to make sure he gets enough and to try and get supply up as I was worried that him not taking enough when using shields would result in me not producing enough going forward. Feeds taking at least 2 hours - with DS nursing for an hour then taking bottle then me expressing - often twice a night. Thanks Boogellyboo for that link - its really interesting - DS gets upset during b feeding so I wil still worry he is not getting enough. I might try a couple of days with just shields and see how we get on - I hope eventually he will be able to latch on on his own (without shields) but he normally falls asleep early in feeds.

oh reason I thought he might get reduced feeds with nipple shields is feeds were taking over an hour and a half -

Hi,
This might sound corny, but well done with keeping going with the breastfeeding! It sounds like it is a bit of a marathon at the moment. I can sympathise, I had to express after feeding to increase my milk supply for my ds and both my children took ages to feed as a newborns. Same kind of times you mention. It was very hard at the time so when I eventually got back to just breastfeeding it was a doddle! It sounds like you are doing all you can to maintain your supply. No personal experience of inverted nipple and shields but have found some hopefully useful information on www.kellymom.com on weaning off nipple shields and inverted nipples. Get someone else to read it for you?! Can you get back in touch with the nct or the breastfeeding helpline about this? Good luck!

My own experience of using nipple shields has been that it is a load of rubbish that supply is reduced and feeds take longer. However, it took me spending half a day with BF support nurse to realise this and have confidence that I actually have a great supply, and to spot the signs that DS is full. I do think it's a confidence-in-yourself-and-your-insticts thing.

I found the link to th blog that was posted above really enlightening - all of the negatives about nipple shields is based on old studies from when nipple shields were awful, thick rubber things (my mum used them 30 years ago and said they were made of hot water bottle type rubber material!!). So hard as it is, try to stop doubting yourself and feel happy using the shields for now (and I don't see why you have to use bilaterally if your DC will feed without it on the non-inverted side! Why?! Silly HV!). I would tell myself that there's no pressure to wean off the shield until you're ready.

To answer your question about sucking on the nipple bit but not feeding, is your inverted nipple getting sucked into the nipple bit when your DC stars feeding? Or is that not happening, so nipple bit is 'empty'? That sometimes happens to me when the shield isn't placed right and 'sealed' around. Other thing is that there are 3 sizes of the medela shield (I have found medela the best BTW). Is the shield too big/ too small? Medium is best for me, even though I have big boobs and areolas - size you pick should relate to size of your nipple.

Finally, if you need some help to pull your nipple out, could you use an express machine for a minute before a feed, then put the shield on and latch your DC on?

The expressing after each feed must be exhausting (and taking all your time!!!). The sooner you can stop doing that the better you'll feel. Oh, and by the way, I suddenly stopped being able to express around 6 weeks (was expressing after a feed) and completely panicked. It was only when BF support nurse suggested it was probably because my supply was becoming more regulated (so only enough for a feed was being produced now and not more - my supply settling down) that I calmed down. It was true - if I expressed at feed time - when DS dropped one of his night feeds and I woke up in pools of milk and rock hard boobs - I got so much milk from literally 3 mins of expressing that I completely stopped worrying about supply.

Anyway, rambling a bit now, but really hope that helps. I've had so many tears about BF, horrible painful breasts, nippe shields, etc. over the last few months and now, 9 weeks on, BFing is honestly easy, stress-free and I am (almost) quite enjoying it. NEVER thought I'd say that!!!

one handed typing, sorry for all the typos!

Hi bigbad, sorry to hear you are having difficulties. I am still bfing my dd who is 1 next week, and am still using nipple sheilds!
For no obvious reasons, dd did not latch on til 8 days after birth, and then only with a nipple sheild; was giving expressed milk via syringe til then. Then she lost a lot of birth weight and had to top her up with expressed milk for a couple of weeks til she started gaining weight.
I did not realise how difficult it would be to try to wean off nipple sheilds, and only sought advice at bf cafe at 10 weeks by which point dd did not want to know
For a long while she took over an hour to feed on both sides, dunno if this was down to the nipple sheilds or not.
So I would suggest, if you can get ds off them, I think that would help. As OP stated, kellymom has lots of sensible advice, such as expressing a bit first before trying to latch on, will mean milk comes out a bit easier and also pull inverted niple out more hopefully making latching on easier. Then hopefully once you get latching on sorted, feeding may be quicker and you could stop expressing
HTH

pepperonipizza you are an absolute star! I think i need more confidence in my ability to bf...I had an breasr uplift and never thought Id be able to feed and I think that has continously undermined everything.

Am going to try just to bf for nexr few days no expressing and see how we get on. god hope it wont be too hard as DS is used to getting the extra

Thanks everyone! we will get through this...

I too used shields for a long time (my LO weaned herself off when she was 5 months old). I found that the medela ones were the best and although feeds were longer they were not unmanageable.

IMHO pepperonipizza is spot on!!