flow too fast and sore nipples - shields or express?

[smk84]

Hi, to cut a long story short, I suspect our bf probs might be due to fast flow. 13wo ds is coming off or closing his mouth/turning his head away for most feeds and I am having to relatch him up to 10 times. It?s all getting very sore and upsetting :(, so I have to change something asap (it?s been going on for 2 weeks and is getting worse). Could shields help him cope better? He will latch well on a bottle so considering expressing, but don?t think that?s sustainable for lots of reasons? Is there anything I should know about shields? Thank you.

I had this problem at 3 weeks. Owwww.
Have you tried changing position? I shifted to leaning right back with my baby latching face down so the flow has to go 'uphill' and that slowed it down.

I have the too fast flow quite often. I usually have a muslin handy. When DD pulls off because she can't swallow fast enough I clamp the muslin over myself to stem the flow a bit. We then wait for a minute or so by which time the flow is easier to handle. Some people suggest expressing a little before each feed as it can be the letdown which is quite forceful. I've never tried this method or shields, so can't comment from experience in that regard, but agree with Freelance that a position change may help. Good luck :)

Could you have a chat to someone at one of the breastfeeding helplines to confirm your diagnosis, or see if they have any other suggestions you should be considering?

I ended up using shields though I did find them a bit of a faff. You need to keep them clean and advice is to sterilise once a day. Although you can buy multiple sets if you end up using them for a while. I did manage to feed in public using them, but felt a lot more comfortable once I'd weaned DS off them. There is a risk that if you start using them, only intending to as a short-term measure, that your DS will refuse to feed without them afterwards (this is what happened to me, but my DS was younger). It's also possible that he'll refuse to feed using them in the first place. They can also potentially have a negative affect on supply, although as I understand the evidence is inconclusive for the modern silicon type. They can make feeds take longer.

However, if the alternative is expressing and bottle feeding, I would think nipple shields would be less faff - less to clean and sterilise, less to carry about with you, and you'd only have to feed - not express and then feed.

As something else to consider, have you seen these Kellymom measures for dealing with fast flow ? Although do read carefully, as some of the measures for over-supply may not be suitable if you have any concerns about weight gain.

Hi thank you for the ideas I have trie diff positions but not much seems to help except perhaps lying down. Have found my local group pretty crap the leaders just tend to do lots of talking and not much hands on helping .saw Hv yesterday she said its prob a developmental thing and that he now wants to feed without pillows. I can't do this all the time as its not comfy. Have not tried shield or expressing yet am managing to cope feed by feed and some are randomly better than others, for example in the night when I am really full he has not been coming off, while in the day he still does it all the time. Thanks for the kellymom ref I have had a good look.

I'm glad some feeds are going well even if others aren't. Sorry your support group wasn't much help - do you have any others local to you? I'm going to recommend the telephone helplines again - clearly they can't help with everything, but I've found them really helpful for talking things through, giving me reassurance or some others suggestions to try. Also what you said about him feeding better at night made me think of this Kellymom page. (I'm not paid by them promise!) I might be on completely the wrong track, but see what you think.

i phoneed the breast feeding helpline and they sent out a bf counsellor on a home visit, she said to lie back and have baby on top of me so milk had to go uphill, it worked.

Yay! Great news :)

im not the op just saying it worked for me

Thanks so much red kites, still struggling with pulling off from time to time and can't find any logic to it really. Hopefully just a phase that will pass before I have to stop bf to save my sanity ? Family have tried that and doesn't seem to work for us, but will try again. Thank you.
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If it is 'just' distractibility, then it is most likely a phase. It's certainly one my DS went through. Have you tried some of the different positions suggested in the Kellymom link - baby sitting on your leg facing you etc? I didn't have much success with these, but I've seen other women do so, and both they and their babies seemed very comfortable. For me, feeding in conventional positions but in a darkened room (especially just before and just after naps) worked well, but I only had one DC and I think I remember from another thread that you've got an older DC, so that may not be practical for you.