having started BF iwth nipple shields - we have got to 2 months but now want to loose them.. HOW!!

[spaghettiarms]

Am giving formula top ups as well as BF but feel that if I dropped the nippleshields we may also be able to cut down the top ups..

But how do I go about doing it.. the little love has got used to feeding with them..

PLEASE HELP!!

bump

Well done on getting this far.
When I got rid of them, I would latch on with the shields on, then unlatch, remove shield and re-latch. This allowed ds to get the nipple into the right shape, get the let down going etc. I hope that makes sense.

how old was your little one when you stopped?

Ah. Well, due to (the usual) lack of support early on, consequent nipple mashing and severe lack of bfeeding confidence it was quitealotofmonths. Can't actually remember when I finally summoned the courage, but it was really easy when I did and I wished I'd done it sooner (bfeeding in public with shields is not easy!).

I did the same as 2happy - get DS latched on, feed for about a minute, then unlatch, take it off and relatch DS.

I started using shields while still in hospital due to engorgement (and not very good advice from the mws), and stopped using them I think about a week / 10 days later. It took a few days in total, but eventually I did manage to get him successfully latched on without the shields.

Good luck!

spaghettiarms - I am in exactly the same position as you - my DS is 11 weeks and we use nipple shield too and I would love to get rid.

When I remove the shields DS fusses and cries and will not feed, so any advice would be welcomed.

Using a scissors, very gradually make the hole in the nipple shield bigger, increasing it every couple of days, until baby is actually mainly sucking on you and not the NS. Then once you feel both of you are ready, you can probably ditch the shield altogether. That's how I did it and it worked. HTH

be careful with scissors if they are silicon shields - silicon tends to have rather sharp edges if cut. I think this method works best with latex shields.

good point terramum
my tip was from 'the old days' (latex)

Wellies do you know where to get latex nipple shields in the UK?

Some very good tips here and sure something will work.
I tried all sorts to get dd off but nothing worked for her - saying that, I am still successfully bfing at 23 mo so if all else fails, please don't think that you can't still bf.
She has just started sometimes removing them (but sometimes putting them on!) for her feed (only 1 a day at bedtime)
Let us know how you get on

Sorry babiesRFun, no idea. I'm a long way out of all that, both in time and distance.

Just googled and came up with this on first try, so there must be more out there too. (Just ignore the silly product name!).

How old is your LO spaghettiarms?