nipple sheilds

[hellsdells82]

Apologies if this has already been asked.

Just want to know if anyones used these and there opinions. Im 30wks now and cannot decide upon bf or ff. My son never latched and as first time mum i exclusively expressed till he was 6 months by which time i had enough and had him fully weanes by 9m. With dd my milk never came in and inwas sporting humungous boulders of pain that were just dry and achey amd urghh... she cried and cried and cried amd happily just accepted ff. Both ended up on ff with no probs.

Now im due to be induced in approx 7wks. I have no idea if i want to bf or ff. I have alsorts of mish going through my head. For starter...i didnt even realise that any sich thing as a nipple sheild existed.naive me but seens as its been 10yrs sincei last tried bf, dd is now 10, i do t know what to expect.
So... are they comfy
do they make you sore
can they help with latching
theres a couple of diff styles,which one is best recommended
and basically any other info you can give me. Knowing theres something out there that could also help with sore cracked nips will help in my decision.
Sorry for waffling...im soooo confused about it. Thankyou for reading x

[AmyLouKin]

Thank you InFrance, that you tube video was actually really helpful. I knew the theory but as a first time mum it was useful to see it! You don't exactly stare at friends and family while they are breast feeding do you, so I've never seen it as clearly as that before! 😉

[InFrance2014]

This video on good latching is the best I've seen for clear explanation.

[hellsdells82]

Thanks for replies. Ive had a brief look online at them but really prefer to see in person so i can get a better idea of them. They do sound helpful though,amd i am slowly swaying alot more to bf than ff. I just want to make sure that i am prepared this time and that ive given it a good shot rather than thinking "surely i couldve done more to help" without realising that infact i couldve done more. This also gives me a chance to stock up now. In theory 7 weeks aint very long whwn you have sooo much to think about getting. Ive gota good midwife/hospital so will ask them for help and advice too. Many thanks again xx

[lilac3033]

DD wouldn't latch at birth, it took a month to really get going, even with shields. Eventually we cracked it. We use Medela shields as I never cracked stop on using them. Totally easy and comfortable to use. When she had a REALLY bad latch at the start she still managed to make me bleed but it was only once. I used Tommy Tippee shields at first, found them rubbish.
I second RL support. I would be breastfeeding if it wasn't for our local BF clinics.

[InFrance2014]

My baby could latch from birth, but badly, and I knew it was going to ruin my nipples after only 24 hours. No BF support where I was, midwives just told me my nipples too small and shoved shields at me. Felt crap (still do).
However, it made the difference when no other options: after 16 weeks we got off the shields (just took a bit of perseverance), and we BF for 14 months in total.
I tried about 5 different brands; would advise getting a variety before birth as they all have slight differences: thickness, length/size of teats, number/size of holes. Baby seemed to prefer some, others stayed on better etc.

BUT I would also say, don't give up on yourself, seek out proper support and information - get in touch now with La Leche League to find local properly qualified BF consultants. It can make all the difference, and you might not need shields at all this time, you never know.
Good luck.

[Oysterbabe]

My baby is 17 days and has a mixture of expressed milk in a bottle and breast feeding using nipple shields (another vote for medela).
She was premature and in NICU being tube fed for the first days of her life. I also have quite flat nipples. She can't latch because she's just a bit small and weak, she'll suckle a few times then give up and fall asleep. With the shields she will feed for a reasonable amount of time. She's having the bottles as well so I can see she's getting enough as she's still so small.
My hope is that eventually she won't need them as she gets bigger and stronger but they are a great help in the meantime.
Definitely worth a try if your little one struggles. I usually get the milk flowing by hand before putting it on so it's easy for her.

[SakuraSakura]

I used them, and loved them. I was in a lot of pain before I got them, and they made a massive difference.

[LastOneDancing]

drew me too - I am weirdly attached to my little yellow box!!

[LastOneDancing]

They are a brilliant aid for some people. My DS wouldn't latch but did with shields. Used them until 5.5 months when he finally decided to latch without! My friend also had terrible nipple damage from feeding her first DC and shields have allowed her to feed DC2.

But I'd say only use them if you need to as it makes feeding slower IME, can affect supply (not an issue for me) and DS ended up with a lazy latch which caused some pain when he stopped wanting the shield.

I would only use Medela. They are fab. I will be getting a set just in case for when DC2 arrives.

Good luck with feeding!

[DrewsWife]

Nipple shields worked for me. I struggled with flat nipples. And squashy boobs and a baby with weak latch. It kept me going for longer than I hoped.

I got medela ones. Very soft and different sizes for different sized women. Still have them. No idea why! Can't bear to part with them.

[Picklesauage]

Nipple shields made me able to breastfeed my first DD!

She was in nicu and lost the early suck reflex. But one midwife suggested nipple shields and they enabled her to latch. It's how we got out of nicu!

I used the medala ones which were comfortable and flexible, they do come in different sizes, odd thing to size up your nipples though!

Some people say you should just perserve as they will become dependant on them. We did need them for nearly a month, but as she got better at feeding I would remove them mid feed. (Whilst the nipple was pre-stretched and flowing). Slowly we managed to get rid of them altogether and she went on to feed for year.

I think they are ace!

[hellsdells82]

Forgot to mention... with dd the emotional drain and feeling of failure led to pnd and i ended up on ad's for a couple yrs. So im a bit sceptical with bf for that reason alone...alongside many others. Xx