nipple shields

Dorothy - posted on 08/06/2010

they are not meant to be used forever, but in the beginning, it helps while baby is learning to latch. i used one with my twins in the beginning and it worked really well. the sizes are the size of your nipple... they are measured in mm. good luck. CONGRATS on your little one and so AWESOME that you have decided to breast feed. it's the best thing you can do for your baby!! good luck!!

Erin - posted on 08/05/2010

Use one if you have to, but you will be much happier in the long run of you don't. Babies eat much faster and more efficiently with out a shield.

Kassie - posted on 08/03/2010

i agree- dont buy any... your hospital should be able to provide you with one or two if your baby wont latch- also i agree that it makes public feeding that much harder... AND my daughter got used to it and i wasnt able to get her to latch without it for about 3 or so months... trying EVERYDAY!! but they DO work if your baby has trouble in the beginning.

Sara - posted on 08/03/2010

Wait to see if your infant has a latch issue of anykind before you use a nipple shield. They can become dependent upon the sheild and we had weeks of frustration trying to wean off of it. I feel my son never needed it in the first place but I was given one because i was engorged.

Lisa - posted on 08/03/2010

I use one often (my daughter is 6 months) but I was resistant to it for quite some time. Personally, I'd rather not use it (getting it out for each feeding and nursing discreetly is more of a pain), but I finally gave in at around 2 months when one nipple was badly damaged and bleeding. My daughter had/has reflux and I have a very forceful letdown, so she was doing a lot of clicking and tongue manuevering in an attempt to manage the flow. The nipple shield helped me in a couple of ways in that 1.) it seemed to help slow the flow for her to better manage it and 2.) it helped my nipples to heal.

I would definitely recommend going without it if you can, but in certain situations they are most definitely helpful.

Oh, and I think mine are a size small or extra small (it's based on the size of your nipple).

Jennifer - posted on 08/03/2010

I had one and I wasn't going to use it but I learned that I had smaller nipples which makes it very hard for my daughter to eat sometimes without it if they aren't full. It also helped to use it when my nipples were sore because it gave them time to heal while I continued to happily breast feed. It is great for when they are first born and it feels awkward to learn to BF. I suggest switching back and forth and nurse her exclusively the first day of birth on just your breast. They will get sore and if you want, the shield will be there to help you continue for day two.

Drawback? It makes public feeding harder and I also have to wrestle with my daughter sometimes because at 2 months she has strong opinions about what she would prefer. It is a little more work to nurse without the shield so she will fight me on it until I sometimes give in and put the shield on. Another draw back is you have to constantly wash it (every single feeding) and when they are first born they tend to feed a lot more (to help us get our supply up).

I like the shield over all but at 2 months I have been working to wean her off of it since we both have this bf thing down.

I have the medium one (the same size the lactation consultant suggested) and it worked from day one and still continues to work now. Congrats and good luck!

Victoria - posted on 08/02/2010

I used one because my son couldn't latch. The hospital had given me one to help him. I didnt know they were used other then when there were latch issues.