Advice on Weaning Newborn off Nipple Guard

Congrats on your new baby. We had to use the nipple shield when my duaghter was born because she was very tiny and we had a latch problem. We used it for about 4 weeks. After about 3 weeks I was annoyed (for those same reasons you mentioned.) To ween her...I did the same thing someone else recommended. I used it to get her to latch and once the milk started flowing -- I would take her off the breast and remove the shield and put her back on. Then after a few days of that I just started trying to get her to latch by herself. Sometimes it worked -- sometimes it didn't and she would get frustrated. I also found that nighttime was harder. But after about a week of the above process -- she just quit using it -- and we have been nursing fine without it ever since (she is now 13 months). She is my first child -- so I think it just took a few weeks for us both to figure things out. Maybe after a coupld of weeks -- he'll figure things out too. ;-)

My baby spent his first 3 weeks in the NICU with a feeding tube or a bottle. We of course needed to use the nipple shield when we finally began nursing. We used it for about a month after that and then I began weaning him off of the shield. I did not try to do this for the night feedings at first. I picked one of his day time feedings. I would start with the shield to keep him from getting frustrated. After he had nursed for a few minutes I would quickly slide the shield out of the way. Sometimes he would not skip a beat and others he would have to work at it for awhile. After a few days of that I would try it with all of his feedings. When he had mastered all of his day time feedings without the shield then we took it away at night. It takes time and practice for them to develop the muscles draw you into their mouth. Once they can do that the actual sucking is no problem. It sometimes helps to pinch the area around your nipple to help them fit it into their mouth when they are practicing drawing you in. The more of the nipple they get into their mouth the better. Hang in there it took us about 3 weeks to totally be shield free.

Yes you definitely do not want him to become dependent on the nipple guard. I allowed my girl to keep using it thinking it was working so why change and at 4 weeks of age the nipple guard itself was causing me bodily damage but she would not nurse otherwise. What I did to get her off of the guard was at the beginning of each feeding try to nurse without the guard. As she was always hungry at the beginning of the feeding she would try. AT first she could not get a latch. THen later she would latch on for awhile but could not maintain a seal for a complete feeding. Finally I noticed we did not need the guard anymore. This process was over 3 days or so. Whenever she would start to get frustrated or quit trying to feed I would stop trying and use the guard again to allow her to get a complete feeding in. This worked for me. I had talked to a lactation consultant about it and she recommended expressing a little milk before attempting feeding to make the baby interested. Anyway, good luck!

HI A.,
I hope I can help. I had my third child on July 4, she was in the NICU for a couple of days and they had given her a feeding tube while she was in there. Although, they did give her my pumped breastmilk, she too was a lazy sucker. After trying all, like you said, the lactation nurse also showed me the nipple guard. I gave it a try and it worked. I was disappointed that I would have to keep track of this thing and keep it away from my one and three year old. I liked the ease of breastfeeding anywhere. So, slowly, i was able to wean her from it. It was typically harder to get her to latch at night when she was tired. So, each day, when she was a little alert, I would continue to try without the guard. Every time I fed her, I tried first without the guard. I had to use it for several weeks for every feeding. Then, I only had to use it at night, but that was only for a couple more weeks. She is now a very agressive eater (go figure)!! - C.

I had two preemies and because of my flat nipples they wouldn't latch on to one side. We didn't have the nipple guards when my first was born so I just had to pump for MONTHS. When my second was born we used the nipple guard and it was great. When she got a little bigger I would use it to latch her on and then when she got the milk flowing we would take it off and she would latch on to me. It was awesome. She is now 21 months old and still nursing! The la leche league website and forums are wonderful! I was too stubborn with my oldest to contact them but with my youngest it really helped. Congrats and good luck!

Congratulations on your newest little one! I don't have specific advice, but I know of some resources where you may be able to find the answer you are looking for. www.kellymom.com is a great resource for bf moms. You might also find answers on the La Leche legue website.

Also, if you aren't too far from S. Arlington, I know of a free professionally let breastfeeding resource group that meets every Tues. night at 7pm. Send me a message if you'd like more info. on this.

Good Luck!