How to Get Rid of a Nipple Shield

The second section of this article has some suggestions for how to wean off of the nipple shield...
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t024500.asp

You can scroll halfway down this page for suggestions on how to wean off the nipple shield...
http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVJunJul00p39.html

Best wishes,
J.

i used a nipple shield for about a month. I would recommend trying as often as you can without it and also try when he is drowsy but hungry so he is less likely to notice. I got her to latch while we were out and she was screaming to be fed and i couldnt find it in the diaper bag so i threw her on and she latched. the next feeding she did it without it and then she wanted it and slowly we just stopped using it all together! the day will come dont worry!!!

I had the same problem anmd I was very upset because it was my third child and I felt like nursing should have been so easy by #3.
I had to take lots of deep, relaxing breaths before each feeding and be very patient. I just kept trying. I got to one feeding a day wpthout it which boosted my confidence to keep trying. Then I decided to act as if I didn't have the shield and that worked, after a few tears of frustration from me and baby.
I do recommend a real lactation consultant (not the ones at the hospital) if it doesn't get better soon. I used one with my first 2 kids and it was like magic!
Good luck and don't give up!

I think you should keep offering it to him, don't get frustrated, just gentle offering. When he's a bit older he will likely latch without it.
I didn't use a shield, but my son would only nurse on my right breast until he was about 6 weeks old. I offered it to him a few time a day and always first. Sometimes he nursed for a bit then stopped, but mostly he acted like my left breast was poison!! Then one day he just latched on and kept going. From then on he nursed fine on either side until he was a year or so.
Congratulations on you new son, and on your good choice to nurse him! It gets easier, promise!

Congratulations! I am sure you can lose the shield when both you and your little boy are more accustomed to breast feeding. It took about 3 weeks for me and my little guy and it was as easy as one day he was crying and I let him latch on without even thinking about it (the shield) and we never looked back. Just give it a little more time.

You have gotten good advice! I just wanted to say I nursed my son until he was 15 months with a nipple shield! He never got the hang of it without it and the lactation consultant told me if it meant he was getting breastmilk to keep using it! It was a little inconvenient at times but we managed! We had one at home and one in the diaper bag so we for sure to have it. Don't stress if he doesn't the breastmilk is the important part and he is getting that. I had to pump for 3 months before we could even get him to latch on good but he got the breastmilk!! Good Luck!! D.

I used the same thing with my son.....I think it wasn't until he was almost 2 months old before we were finally able to nurse without it. Keep doing what you are doing....he will finally get the hang of it. Good luck.

I used a nipple shield with my son the entire time I nursed, he could never do it without. He nursed until he was 11 months. The lactation consultant said it was ok, so I went ahead and bought several so I was never without one. My daughter (11 months)never had a problem nursing and I never had to resort to the nipple shield with her. I have to admit it is much easier and convenient this time around, but I'm glad I gave my son a good start and stuck with nursing with the shield. Good luck!

A.,

First of all, don't get too stressed out about it! I used a nipple shield in the beginning with both of my children. I nursed my daughter for 9 months and my son is currently 4 months and nursing just fine.

My daughter never latched on at the hospital. On the last day they gave me a nipple shield to try with and she would at least try. When I got her home she was finally latching on and eating well. About a week later I started researching how to wean her from the nipple shield and found a lot of scary articles saying my milk production was going to go down, etc. I freaked out and tried to get her to nurse without it, which just frustrated her and we were getting nowhere. I called a lactation consultant (who was fabulous) and ended up just talking to her on the phone, but she told me that she had had clients that used a nursing shield for the entire time they breastfed and didn't have any problems with their milk production. Her suggestion to me was that every day to try 3 times to have my daughter nurse without the nipple shield and that eventually we would get it. She was absolutely right. Once I stopped stressing about it, I would try for a little while to nurse without the shield and when my daughter would start getting frustrated, I would put it on and we would be just fine. I think it took us about 4 days and she was nursing without the shield.

I did the same thing with my son. At the hospital we had problems with him latching on, so I asked for a nipple shield. He started latching on just fine with it. One of the lactation consultants seemed to feel I shouldn't use the shield, but it worked for us so I essentially ignored her. When we got home and we were nursing well, I started trying a few times a day without the shield. He actually did really well on one side without it pretty quickly and it took a little longer on the other, but within a few days we were shield free.

I would keep doing what you are doing, try without the shield, but if he gets frustrated, put it back on. It isn't hurting anything. He will get the hang of it without the shield soon and you won't need it.

One nice thing about the shield is that in the beginning when you are first getting used to nursing, it protects your nipples and you delay some of the pain that you get once he is latching on without the shield. The pain will go away after a couple of days, but I thought it was nice that I didn't have that along with the contractions and frustrations in the beginning.

Good Luck,
D.

The nurses did not encourage me enough to push my baby to latch on at birth and just quickly gave me a nipple shield saying it was so much easier. In retrospect I wish I had refused it as noone tells you how they pull less milk with it (contributing to less weight gain and more hunger).

For the first week I kept trying each time to take him off and get him to latch on to my nipple. Try especially when they might be most hungry (after the longest sleep period). It took me a couple of week to finally get him on.

Of course later I suffered from a lot of pain due to improper latch on - so the best thing is that you get help from a lactation consultant.

Luckily for me after 3 months - he nursed beautifully and I still do after 20 months. However I wish it had gone better and that the nipple shield would have only been used in extreme circumstances.

I never had a problem involving the nipple shield, but I did have a huge problem getting my son to latch onto my right side. For almost 1 week, he would NOT nurse off of the right side. One day I just held my ground and wouldn't let him on the other side. He screamed and it was traumatic (i think i cried the whole time along with him), but eventually he latched on and there was not problem ever again.

I have never delt with a nipple shield, but if you don't have one I would buy a boppy or similar nursing pillow. I think they help baby (and you) feel more comfortable and secure and makes it easier for them to latch on. It helps hold them so you can use more effert helping them latch on.

Try calling a local La Leche League leader for advice. Someone in the group has probably had the same problem.

http://www.llli.org/Web/Illinois.html

I had the same problem with my son. What ended up working was when I was feeding with it on, he accidentally slipped so I quickly took it off and since he had the sucking motion, he latched without fussing. I then kept doing it and it worked. Prayer always helps too.

We went through this as well. I think we used the shield until she was 5 or 6 weeks old. I saw an LC and what we did was start nursing with it, then once she was latched, pull it off and put her right back on. It didn't always work, but after a few weeks we never had to use them again. It seems like so long ago...my little one is 6 months old now! Everyone says the beginning is the hardest, but we stuck with it and the difficulties seem a long time ago.

I also asked her pediatrician in the beginning and her advice was that it was better to use the shield if needed, since she'd still be getting breastmilk, and it's easier than pumping and giving a bottle (that part is my opinion!).

A.:

you have gotten some excellent suggestion... time, patience and perseverance or a board certified lactation consultant to assist you.

the answer is what will be best for you.

warmly,

P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

A., keep doing what you are doing. I have to say that I was never able to wean off of it, and I'm still using it with my 23 month old. I'm not proud of it, but we had a lot of underweight issues, and I just could not push him enough to get hungry enough to eat without it. Shields are great in that they allow you to nurse in a less than ideal situation (I was very committed to nursing, so it allowed me to do it), but it's very hard to wean off of them, and I've tried everything.

Next time, I don't expect to have the same issues, and hope to not have to use it.

Good luck to you!
T.
www.ReadandGrow.com

Your baby is still very young and persistence is key. Really try not to use the shield if you don't have to. They insisted that I use one, when I was in the hospital but my personal "lactation consultant" (i.e. my sister with 5 children) highly encouraged me to forego it and so I did and gave me some helpful tips on how to have my baby latch on. The first two weeks really was challenging, however, my child adapted. It sounds like you, too, have had success without it and if it is not around, it won't be an option. Your nipples should adapt well without it, too, once your baby continually feeds without it. A lactation consultant can help you too.

At this time, don't worry about his frustration - he will be fine and you won't be starving him. The more and different nipples that you offer at this age (i.e. bottles, breasts, shields, etc...) the more he will be confused so just do your best not to offer the shield or even a bottle, if you can help it, if there really isn't a reason why he must have it. True, it's possibly easier to latch on, with one, but he really can adapt. I did not like those shields and I think they sometimes hand them out a little too readily in the hospital. I may have been apt to throw in the towel and bottle feed if I had to continually use one but not everyone feels that way. You are doing a great job and you, too, should enjoy the experience, even though it is challenging now. Hopefully, in a short while, you'll look back and say "Wow! this is easy!"

Congratulations.