What is the longest you have used a nipple shield?

[tree-hugger]

We've been using the nipple shield for a little over 7 months now. DD has discovered that the boob is actually not coated in silicone and that it is nicer without the silicone, but I can usually persuade her to use the nipple shield anyway

(I have to use it because otherwise I am in too much pain--and yes I have seen 6 IBCLC's, 3 doctors, LLL, and an alternative person).

I'm worried that she's going to go on a nipple shield strike at some point. I really want to do CLW and hopefully nurse her until she is at least 2.

I'm hoping for some encouragement and support from other long-term nipple shield users. What's the longest that you've used one for? Did your older infant or toddler figure out that nipple shields are not built in and then want just the boob?

[lovemybabies924]

i had ALOT of pain breastfeeding also but only for the 1st month w/DD and the 1st 2 or so w/DS...what i did was use the sheild for a few feedings and then one w/out, and then slowly wean my body off of it. it slowly stopped hurting! if it got bad agian i would use it for a feeding and then not agian...it worked for me good luck!

[shantivibes]

Wow.... the nipple shield days.....

well with DD1 i BF for 18 months with the shield and this was at her will because she got so used to it and so did i that we both just agreed to continue. i did have supple issue at times, but other then that no issues. NIP was always harder as well as BFing in bed and i am sooooooooooo happy not to be using one this time, but it was the only way with her and i was just so happy to be able to continue so long.

i think she will be fine , it is what she is most used to and it seems to work for you both just continue to use it and not offer her the nipple unless you want to move to the nipple and see if you can work it out as others have.

good luck!

[mama2be11]

Thank you so much for posting this. I have been using a shield with my ds since his birth. (He's 7.5 weeks) One of the nurses suggested using it while I was in the hospital because he was having difficulty latching on. I believe that was due to him not being able to nurse right away because I was having pp hemoragging and had to be stitched up in the O.R. due to a 4th degree tear but that's a different thread. Anyways, it worked like a charm and he's been using it ever since. I've talked to several LC, consulted with a LLL leader, etc. all to no avail. I am mostly disappointed that he needs to have it due to convenience issues. It does make it more difficult to NIP and at night however it is most important to me that he is getting breast milk. I guess the convenience factor isn't really that much of an issue anyways because if I were bottle feeding that would be much more of a hassle, IMO. I am glad to hear I am not the only one using a shield 24/7 because I was starting to think I was a freak. I am planning on EBF for at least 1 year and then see how both us feel after that. BTW, my mom tried BFing her six babes and gave up due to nipple soreness. She said she would rather have gone through labor again. I think she feels kind of guilty for giving up and she said she would have paid big money to be able to use a shield when we were little. So I want to give you a big for sticking with it and thanks for making me feel better about it too!

[LegalScrapper]

I used a nipple shield with my DD because I had severly inverted nipples and couldn't get her to latch. We used it for 4-5 months and I got intense pressure from LC to get her off. I did it slowly - started nursing with the shield, then pulled it off and finished without.

Looking back, I wish I hadn't stressed out so much about it. She was nursing fine with the shield, ate enough, gained enough weight - I think it just added stress to me.

I've already bought nipple shields just in case I need them again with this one. I'm going to try to be more relaxed about using it this time.

[tracy077]

I used them for a while after ds too because of pain and the fact that my nipple wouldn't protrude enough for him to get a good latch, but I have to admit I hated them. I finally got fed up with having to wet them to make them stick, then they would keep peeling up and hitting ds's nose..I finally just stopped and sucked up the pain for a few days. That's all it took for my nipples to get used to his sucking. 4 months later we are doing great!! If they work for you and you don't mind them, no harm in using them, but I was just wishing for the ease of nursing without the chore of all the prep work with those. (I used the Medela ones).