Lots of questions on instagram lately about weaning from a nipple shield! If you don’t know what a nipple shield is, its a thin silicone covering for your nipple. It can be a breastfeeding tool in certain instances, but should be used as a last resort after several other interventions have been tried. You also should be working closely with someone like me when you are using a nipple shield. (Econsults here)
Here are my tips for weaning from a nipple shield
Have lots of patience with baby, your bare skin is a different texture than the silicone nipple shield.
Increase the time you spend in skin-to-skin contact.
Frequent attempts at the bare breast (before baby is crying from hunger).
If you need to use the shield, wait until baby has had a few min of good sucking and then break suction (finger in corner of baby’s mouth), remove the nipple shield and immediately attempt to re-latch baby to bare breast.
Consistency is key! It could take a few feeds or several weeks to wean your infant from a nipple shield.
I hope this helps! Lots more great tips like this one in my breastfeeding video classes! Click and watch! Another great place to start is my free list of Top Ten Tips for Breastfeeding Success. Upcoming in-person classes in UT & Las Vegas – get registered today.
Thanks for coming by,
Lindsey Shipley, RN, IBCLC
Photography for this post is by Heather Schwenk Photography based in Seattle, WA.