If you’re here, you most likely are having breastfeeding difficulties. So to you I say, hang in there mama! My breastfeeding journey has been anything but easy from day one. An hour after her birth when I first fed her, I was over the moon. What an incredibly beautiful thing my body just did and is continuing to do by sustaining this little baby with food! I’d like to say that I immediately knew something was wrong, but that wouldn’t be the truth. The truth was, I had just given birth. To an almost 10 pound baby! When they asked me if breastfeeding was painful I said no, in comparison to the greatest pain I had ever felt in my life happening just one hour ago! The secret I didn’t know, that all new moms need to know, is that breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt at all!
It was only after waddling myself across the hospital to the breastfeeding class the next day, that I was finally informed that something wasn’t right and I should not be experiencing this much pain, cracking, and bleeding. Rather than being offered a reason why I was going through this I was offered a quick fix, the nipple shield.
If you find yourself in a similar situation here is my advice to you:
Get to the root of the problem!
I am now constantly kicking myself for not finding out what was causing her poor latch problems, and instead using this. All I knew at the time was that this new thing they gave me was helping her latch, get milk more efficiently than she was before, and it stopped my pain. I would have much rather suffered through that pain to figure out a solution if I could have seen what was down the road for me!
Here’s a glimpse into what using a nipple shield is like long-term. First off, there is very very little information, support, and experienced moms to help you through this. You may feel completely alone in this. You will be washing the shield up to 8 times a day before feedings. You may struggle to keep your baby from pulling it off during feedings, especially in public. Your baby may slow down in weigh gain because they either aren’t transferring milk as efficiently as they should, or your supply is dropping because your breast isn’t stimulated the way it would be without the shield. Lastly, you will feel absolutely overwhelmed at the thought of figuring out how to wean your baby off the nipple shield.
The reason my daughter could never latch is so important for any moms-to-be to know about. She had a lip AND tongue tie. Her upper lip being so severe that her lip was never able to flare out at all, thus she couldn’t latch onto my nipple or onto any bottles. But I wasn’t made aware of this until the doctors checked, and when did they check? Only after she started losing weight at her check ups. Don’t wait until it comes to this! A vast majority of latching problems are related to lip/tongue tie issues. If I would have had this knowledge before I gave birth then maybe I would have been spared a few of these problems! Ellie just had her lip tie procedure and it is healing nicely, but weaning her off the shield will be a long road for us. She’s 6 months old, she’s now set in her ways and does not want to make this change.
So mamas, if you’re having any latching issues I urge you to research lip/tongue ties and see if it applies to you. If your breastfeeding issues are due to something else, contact an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in your area and figure out what the root of your problem is. And if you’re just like me, stuck on a nipple shield, hang in there and comment if you are in need of support!
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
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