Nipple shields?

Question

If this is confusing, I apologize. I'm currently nursing and have a few minutes to type this so its a little rushed. Any questions please ask I'll be monitoring all answers. I was given a nipple shield in the hospital because the lactation consultant said my son would not be able to latch (he can latch fine to one nipple but not the other) but didn't explain why or what a nipple shields purpose is.  
He is now three weeks old and I am trying to teach him to latch without the shield I'm not sure why he cannot latch to one but he can the other except that by visually looking at my breasts the one nipple he can't latch on is smaller and more flat I don't know if that will make a difference. I also noticed that he cannot latch at all to either nipple if I am engorged. 
I've done as much research as I can and see that most people stop using the nipple shields by now. is it OK to keep using it or is there a brand that I should be using since its long term or what should I be doing to help make sure my son latches and his nursing properly. 
Any information you can share about shields, latching, or breastfeeding tips in general are appreciated. I did not breastfeed my first, and none of my family or friends nurse so I'm kinda going in to this blind. 
M

Answer

I have used a nipple shield since my son was born with a tongue tie and it was the only way to train him to latch at first. He got the tie fixed at three days old but is still using the shield at almost 3 months old now. I want to wean him off the shield but it seems to be working well for him, and he fights me when I try to get him to latch without it. I feel like as long as he is breast feeding and getting the benefit of the nutrients breast milk provides then it's still a good thing but would be easier on us both if he would just latch without it. Then I wouldn't have to always remember to make sure it's clean and washed and bring it with me everywhere I go.

Answer

I can't give too much advice because I did not feed at the breast for long and I bottle feed now. So both my nipple are short which results in a shallow latch. Meaning baby won't get as much milk for her work and it can get really painful for me. The nipple sheild creates a longer surface and pulls in your nipple so that the baby can get that deep latch. And if they are lazy and just slurp your nipple in that's ok becuase they will still get the deep latch becuase of the sheild.

So yeah long explanation short, shallow latch less food for the work. And the sheild makes it easier to achieve that. Did I actually help at all?

Answer

I used a nipple shield for 16 months. Just wash after each feeding with a baby safe dish soap. I used the medela brand and if it started feeling thin I bought a new one

Answer

I had the same issue, one was smaller and she had trouble latching.. My tips are 
1. Continue to use it, but also continue trying to get a good latch without it. I gave my girl 5 mins of trying before putting the shield on (we are currently shield-less now
2. Engorgement- try to pump just a little to help LO latch
3. Look up the "flipple" technique, great video that I used and it helped especially on the side that was smaller. 
Within a week my girl was completely off the shield (but don't get discouraged if you need to use it longer, just keep trying!)

Answer

My daughter is 6 weeks and we will use the shield. She was born early and is still small so she can't get much in her mouth. We saw a lactation consultant this week and she said to keep using the shield and keep trying to latch without. Hopefully eventually we won't need it, but for now she is nursing and gaining weight so we will use it! I'm happy we've made it this far. Breastfeeding has been such a challenge for us.

Answer

Sounds like your baby has nipple confusion. If you want to get him back on just the nipple, it's going to take practice. You have to stick to it and eventually your baby will latch on and become use to it again. Hang in there momma

Answer

If he can latch on one side h can learn to do the other. It doesn't matter what your nipples are like because babies don't really nurse from the nipple anyway - they nurse from the giant mouthful or breast that they get in their mouth. You should be able to call a lactation consultant again now that it's been awhile and ask for their help again, and you could also find your local la leche league group to get some free help. And those people can actually see what's going on and adjust your positions and such. Like you noticed it's harder to latch when mom's breast is too wngorged so a little manual expression can really help that.

Answer

My son used a shield for almost 3 months because for whatever reason he couldn't latch. One day I just decided to try to feed him without the shield and he latched perfectly and has had no issue ever since.

Nipple shields?

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