My baby boy is 2 weeks old. I was given a nipple shield to feed him at the hospital because he was having trouble latching. I continued to use it because I was still having trouble getting him to latch when we left and I ended up getting thrush: my poor nipples were very sore.

I am to the point where I desperately want to wean him from the shield. He has latched on my bare nipple really well a few times so I know he can do it.

Anyway, I’m wondering if you all have any advice about introducing bottles and pacifiers at this point knowing my history. Do you think I should wait until he is weaned from the nipple shield, or (knowing this could be a very long process) should I go ahead and let my husband help me feed him once in a while with a bottle? I am hesitant because I don’t want to prolong the weaning process, but he pretty much just screams every time I try to feed him without the shield and it would be really nice to be able to leave him with his dad once In the next few weeks.