Dear Stephanie, I am very sorry that you thought my comments were directed to you. The discussion of shields has been heated and has gone on for months. Your selection of the use of shields (described in your post today) sounds intuitive and appropriate, although I stand by my statement that use of all equipment should be deliberate and based on the best clinical evidence one has. I have been hollering for years for more discussion of the ethics of equipment use, and the remark was not intended to imply that you had not acted ethically. To respond specifically to the problem you describe, a baby who is having difficulty sensing even the very elongated and firm teat of a bottle has a problem. Hopefully it will be outgrown, at which time, it should not be difficult to transition the baby off the shield. My remarks about "belief system science" refer to the tendency to adhere to long cherished opinions even when they are not borne out by evidence. It is the intellectual plague of all disciplines, and really wasn't a personal slam of you. I apologize if it seemed so. Barbara Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC Private Practice, Austin, Texas Owner, Lactnews On-Line Conference Page http://moontower.com/bwc/lactnews.html