From: coleb                Thu Oct 03, 1996 -- 01:06:10 PM
To: [log in to unmask]@
Kathleen-

I have a couple of questions - Does mom have flat/inverted nipples?  Is that
the reason for the nipple shield, or are you thinking it's easier to coax
baby onto breast with one?  "Wide-based bottle"?  So baby is being finger-fed
and bottle fed?

I'm glad mom took a few days off of the traumatic attempts at breastfeeding.
I am sure with all that baby AND mom have been through, they both needed a
rest.  I have used finger-feeding, but my experience has been that it makes
feedings that much more difficult for mom (and dads/grandmas).  We all know
everybody has their own ways of dealing with things, and I'm sure that's what
you're asking for are suggestions that work for others.  I have found using
the Haberman feeder for supplementation/suck training if baby is not catching
onto BF'ing at all.  I have only used them for 3-4 months, but I have not had
one baby yet who refused to transition over to the breast. It has been
absolutely amazing for kids who have no clue or desire to breastfeed.  With
the Haberman, milk does not drip into baby's mouth.  The nipple is long so it
goes to the back of the mouth.  And the base is wide.  Putting the small line
in front of the baby's nose forces the baby to use his tongue to "milk" the
nipple with the greatest effort.  This is the nipple used for cleft babies
where the longest line at the nose makes it easiest to get the milk out.
If mom's nipples are flat, she will have to kind of play with the baby's
tongue when he opens his mouth so he will suck the nipple into his mouth
instead of mom putting it in quickly when he opens.  Certainly this is far
from ideal, but so is your situation.  If the baby does not suck correctly,
he won't get any milk.  If he is a biter, he will be flooded with milk, and
usually that is a negative response babies don't want to repeat too many
times.  Let us know what happens.