From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Nipple shield with SNS
Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 22:28:05 -0600








I discovered that I could use an SNS with a wide-based nipple, 20 years ago, while trying to convert my fourth adopted child and first daughter, Julia, to the breast.  She arrived at six months old, not even bottle feeding, except for a few ounces a day of Pregestimil.  Most of her food was given through a gastrostomy.  She weighed nine pounds, was developmentally delayed, wamted nothing to do with me, at first, and would freak out if I tried to hold her facing into my breast.  Like most of the babies I have had anything to do with who were adopted after having had a very traumatic early life, she was very afraid of anything that was new to her.  With some patience, effort and love, I was able to teach her that sucking is comforting and get her feeding totally by mouth and gaining weight, but she still rejected the breast.  My biggest obstacle was getting her to accept being held in any position where it would have been possible for her to latch onto my breast.  The first thing that really made a difference was getting out one of my old lei needles and threading the SNS tube through the hole, positioning it so that it was just barely poking through.  For feedings, I could put that combo over a bottle, so it looked to her like she was just getting a bottle feeding.  Once she was sucking and relaxed, I would remove the bottle.  Then, I started gradually turning her facing my breast.  It worked like a charm! After a while, I started trying to take the nipple out of her mouth, when she was half asleep but still sucking, and see if she would take my nipple.  She would open her mouth, but then close it as soon as her tongue touched my skin.  Then, I went to a nipple shield with a tube taped under it.  A few days later, she latched on after I had moved the shield, and we were finally a nursing couple!  She nursed for 13 months. I used the SNS while I was using a tube with a bottle nipple attached. Once she started nursing with no other paraphernalia than a supplementer tube I switched to the Lact-Aid, which

So, depending on what your needs are, there are two setups; a bottle nipple with a tube threaded through it, and a nipple shield with a tube.  For the bottle nipple/tube combination (which my late friend Ann Sutherland called "supplementer plus", it is best to use a wide based nipple.  Latex nipples hold the tube in place the best, and it is easier to thread the tube through them without them teariing.  Silicone can be used, but care needs to be taken not to enlarge the hole, because it wil tear.  For it to work right, whatever nipple is used absolutely has to have only one hole, and the hole has to be small enough to make a seal around the tube. Otherwise, the baby will suck in air along with the supplement. When it is set up correctly, the baby will feel like he/she is just sucking at a bottle, so you maintain the familiarity of that, while trying to get the baby to accept a change in feeding position.  When I used the shield, I found it worked best to tape the tube to my breast, under the shield.  However, there are different kinds of nipple shields, so maybe attaching the tube to the shield would work with some.  I think the nipple shield out there now with have a notch where the baby's nose goes, so he/she feels/smells mother's skin, is probably preferable.  

I have had an idea for a long time, of a kit that would contain everything needed to convert any baby bottle into a feeding tube device.  It would also contain what was needed to create the "supplementer plus".  I would hope that it could be sold for a lot less than the two feeding tube devices that are now in wide use, and could be used in both hospitals and homes.  If anyone has any suggestions of where I might be able to find soft tubing that would fit the bill, it would be appreciated.  So far, the companies I have been able to get a response from don't have anything small enough.

I hope that helps a little,  I am about half asleep, so it may sound a little weird even to me in the morning!  

Darillyn
 		 	   		  
             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome