I think this has been mentioned before, but since we're having a discussion on the topic again here goes - Especially when using such a tube directly on the breast (not under a nipple shield), you want to do everything you can to keep the baby from expecting the feel of the tube everytime he nurses. To accomplish this, use the smallest diameter tube possible. For the most part, we use the 3.5 Fr. tubes. Sometimes, when using colostrum, it seems too "thick" to flow through the 3.5 readily and we will use a 5. With mature breast milk or (horrors) formula, the 3.5 is just fine. We have had to fight to keep them in stock, as they aren't used much anymore, even with our tiniest preemies, but they do keep some on hand for our use. Winnie *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html