I always wanted to breastfeed but for many reasons this didn't happen with Abby so as you can imagine I was determined to make it work with Mia but after 10 days the pain in my nipples was excruciating, I had been to a breastfeeding support group and spoken to my midwife but nothing seemed to help, then I discovered nipple shields and the relief was amazing. However I did find them rather big and the teats had a very plastic feel to them but they helped me through the first few weeks, that's when Mam asked me to review there nipple shields, I found these much better as they were smaller so Mia was still able to get the feel of my breast and the silk teat felt much more like a nipple. The shields also come in a handy box that can be sterilised with the shields, I found this good to take to bed for night feeds. The nipple shields come in two sizes, size 1 and size 2 I tried both and found size 2 to be far too big but size 1 just right. Remember when choosing the size of your nipple shield it is your nipple size and not your breast size don't just think because you have a generous bust you will need the bigger shield and vice versa. Overall I found the Mam nipple shields to be a godsend and enabled me to carry on breastfeeding comfortably until I was able to feed without there help, however I still keep them close to hand especially when Mia is feeding a bit too vigorously during teething.
I must point out a few things:
Always get help from your midwife, health visitor or a breastfeeding support group.
Nipple shields may reduce your milk supply (I didn't find this)
Try and wean baby off nipple shields as soon as you can when you have healed or the pain from feeding has stopped.
