Struggling, and not struggling, all at once!

[Smoke Jaguar]

I just read in the latest Essence magazine (ABA quarterly...in which you will find a photo with Yours Truly in it this time!!) a little story about an Aboriginal woman (I'm pretty sure she was Aboriginal) who had problems BFing and the next time she saw a caregiver they asked her how she was going with attachment. She said it was going great and was no longer using nipple shields! The 'fix'? The baby suckled from another woman's breast (another, experienced breastfeeder) and when she went back to mum it was all sorted
I am sure that if you were willing to give that a go, there'd be some trusted BB'ers who could help you out there, including me
You can also call 1800mum2mum ANY time, day or night, to talk about any issues you're having, even if you have enlisted the help of a LC.
AND, if you get along to your local ABA group meeting next, you'll find at least one person who has had similar issues. I just love my Booby Club - my old one, and the one in my new area (which is an unofficial one, while we wait for a trainee to finish her training).
When DS was born I was subscribed to ABA and had my Breastfeeding Naturally book that became our bible, we used the council LC and within 2 weeks I was at my local meetings. Changed my life and brought people into it who are still here that I just love so much.
As some gorgeous women who were close to me at the time DS was born said, "It just clicks" (tongue tie for 4 weeks, settling into new tongue for about 6 more weeks!). It will fall into place, and hopefully it clicks without you even noticing, so that all of a sudden you realise "Hey, how long has THAT been working?"

[Heaven]

PZ I think it's fine to just leave them if you like unless they get sore and very lumpy or hot and red or something. Then express and try and massage the lumps out. But you can express for comfort if you want to. When I asked the same question barb told me that in these early days your BM production is dictated by hormones not supply and demand yet so if you pump it won't increase your supply HTH xx

[Miss E]

PZ I think it's fine to just leave them if you like unless they get sore and very lumpy or hot and red or something. Then express and try and massage the lumps out. But you can express for comfort if you want to.

Yeah I tend to agree, just do what you need to do to stay comfortable, and if that means expressing a little after each feed then it should be ok. On the plus side it's also great to have a stock of EBM put away in the freezer in case you need it down the track.

So glad to hear the nipple shields are working well for you and Isla. A tip my LC gave me was to hand express a few drops around the edges of the shield to help them stick to your skin, it made life so much easier. I used the shields full time until about 8 weeks when I decided to have another shot at getting DS to attach direct to the breast. I would try after he had had a feed from the first side and wasn't really hungry and easily frustrated. After 3 or 4 goes we got the hang of it. From there we started out doing just one feed on each side directly from the nipple each day and gradually did more and more until about 12 weeks when we were able to drop the shields altogether. For me they made the difference between being able to BF and not, and we went on to feed until 22 months. So I guess what I am trying to say is don't get disheartened, it's wonderful that the two of you are able to establish the breastfeeding relationship and over time you might be able to wean from the shields, but if not that's ok too, I know plenty of women who have gone on to feed with shields for a very long time. HTH