What is Reddit's opinion of Starter Supplemental Nursing System 80 ml #0097003S?

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Have you tried or asked your provider about SNS tools/help? I used three SNS tools to correct this and it worked in one feeding! When I was in hospital my son was on formula in the NICU and lost interest in the breast...an LC in hosp. showed me this setup - nipple shield + syringe to for filling + starter tubing.

First, nipple shield emulates the bottle texture plastic while baby gets the “picture” of being at the breast.

Second, i had a syringe with a curved tip small enough to fit in the holes of the nipple shield, so we started by filling the nipple shield with expressed milk with this syringe.

Third - added the starter attachment to another 12ml syringe full of breastmilk, (it looks like a syringe attached to long thin tubing with holes pierced at the end of tubing (similar to this Starter Supplemental Nursing System 80 ml #0097003S https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G87KYE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_kixyFbBAFW1AM).

We “tricked” my baby into experiencing a hybrid of bottle like texture and mama/breast experience by bringing him to the breast and tucking the tiny angel-hair sized tubing into the corner of his mouth, pressing down on the syringe every so often, meanwhile, he suckled at the plastic nipple shield and breastmilk came out with little effort.

By the next feeding I no longer needed the equipment! I was so surprised it worked so quickly and I never used the SNS again. I was told they arent meant to be used long term.

It was goos to have the extra set of hands from the LC because it was a lot of moving parts, but well worth it.

Best of luck!

Edited to add: in hindsight i would have asked them more about latch and spent more time with this early on. I was so thrilled he went back to breast after formula that i put up with more pain/poor latch at first and would have done that differently. It was not the only hurdle in our breastfeeding journey and we’re still finding our way almost 3 months later but enjoying the effort and connection.

Starter Supplemental Nursing System 80 ml #0097003S https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G87KYE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MQvmFbN8JTPFM

SNS 👆🏼 it’s like a suuuuper long but tiny straw. You put breast milk or formula in the bottle, clip it by your shoulder then run the long, flexible tube to the end of your nipple. Latch baby on as usual with the tube at the roof of baby’s mouth. When baby sucks, she will get a swig from the bottle but also transfer milk from the breast. So you get the stimulation and she gets used to not using the bottle. I would suggest buying a roll of paper tape as well (sold by bandaids at the store) to help hold the little tube in the right position on your breast. It’s clean so baby’s mouth can touch it, no problem.

You got dealt a shit hand, and I’m sorry. I don’t mean to place any pressure to continue, but since it sounds like you really want to keep trying, here’s some advice:

• My LC recommended the SNS starter kit and it really helped. The idea is that you connect a bottle of formula (or expressed milk) to a small tube whose opening is right next to your nipple, then baby patches on to both at once. Baby sucks harder/longer because the flow rate is higher. Your nipples get stimulated during feeding, which helps increase supply. You would still pump after feeding (even though you likely will not get much) to help supply rise over time. Filling the SNS and cleaning it will be your partner’s job.
• Rent a baby scale with 0.1 oz sensitivity from the hospital. Do weighted feedings so you can know how much extra formula you really need to give and convince yourself that the situation is improving
• Lots of water and calories for you; partner to make sure there is something beside you while nursing or holding during naps. Oatmeal is great, ideally in a form you can hold with one hand (lactation cookies, bars)
• The pain will get better. In the meantime, not all nipple creams are equal, so try a few. I like Medela’s brand but Lansinoh and Earth Mama Nipple Cream are also popular.

My girl wouldn't latch without milk coming out at all, so you're doing pretty well! I used this supplemental nursing system so she'd get fed and that helped her to know why she should latch on.

Your experience is very similar to mine. My 5 week old also had a tongue tie/lip tie release done weeks ago, however we haven’t seen much improvement. I also have low supply so sns was recommended. I started off with a diy sns and it was so cumbersome, so I eventually purchased the Medela starter sns. This was much more user friendly but it is designed as a temporary measure. One time use but we used it multiple times.

My son also caught on to the tube with both systems. He knew when the tube was going in and stopped feeding when he felt that it was no longer there. It also started to affect his latch so I am no longer using the sns, and back to bottle feeding to supplement. Sorry I wish I had a more positive experience but eliminating the sns process saved me from an extra headache.

Good luck and hope it works out for you!

https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Supplemental-Nursing-System-Bottle/dp/B001G87KYE/ref=pd_bxgy_75_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001G87KYE&pd_rd_r=HJ5VM9K070CAHA3Z5BDH&pd_rd_w=PlxKg&pd_rd_wg=rfT73&psc=1&refRID=HJ5VM9K070CAHA3Z5BDH

With our second my wife had a difficult delivery and delayed milk onset. It was three weeks of pumping after every single feeding. At night we were up for at least an hour every time. She worked with two lactation consultants and it finally started coming in. Fenugreek, hydrate, and barley water is what they told us. We were supplementing with formula and using using a thing called an SNS to help increase stimulation while supplementing.

My daughter is five months, off the chart for height and 65th for weight. She's doing great now and my wife is having no issues. Be supportive, encourage her, and help out however you can. I made sure her pump was clean and had it set up downstairs when I would leave for work and washed everything each time at night. You can do anything for a few weeks when your family needs you to, you're dad now, we get things done.

Have you thought of feeding her the formula through an SNS? It'll help keep your supply up and may boost it a little if she goes through a growth spurt.

EDIT - You can buy them on Amazon.

You can buy it on Amanzon here and it’s pretty cheap. You can pass the tube underneath your boob and tape it in place. That way the baby won’t see it

My baby would fall asleep like this in the early weeks because he wasn't really getting anything and was just nursing. He didn't really have the energy to stay awake.

You could try syringe feeding instead of a dropper. While you have baby on the breast, insert a plastic syringe in the side of his mouth and slowly squirt in the supplement.

Alternatively, you could try an supplemental nursing system where you stick a tube in baby's mouth and he learns to suck. Im still using an SNS at 7 weeks. I use the Big Boy Version because it works really well for me. I didn't start using one until like 4 weeks and was using the syringe method the early weeks. The SNS has been awesome in helping me up my supply and teach baby to suck. More and more often im able to satiate baby all on my own during a feed now!

Here's some links!

Starter Supplemental Nursing System with 80ml Bottle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G87KYE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YDzOAb8S9W6N4

https://youtu.be/Q0s2lgD1JeM

Starter Supplemental Nursing System with 80ml Bottle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G87KYE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RPGGzbZMMQC0H here is the SNS I mentioned! It worked for us but is a pain to use!

Yes - supplementer :)

This is a link for the "starter" one that costs about $18 on Amazon It was okay. I used it for about 2 days, but it spilled milk on me two times and just didn't work 2x (because I'd put it together wrong).

This is the expensive-ass one I have (at least it comes with 2 so I can use one and have the next one ready & it's never leaked on me and seems to be pretty idiot-proof to put together after figuring it out by doing it the first couple of times). I chose it because a few blogs with women whose stories seemed somewhat similar to our issues said it was better, and it is also according to the reviews easier to tuck into a bra to nurse discretely in public and nurse lying down (both of these are very important to me as this is my 3rd kid).

Here's a link for the other one that seems to be popular.

I was seeing an IBCLC weekly and all I wanted to do was exclusively breastfeed and triple-feeding (attempt to nurse, bottle, pump) was so exhausting, I really wish I had started the whole SNS journey sooner ... maybe we'd be able to wean from it sooner and be only breastfeeding. It was so, so amazing when we were able to cut the amount of "top off" by like 2/3 in just 2 weeks. I cannot sing the praises of at-breast supplementation enough - if what you really want to be doing is breastfeeding, it's BREASTFEEDING, you know?

We've kind of plateaued at the 10oz level, but that may be because of the shield, or other issues we have that I'm hoping will resolve if we stick with it as she gets bigger/stronger. (I actually joined to post/ask about our particular struggle.)

If you're looking for supplements, I found that milkmaid tea and old fashioned oatmeal really helped me a lot.

Edit: formatting

I went through this same thing last week with my now 2 week old. It's beyond frustrating, I know!

Your LO shouldn't be in too much pain by now, it's more likely that he is frustrated because he doesn't know how to latch the way he had already learned. I went through an extremely difficult few days after my LO's tongue/lip was clipped because I had to train him how to re-latch properly. It's still a work in progress because he likes to bite down the way he used to, but it's been over a week now and I'm seeing a huge improvement. So don't be discouraged, you can come out the other side successful too!

You're doing the right thing by pumping and supplementing to keep your LO fed. I'm working on getting my supply up as well, and I'm doing the tea as well as taking fenugreek, blessed thistle, and fennel capsules, 9 of each per day. I'm also pumping after each feeding.

Did your LC recommend a supplementation nursing system (SNS)? If not, I would inquire about it to see if it would be a good fit for you. This is what I use to help fill up my little man while he's stimulating my breasts. It can be filled with formula or breastmilk, and I'm not gonna lie it's extremely difficult to master especially when trying to get him to latch properly but breast stimulation from our babies is the best way to increase supply.

Also, do you have a Soothie pacifier? My LC said because these are shaped like a nipple that pushing it down on the tongue slightly and up again will help his mouth get used to sucking more properly and it seems to have helped.

That's pretty much all I've been doing, and like I said I've seen a good improvement. I still have to supplement with the SNS or a bottle when my LO drains everything out of me, but I definitely feel like my supply is getting better and the latching is getting MUCH easier.

I would definitely contact your LC again for a follow-up now that you've gotten the tongue clipped. I bet she will be able to help you more effectively. Good luck and hang in there! It does get better!

I second using the sns with a sheild! They don't have to work as hard and get instant reward for sucking. It's what they suggested for me after I had to start supplementing right after birth.

Starter Supplemental Nursing System with 80ml Bottle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G87KYE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_qb8fzbHJHDXX1

This is the one my hospital gave me. It's basically like a little IV and you stick the tube under the sheild but not past your nipple! You can also use the sns with out the sheild but I haven't mastered that yet (my little guy is only 5 weeks)