So many moms are looking for ways to increase their milk supply! I often recommend a supplemental nursing system as a tool to help. Unfortunately, people can be intimidated by it, and therefore, won’t try it. Let me ease your mind with this post and walk you through what to do. Watch the video or read the post for all the details.
Whether you need this to increase your milk supply, or you are ready to relactate (yes, that’s a thing, check out this post!), an SNS is an incredible tool to use to help!
What is a Supplemental Nursing System?
A supplemental nursing system is basically a feeding tube that is used to feed your baby supplements.
Whether that is your own breast milk, donor milk or formula, you’re going to get something that looks like this.
It’s just a regular old feeding tube. This is a five French feeding tube. And this is going to be the key that you need.
Medela makes some permanent ones for longer term use. A feeding tube is more for short term. It could be something that you just use temporarily. But it also could be a way for you to avoid using bottles.
Why would you want to use this as opposed to just using a bottle?
- Baby is not starting on a bottle.
- Baby does not learn how the fast flow of the bottle works.
- You are getting the supplement in while baby is at the breast.
This can in turn stimulate the breast even more. It will make baby more vigorous to feed at the breast and a lot of times if you’re trying to increase your milk supply, this will help tremendously.
Who is it for?
- Babies that are super sleepy that just need that little extra encouragement
- Baby has jaundice
- Relactating or inducing lactation
- Increasing milk supply
How to attach the system
One of the best ways to do it is to go ahead and have your feeding tube inside of whatever your supplement is going to be. You can actually just drop it into the bottle and you want to make sure you have a good measurement of how much is in there so you know how much baby’s getting you can also secure it because sometimes pinch a little bit on there but just secure it a little bit so that way if things topple over, you’re going to be just fine.
Next, you’re going to go ahead and latch your baby onto the breast. That’s what I find to be the easiest. Some people will tape the feeding tube here onto the breast and let baby latch on that way. But sometimes it’s hard to get the baby to latch on while there’s something poking them, so it’s easiest to go ahead and latch the baby on.
Sandwich the breast and point the nipple up toward the nose. Then tickle and wait for the baby’s nice, wide open and bring them onto the breast. Once you get a nice seal on the breast (good latch), take the feeding tube and I’m going to slip it into the corner of the baby’s mouth. Then, tape it onto the breast to hold it in place, and the baby will siphon the milk out.
Alternatively, you can utilize a syringe and attach the syringe onto the end of the feeding tube and push the milk through.
How to clean
Push some water through them and then you can swing it a little bit through the air to get all the water out. Don’t blow it through, just use soapy water and clean it out nicely and just get the air to dry out as much as you can.
You can use these for a couple of days but you want to get a new one. If you are needing a supplemental nursing system for a longer term, think about getting one of the longer term use supplemental nursing systems. They hang around your neck, and it’s pretty convenient.
Make sure you’re working with a lactation consultant, an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant if you’re having complications and issues, especially if you are using a supplemental nursing system. It can be a little tricky and it’s nice to have them walk you through how to use it in an in-home visit or virtual visit. And they can also help answer any questions you have about weaning off of it when is the right time to wean off of it. If you don’t have a lactation consultant, you can reach out to my team as well and we can get you set up for virtual appointment or we can help you locate a lactation consultant in your area.
Resources to purchase:
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