Customer Reviews

Medela Supplemental Nursing System

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I am breastfeeding after a breast reduction surgery about 14 years ago. I have been using the SNS since my little girl's first week and now I am only using it to supplement 2-3 feedings daily. I never would have increased my milk supply without the SNS because it allowed me to supplement while still getting stimulation at the breast. It is tedious and a lot of work to use the SNS, but for me it has been well worth the work. My little Emily is now 14 weeks old and I'm hoping that eventually we won't have to use the SNS at all.

After I went back to work my little one got used to the bottle. When I would try breast feeding her she would turn away and cry (wanting the bottle). I was afraid that my milk supply would go down so I used this item, only a few times, to trick her into staying on the breast to stimulate my milk supply. I now only have to use it on occasion. I recommend any mother who has low milk supply or a fussy baby wanting the bottle to USE THIS ITEM!

This product may be right for you if like me, you tried keeping up with pumping and caring for your newborn on your own while your spouse had to return to work and your family had to go home. Rather than stress and tire yourself out pumping and washing and storing, try this SNS. I had been pumping and washing and storing and it ran me down so that my milk supply was on the decline. My baby had been introduced to a bottle at about 2 weeks because she was sleepy at the breat do to being small (6 lbs 4 oz) at birth. Her ped said to bottle feed or they would have her hospitalized. (THIS WAS ALL AFTER HAVING BEEN TOLD SHE HAD A PERFECT LATCH AT THE HOSPITAL) I wish I had had the courage to ask for this then and she never would have had a bottle at all. Oh well, we all learn. :) The bottle created a flow problem and she would get fussy at the breast waiting for the let down. Causing her to suckle poorly, further reducing the milk supply. NOW - with the SNS we have restored a high milk supply and she stays awake at the breast. MOST IMPORTANTLY - our feeding time is RELAXED AND ENJOYABLE for both of us. She has always preferred breast milk so I am glad that we were able to try this and have some success. Be aware, you may feel frustrated with this at first as it can be cumbersome, but don't give up, it will help in the long run. I find it best to wear under my shirt and have the tubes positioned correctly and secured before picking her up. Babies are not born with patience so you want to be ready when they are. GOOD LUCK!!!

I recently had my first child and was dedicated to breastfeeding. Unfortunately, due to a breast reduction surgery I had in the past my milk supply has been low. I do make almost enough milk and found the idea of giving up breastfeeding all together devestating. The nipple confusion that can come with giving a bottle is very real, not to mention how upset my daughter got when I would have to stop in the middle of feeding her to go make up the bottle. With this, I can fix the supplement in the beginning, feed it to her while breastfeeding, and we are both happy and comfortable...and she is getting the nutrition she needs with the bonding of breastfeeding.
This product has been a lifesaver for me.

This bottle was a miracle for us. My daughter was born with Pierre Robin and no other cleft palate feeder worked for her. It was never recommended to us by the hospital because they felt it was "too expensive." They would've rather kept my daughter on a feeding tube than find a bottle that worked. Well, we discovered this bottle online and my daughter took off on it. It is the only one that worked for her and it was a miracle to us. It has the ability to change flow rates and you can squeeze the nipple instead of the bottle itself. To us, money is no object when it comes to our daughter and we'd gladly pay more for this bottle if we had to.

I have used this and Medela's short term SNS due to low milk supply. Four months in, I can't recommend either of them. The concept is great, but Medela does not implement it very well.

This model has a number of problems. The tube clamps don't hold, yet the tube gets clamped during a feeding. The tubes break quickly. It is hard to get the tube positioned in the babies mouth without tape- which gave me a rash. There is no way for the air to be replaced in the bottle so you either have to unclamp the second tube, which results in milk spilling down your front, or the baby has to let go and let the air back in the bottle. My daughter swallowed a lot of air with this model.

I have switched to a Lact-Aid. I didn't buy it originally because it was not on Amazon and the shipping/handling is high. I eventually got the deluxe package (with free shipping) which includes two systems. I wish I had gotten this in the first place. The Lact-Aid uses disposable bags which originally turned me off, but they turn out to be wonderful. They take air bubbles out of the equation. Since we started using it my daughter hasn't had any painful gas, which she had every day before. It is easier to position in the babies mouth. It is easier to clean. The tube clamp holds and it is impossible to clamp it accidentally. Filling the bags is a bit more complicated, but not difficult and there are really good instructions.

Skip the Medela and get a Lact-Aid. If you need it right away get the cheaper short term Medela Medela Starter Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) Sterile M#00902 without 80ml Bottle locally while you wait for the Lact-Aid (it came from Tennessee) or pay for expedited shipping.

I used this system to stimulate milk so that I could breastfeed my adopted son. (Crazy I know!) I used it for about three months. I found it VERY difficult to use initially, and agree with the post that suggested you have someone trained help you the first time or two. Initially I taped the tubes in place on each breast prior to holding by baby. Eventually I didn't need the tape to keep the tube in place, but especially as you are getting the hang of nursing, it is just one more thing to have to deal with- so the tape helped eliminate having to think about the tube placement and focus on my baby's latch.
For me the difficulty was in keeping the bottle containing the milk at the right height. If I slouched or changed my position it seemed to affect the flow- too high too fast/too low too slow- and so I felt like I had to pay attention to how often the baby was swallowing.
That said, my baby gained weight very quickly and between this and Domperidone I was able to establish a great milk supply and eventually was nursing exclusively with no supplemental system needed. I was pretty careful about not using bottles, as I didn't think it was the most comfortable thing for the baby's lips. But ultimately this product helped me produce milk, which turned out to be pretty important for my kid (lots of tummy and allergy issues).
So I would suggest you decide how committed you are to breastfeeding, and if it is pretty important to you- give this system a try. If it isn't, then this system is probably too complicated for it to be worth it. It just depends on how you feel about the issue.

I have struggled with nursing my children due to injury to my breasts but this works well to help my milk supply I pump then use the milk in the SNS the next time I nurse and after I am done nursing him I pump again for next time I have gotten to the point the baby seems satisfied when I nurse him away from home and not using the SNS I am so grateful to be able to nurse him. I hope to be able to nurse him exclusively until he is one, and with the help of the SNS I think I will be able to.

We started the SNS 3 weeks ago. Baby has a bad latch (tightens her upper lip) she doesn't drain my milk therefor my milk supply stayed low.

I didn't want to give this a low rating because for it's purpose it does do what its suppose to.

My only real peeve is cleaning this, the bottle has these corners that I can't wash with a bottle brush.

There was a lot of fumbling in the beginning between the strap around the neck and latching baby on and latching her on with the tube then unhooking the tube and formula/breast milk dripping out.

I've gotten a lot better at using it, no longer need tape, I took the rope off too. What I do now is tuck the bottle in between my shoulder blade and bra strap.

My supply has increased.

I was given bad advice in the hospital and given a nipple shield that reduced stimulation so much that I never built a full supply of milk. I had to supplement, pump, and to add insult to injury..my son refused the breast entirely if it did not have a shield on it. He loves silicone and will take any bottle over the breast any day of the week. He has an upper lip tie that medical professionals have denied exists and not given me help for (to have it snipped) so he has trouble opening his mouth properly to latch.

I bought this 1.) to supplement him at the breast and 2.) to possibly trick him into staying latched without the shield by giving him an instant "reward" of milk. At first I slipped the tube under the shield. Then one random sleepy evening he didn't scream when flesh instead of silicone touched his lips, so I got him to latch - slowly, badly, as he had never latched without a shield before. But it worked! My husband gave the SNS bottle a few gentle squeezes at the start of the feed to entice our son into staying latched,and it worked! We still have issues, but at least now he will try to latch without the shield (with or without the SNS) because he knows he can get milk that way.

It is tricky to put together but worth it compared to the other non-Medela SNS on the market. It WILL NOT leak if assembled correctly. You must make sure that the bumps in the silicone disc that holds the 2 tubes are slipped into the grooves of the plastic disc perfectly - which is NOT hard but is easy to overlook. If the bumps do not align, it will break the seal and it will leak from the cap when overturned. I have always used the slowest flow tubes..the others are pretty fast. If supplementing with breastmilk, be sure to gently heat it to body temp because any bits of solid fat (from being refrigerated) can clog the tube. If you must use powdered formula, mix it at least an hour before using the SNS and warm it to prevent blobs of powder clogging the tube. Ready-made formulas work better.

I have not had trouble with the tubes staying in the clamps, which are the grooves all around the cap's ring. After testing the SNS before putting it on (to make sure the tubes are not blocked), I tuck the tubes in and have no leakage issues.

To prevent the tubes from leaking while nursing (usually, the tube on the opposite breast needs to be open so that it can vent while baby takes milk from the other side) I tape it up to both sides as suggested, and only unclamp the side I mean to use right before trying to latch. After he is latched for about 30-60 seconds, I will slip the other side out of the clamp. This way there is already a vaccum and instead of the other tube leaking, air will flow in and vent the bottle.

It is tricky to get Baby to latch with the tubes, but it can be done. Place the provided tape as suggested, and place an additional piece of tape ON the areola, very close to the nipple, so that the tube is right there and cannot be flipped away. It did not affect my son's latch. The tape is hard to remove in this sensitive spot, but just use a little lanolin, baby oil, or even cooking oil to soften the adhesive/

I wish I'd bought this sooner! My supply went up, Baby's coordination got better, his nipple preference/confusion went down, and we were all around happier. I'd definitely buy it if you have issues, or buy Medela Starter Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) Sterile M#00902 without 80ml Bottle, the temporary, cheaper SNS before Baby arrives if you are worried about having troubles