Breastfeeding question

livins

hi everyone. I was curious if anyone had success breastfeeding with inverted nipples. I've read it can be done depending on how your nipples react. My doc hasn't said anything about them to me, they just always ask if my nipples have always been inverted when they do an exam. I'm hope to BF but don't want to set myself up for disappointment if I won't be able to.

andimegie325

I don't personally have them, but a close friend did. She used a nipple shield to help with latching for the first few weeks and was fine au natural after that.

RunnerMeg

I don't have them either, but yes a nipple shield can help a lot. You should be Able to nurse without the shield after the first 3-4 weeks.

danasphillips

Yeah, I don't have them, but I hear nipple shields work great to help with inverted nipples (and I had to use one in the beginning because DS had a hard time latching.

mg137

I don't but I had tiny twins so struggled for the first month. If you have trouble even after following advice you get ahead of time I recommend getting a lactation consultant. Mine worked wonders for us. Check out La Leche League. I've heard that if you you can't afford the fees they'll find you someone for cheap or free though I'm not positivite about that. Your hospital prob will have lactation constants too.

Good luck!

MarleneG88

andimegie325 said:

I don't personally have them, but a close friend did. She used a nipple shield to help with latching for the first few weeks and was fine au natural after that.

This exactly. I had them and used a nipple shield for a little while then weaned off it and ended up breastfeeding for over 2 years! Now my nips won't go back in haha. But I'm glad, so I won't have to worry about that problem this time

ainverso

My good friend does and used a nipple sheild for a few weeks . She also had success with a hand pump first before latching baby on. Now she doesn't need any help

Emott13

Same as everyone else, it can be done! However, it will definitely make it more difficult, and even those of us without inverted nipples can sometimes have a hard time getting baby to latch. I guess I just remember feeling downhearted when BFing didn't come super easy to me like it did to other moms, and I don't want you to feel that way because you hear other people's success stories. Yes, it can be done, but there are plenty of ways to get your LO breastmilk or just the right nutrition through formula of you struggle with latching. Don't give up, but stressing about it will only hinder your production and let-down. Professional help from places like La Leche is great, too. You be you, momma.

ashin121

I don't but one of my sisters does. She has one inverted and the other is fine. The baby definitely preferred the one that wasn't inverted because it was easier to latch on. She cried alot whenever she had to bf on that side but the nipple shield helped. Eventually she didn't need it anymore because it's no longer inverted

mamaksweez

I don't have inverted nipples, and breast feeding was the hardest thing I have ever done. I was seeing a lactation consultant every other day to help and it was horrible. My milk took 5 days to come in, I was completely scabbed over, it was totally painful, when my baby spit up there would often times be pieces of scab in it (which my doc said was totally normal?!). It was awful. When my baby woke up to nurse I would try and make her go back to sleep without feeding her just for a few more minutes because I hated it so bad. Both her and I cried through almost every feeding.
I'm not telling you this to scare you or anything, just to prepare you that it might be really hard and it might not be worth it, and you're still a wonderful mom if you do t breastfeed. I know I became a much better mom when I quit breastfeeding, because I was happier and not in pain and my baby was happier because she was getting fed when she was hungry and actually getting milk. There's lots of judgers out there, so just do what works for you because a well taken care of baby is what's most important.

nelly1988

Iam the same I have been doing lots of reading I read u can try a break pump to encourage nipple to pop out right before bf or encourage partner to orally play with them during love making to encourage them to pop out

MrsB915

I too used a nipple shield, not for inverted nipple but due to my son's prematurity. I was able to wean him from the shield near his due date and am currently weaning him from the breast. I second getting help from a lactation consultant. It's awkward but I don't know if we'd have made it without ours. You should be able to request a consult in the hospital. You can also EP if your baby isn't able to latch at all. The you are still able to provide the bm.

Above all the biggest thing I learned from my experience is DO NOT STRESS!!! I can't emphasize that enough. It is counterproductive. I would sit in my hospital bed sobbing because after 30 min. of pumping I'd get maybe 1 mL... it was depressing. Listen to the nurses when they tell you that it will be ok. If nursing or pumping don't work after you've given it a good try there is no shame in ff. Your baby needs a happy, sane Mommy. Good luck.

carlypfield

Take full advantage of all resources and classes and lactation consultant. We struggled with nursing and I wish I got more help. We made it through it though.

danasphillips

mamaksweez said:

I don't have inverted nipples, and breast feeding was the hardest thing I have ever done. I was seeing a lactation consultant every other day to help and it was horrible. My milk took 5 days to come in, I was completely scabbed over, it was totally painful, when my baby spit up there would often times be pieces of scab in it (which my doc said was totally normal?!). It was awful. When my baby woke up to nurse I would try and make her go back to sleep without feeding her just for a few more minutes because I hated it so bad. Both her and I cried through almost every feeding.
I'm not telling you this to scare you or anything, just to prepare you that it might be really hard and it might not be worth it, and you're still a wonderful mom if you do t breastfeed. I know I became a much better mom when I quit breastfeeding, because I was happier and not in pain and my baby was happier because she was getting fed when she was hungry and actually getting milk. There's lots of judgers out there, so just do what works for you because a well taken care of baby is what's most important.

I'm sorry you struggled, but she was looking for success stories.

cawalp

WineBaby122 said:

mamaksweez said:

There's lots of judgers out there, so just do what works for you because a well taken care of baby is what's most important.

I'm sorry you struggled, but she was looking for success stories.

I think @mamaksweez was trying to point out that sometimes breastfeeding isn't the best option and just cause she formula fed doesn't mean she wasn't successful. Success is a happy healthy baby. Everybody really is judgy if you don't breastfeed but it's nice to hear that it's just not an option for some so it won't be the end of the world if the baby is formula fed.

fragglemom

carlypfield said:

Take full advantage of all resources and classes and lactation consultant. We struggled with nursing and I wish I got more help. We made it through it though.

There are a lot of resources available. Try checking with your unsurance company. Many of them will cover lactation specialists beyond the lessons you'll get at the hospital.

danasphillips

cawalp said:

WineBaby122 said:

mamaksweez said:

There's lots of judgers out there, so just do what works for you because a well taken care of baby is what's most important.

I'm sorry you struggled, but she was looking for success stories.

I think @mamaksweez was trying to point out that sometimes breastfeeding isn't the best option and just cause she formula fed doesn't mean she wasn't successful. Success is a happy healthy baby. Everybody really is judgy if you don't breastfeed but it's nice to hear that it's just not an option for some so it won't be the end of the world if the baby is formula fed.

Right, but OP asked for people who had breastfed successfully with inverted nipples. Saying that is didn't work out for you is one thing, but going into detail about how horrible it was for you isn't really helpful.

mamaksweez

Actually @WineBaby122 she said she doesn't want to set herself up for disappointment if she won't be able to breastfeed, so I was letting her know it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out.

danasphillips

mamaksweez said:

Actually @WineBaby122 she said she doesn't want to set herself up for disappointment if she won't be able to breastfeed, so I was letting her know it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out.

And saying "I tried breastfeeding and it was difficult and didn't work out for us, but it ended up being a better choice for me" is fine, but going into detail about your baby eating your nip scabs and everything else felt a little more like fear mongering.

mamaksweez

Which is why I said all of this...

mamaksweez said:

I'm not telling you this to scare you or anything, just to prepare you that it might be really hard and it might not be worth it, and you're still a wonderful mom if you do t breastfeed. I know I became a much better mom when I quit breastfeeding, because I was happier and not in pain and my baby was happier because she was getting fed when she was hungry and actually getting milk. There's lots of judgers out there, so just do what works for you because a well taken care of baby is what's most important.