if youre bfing are you preparing your nipples?

december2009arrival · October 2009

my mom told me to start pinching, tugging, and playing in general with my nipples. she said it helps toughen them up. i looked at her weird when she said that but now it really has me thinking. does anyone know anything about this?

also, i have some lanoshish cream and it says you can start applying during pregnancy. if i do that, do you think i'll just be wasting it?

i plan on asking my doctor all of these questions at my next appointment, but i'm curious now.

jensneb · October 2009

My mom has been telling me the same thing, I can't bring myself to do it yet.

nikkirenee81 · October 2009

I know that this is probably a good idea and have heard it from people, too. But, just the thought of it makes me want to cry. I will be in pain then, I don't need to be now!

december2009arrival · October 2009

jensneb:
My mom has been telling me the same thing, I can't bring myself to do it yet.

i do some squeezing every now and then, but that's only because a tiny bit of collustrom comes out and it makes me happy. haha.

karaokerampergirl · October 2009

My husband plays with mine all the freakin time. I don't think it helps though..... they are still crazy sensitive. I have to tell him they are on a time out every other day or so.

topazwind · October 2009

I heard that was outdated thinking. ?I breastfed DS and never toughened up my nipples. ?Sometimes it hurt, but honestly I don't think anything I could do before hand would change that.

Worcbride · October 2009

honestly, I BF'd DD and I dont think any prep would have helped. As for using the cream beforehand I also don't see the point of that.

JennRN65 · October 2009

There is no need to "prepare" or "toughen" your nipples pre-BF. The montgomery glands (small bumps on your nipples) excrete an oil that helps keep your nipples conditioned. You can use the lanolin during pregnancy but I only used it when my nipples were itchy from growth spurts.

The idea of "toughening" was around when I BF my oldest (21) but nowadays the books and lactation consultants do NOT recommend it.

jdlocke · October 2009

IT IS AN OLD WIVES TALE! You could permanently damage your nipples if you "toughen" them. Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt if LO is latched on correctly.

otherhalf · October 2009

The nurse that ran our birth classes said it was totally unnecessary. My mom did try to tell me to do this, but I made her stop- way tmi from her!

jen5-03 · October 2009

It's an old-school, outdated recommendation.

If it's something that you want to do, you need to wait until 37-38 weeks because nipple stimulation is one of the ways you can attempt to start labor.

mrsandrews07 · October 2009

i tried and it was miserable...i will wait till my baby girl is here and makes them miserable...all my girlfriends who have newborns are saying that they wish they had roughed them up before but i just can't do it.

pregali80 · October 2009

The breastfeeding class and the midwives I've talked to say this is nonsense. You can do nothing to prepare your nipples. Its not like building up callouses on your fingers to play a gituar. Wink

LovingLife! · October 2009

Yep, my mom said her doctors told her to roughen up her nipples with her towel when she got out of the shower. I asked my midwife about this and she says it's been totally debunked! You're just putting yourself through more pain and setting yourself up for misery. Your body knows what to do, let it do it's thing!

Jocelyn0415 · October 2009

Everyone keeps telling me to do this too. I guess I need to start.

MrsErinnElizabeth · October 2009

jdlocke:
IT IS AN OLD WIVES TALE! You could permanently damage your nipples if you "toughen" them. Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt if LO is latched on correctly.

This.

Nikki_Jo · October 2009

in our BF class our LC said not to do this it will not help. If LO is latched on correctly it should not hurt. If it does we are supposed to make an apt with her because we are not doing something right.

MattsWifey<3 · October 2009

ouch. oh my goodness... NO WAY! don't do that. that's a super super old wives tale / thing they used to do.

Bonzer · October 2009

both are 100% unnecessary. Any lactation consultant will also tell you that the best moisturizer for your nipples is your own milk and those creams sometimes actually deter the baby from latching.

lbg832 · October 2009

Bonzer:
both are 100% unnecessary. Any lactation consultant will also tell you that the best moisturizer for your nipples is your own milk and those creams sometimes actually deter the baby from latching.

This. DD was and always has been very picky. Even Lansinoh, which is endorsed by the La Leche League, gave her isues. According to the box you can leave it on when the baby feeds. I had to wipe my nips with a wet cloth every time I fed her becasue she hated the taste of it, and she was a great eater and latched on without much help from me from the very beginning.

One thing that I found really helpd was not to wash my nips with soap. The chemicals are way to harsh and tend to dry out the skin quite a bit. Just warm water.

emilie01 · October 2009

My mom told me the same thing. I asked the dr last appt and he laughed at me! Said it was outdated and I didn't really have to do anything to prepare them. I guess I won't cause it sounds terrible!

Worcbride · October 2009

Bonzer:
both are 100% unnecessary. Any lactation consultant will also tell you that the best moisturizer for your nipples is your own milk and those creams sometimes actually deter the baby from latching.

fyi you only use the creams after you BF and wipe it off right before you begin the next session; any while your own milk is great it doesn't help when your sore nipples are rubbing against clothes/pads/whatever--the creams do help

thetwistedwillow · October 2009

jdlocke:
IT IS AN OLD WIVES TALE! You could permanently damage your nipples if you "toughen" them. Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt if LO is latched on correctly.

I agree that it is an OWT.

However I don't agree about the pain. My daughters latched on correctly but I still had pain and tenderness that first week. I've also read it can be common with some women when babies first latch on but once they get going suckling the pain lessens and dissipates.

schnookee · October 2009

I was told that in the beginning of my pregnancy and I read up on it and found that it was an old wives tale. From what I read the best things to do are to keep them moisturized with lanishoh or something like that (I use earth mama angel baby nipple butter everytime after I shower) and before you give birth and after do not use soap on your nipples, it will dry them out. I also read after you feed to rub some breastmilk on your nipples to help keep them moisturized as well.

ToledoDeux · October 2009

jdlocke:
IT IS AN OLD WIVES TALE! You could permanently damage your nipples if you "toughen" them. Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt if LO is latched on correctly.

Not true. In the beginning, even with a good latch, it may hurt anyway. Not trying to scare anyone, but you should be prepared - I found this maxim to be a disservice when I was struggling with the pain in the first few weeks.

ETA: just to clarify - I only disagreed with the last sentence of your post. The need to toughen one's nipples is for sure an OWT.

christina627 · October 2009

I didn't do it and I EBF.

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