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3rd Trimester
PunkyBooster
member
? about breastfeeding (and a little irrational fear)
PunkyBooster
member
I have small breasts. So I know that is what they are made to do, so size alone won't cause an issue, likely, but I still worry.
More worrisome was that the LC during BF-ing class said if your nipples are not half the size of your thumb when erect, then you may have problems.
Is this true? My nips are most definitely NOT half the size of my thumb when sticking out. Is this something that changes?
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Re: ? about breastfeeding (and a little irrational fear)
I sure hope that isn't true. I've expressed fear about the fact I have tiny nips too to my DH and he said I shouldn't worry but it's not like he'd know.
I'm interested to read the advice on this topic as well.
Um, wow...my nipples definitely don't stand out that far when erect. Maybe 1/4 the size of my thumb? Maybe. And I've been successfully BFing for almost a year.
Anyway, my nipples were not as big as they are now when I was pregnant. When I was in the hospital, I did have to pump for a couple seconds before BFing to get my nipples to stand out like they were supposed to...they didn't stand out at all on their own. They weren't inverted, but they were flat. After a few days they got bigger and it was no longer a problem.
Don't worry!
Maybe the LC meant 1/2 the size of the TIP of your thumb. That seems to make a little more sense. I don't think you'd find many women whose erect nipples are 1/2 the size of their whole thumb!
Crappy of the LC to make a generalization like that and worry the bejeezus out of moms-to-be!
While I don't have small boobs (size D), I have noticed in the past maybe two weeks my nipples have gotten wider. They are basically turning into a big sponge on the end of my boob. But, I have started leaking a very tiny bit, so I bet the changes to my nipples are only because the colostrum is starting to come in for me.
I think you'll be fine. And if you do have problems breastfeeding, it won't be due to the fact that you have smaller breasts. Like you said, they're made for feeding a baby!
I don't know what your LC is talking about but I was a small A cup up until the time my milk came in. My daughter was exclusively breastfed and was in the 90th percentile for height and weight for a while as a baby--so she was obviously getting plenty of milk!
As for the nipple thing, as long as your nipples are not flat or inverted while erect, baby should be able to latch. Even if you do have flat or inverted nipples, there are still ways to make BFing work. Good luck!