Breast Shells???

[katiesmommy]

Let me start by saying that I'm not pregnant yet. I had a really hard time breastfeeding DD, I have flat nipples (which I didn't know about before hand) and she had a really hard time latching on. Now I know that every kid is different and my next may have no problems at all, but I want to give myself a better chance. I thought that starting to wear breast shells as soon as I find out I'm pregnant might help. So, who knows anything about breast shells at all? I have no clue what's good and what's bad, what works what doesn't, anything at all will help.

[lilycat88]

I don't know if there is a "good" or "bad". I also have flat nipples but didn't know that until I had DD. The lactation consultant who practically took up residence in our room at the hospital for 5 days said to make sure I started wearing them during the last trimester if we had another baby.

[daisymommy]

When I tried nursing Joshua, I had the exact same experience you did (and I'm sorry, because I know how difficult that is!) I quit after 2 weeks because I just couldn't take it anymore.

This time around, I found out about the Avent Niplette, and I was a God-send!
http://www.motheringfromtheheart.com/catalog/20.html
The lactation consultant who runs this website is awesome and gives advive whenever you ask as well!

It worked so well. You could really see the difference in how much my nipples stood out. FWIW I did try the regular breast shells and they didn't work for me at all. The money I spend on the Avent Niplette was sooo worth the money. Hannah latched on easily, 30 minutes after birth, and wer're still nursing today!

One thing I will say, you cannot wear these things out of the house. They look really goofy on :) But hey, I just wore them under a loose t-shirt, and it was just me and DS at home (he never noticed anything). The website says you can wear them under the larger holed breast shells, but it didn't work at all for me. I just couldn't get the device to fit beneath the shells.

Good luck with everything, I wish you much success!!!

[Momof3Labs]

Did you end up nursing your DD? I had flat nipples with DS1 and ended up nursing with a nipple shield the whole time (yep, 19 months). Nursing helps break the connectors that make nipples flat, so with DS2 I had no problems at all with nursing.

If you do wear shells, you don't need to start as soon as you find out you are pregnant. The third trimester is probably long enough to wear shells, or go the route that Amy went - I've never heard of that Avent product, but hey, it worked for her!!

[katiesmommy]

I fought through it for 6 months. I ended up quiting because my milk supply severly diminished (see my other post) and nothing I tried helped bring it back up. DD wasn't gaining weight, in fact i think she started to loose weight. At 6 months, she was bearly 10 lbs. I'm just wanting to do whatever I possibly can to make sure that doesn't happen again, because I wanted to breastfeed DD so badly, it killed me when I realized I was going to have to stop. I really felt like I had no choice at that point. Anyway, thank you everyone. When I find out that I'm pregnant I think I'll go talk to my lactation consultant, hopefully we don't move before then.