Tips for postnatal nips
IYKYK - breastfeeding is not the fairytale, relaxing, beautiful, sitting in a meadow with birds chirping while you stare into your baby’s beautiful eyes as he/she nestles into your side and gently retrieves a steady (and not at all messy) flow of liquid gold from your nipple. HA! Let’s just say if you have someone who can demystify the various holds and what a good latch is when the baby is born, then TAKE ADVANTAGE!! I unfortunately dealt with months of thrush and nipple pain during my first breastfeeding journey. So when I developed intense nipple damage and pain at the very beginning of my second breastfeeding journey, I was determined to address it immediately (or switch to formula if I couldn’t fix it). Here’s what worked for me and left me with much improved nips by week 3 PP:
APNO cream: prescription nipple cream from my GP (a mix of anti-fungal, antibacterial and corticosteroid I believe) applied after every feed.
Silverettes (silver nipple covers): these were game CHANGERS. These little miracle discs allowed me to wear clothes without having anything touch my nipples, which I think helped promote a speedier recovery. Wore them all day long.
Olive oil: applied to nips before each feed to moisturize the cracks and ease pain before latching.
Lactation consultant: most helpful for improving latch and for helping me figure out how to heal ASAP.
Multiple breastfeeding positions: my issues started with the cross-cradle position, so switching it up gave different areas a chance to heal and I also discovered some positions were easier for bebe and I than others.
Put some breast milk on it: they say breast milk heals all, so I applied a little after each feed, let the nips air dry, then applied the APNO cream.
YUP - it was quite the process… but after all that I no longer dreaded each feed (except for the late night ones ;) ).
