Word to the wise among us. When young girls are "budding," often the young nipple looks inverted (particularly the center portion). That usually takes care of itself over time. So if a daughter (or friend of a daughter) expresses concern, reassure her that Mother Nature makes sure most such nipples come all the way out, partiuclarly when the time comes for them to be used to feed a baby! Love these stories about children. Will add one of my own. When my son was 10, we were visiting friends from out-of-town (at their house). Their daughter was also 10 and had nursed until just before her 6th birthday. The kids were discussing breastfeeding (why not, their mothers did!) :-) In the car driving home 512 miles, Doug and I got to talking. He turned to me and said, "I just can't see WHY anyone would want to nurse until they are 6. Seems too old to me!" Ever the academic-oreinted mom, I reassured him that the child was probably doing so for special time and comfort, not necessarily for food. Then I got smart and asked him, "How long do you think a baby should nurse?" He thought a moment, and said, "Six is too long. Four seems long enough to me." (dead serious) PS he weaned just beofre his 2nd birthday. I concluded that any child at 10 who thinks nursing til 4 years is ok would make a dandy breastfeeding father! (He is single and very handsome and exceeding smart!--anyone have a daughter of marriageable age? I"m a firm believer in arranged marriages!!) %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %% "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities %% %% brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." %% %% definition of a lactation consulting service. %% %% Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC - [log in to unmask] %% %% Homewood, Illinois USA %% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%