Margie Ouch! You still remember that. I had the scabs, bleeding, excrutiating pain esp on one side for maybe 7 wks. I still have pain on that side as my 5 yo nurses for fairly brief intervals and w/ no milk there. I generally just let her have the other side. I think our problem was a tight LABIAL frenulum. There was always plenty milk and a very fat "buddha" baby. What I want to know is WAS WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED INEVITABLE? What I mean is b/c of the flat nipple(s), was there/is there anything that could have/can be done to avoid the cracks? My colleaugues use breast shells to help evert nipples. My understanding is that they are not proven to help, even in fact may hinder bf success. Does anything really help prior to beginning bf or is some of that just inevitable? Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN, IBCLC Violet Louisiana, s.e. USA ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html