Having had a flat nipple, pulled out by the baby's sucking (as my
ob said would happen) I feel mightily qualified to suggest prenatal
nipple preparation.  My little Hoover-mouth yanked the nipple out with
such force, that I ended up with an open ulcer at the base of my nipple
for 6 weeks!  The pain was excruciating! (This was almost 13 years ago,
and although LLL helped me a lot, there were no LC's yet.)
        I took care of a mom in December whose nipples looked like "inny"
belly buttons.  I taught her to use a "nipple widget", and the problem
resolved beautifully.  Ruthie Wilson showed me this simple, cheap-to-make
device, and I was jealous for all of the moms who didn't have to go thru
what I did.
        How to make a widget:  I use (2) 12cc syringes (no needles!).
Remove the plunger from one, and connect the two (needle port to needle
port) with tubing.  Any tubing.  (oxygen tubing, IV tubing, tubing you
can buy from the hardware store.)  Place the plungerless syringe over the
nipple and draw back on the plunger in the other syringe.  Try this on
your own arm.  It doesn't hurt, and the nipples can be drawn out gently
over a few days.
        The December mom is still comfortably nursing her fat, healthy
daughter.
        Margie Forrest, WPB, FL
Margery Forrest
[log in to unmask]