Has anyone successfully de-sensitised their nipples?

[twistyturnycurlywhirly]

I'm pregnant with my second and am hoping to successfully breast feed this time. The problem is, I HAAAATE my nipples being touched. I don't let DH touch them because I find any kind of pressure quite painful. I wouldn't even touch them. So how can I de-sensitise them? I don't want to fail at breast feeding again, but it almost makes me feel sick.

Why don’t you try nipple shields? They take away the majority of the sensation and might make it more comfortable for you.

I tried, but even that put pressure on them.

They de sensitise themselves over time as you bf. About 12 weeks in for me I no longer felt anything at all when DS latched on

Before they get to that point use heaps of lasinoh and a hot water bottle if you need to !

Pregnancy gave me angry nipples, if DH so much as looked at them I’d swot his hand away in anger! There’s nothing you can do really, just make them a no go zone for the time being.

Breastfeeding has desensitised them but that might be because in the beginning I was left with massive blisters about 4cm in diameter due to latching issues After eight weeks the blisters went and then all was fine

I had to pump for first 12 weeks and now I have nipples of steel. I can go max suction on pump and still handle more whereas I found it painful on first setting when I started. Pretty sure they have lost all sensitivity, but means that my DD currently using them like Stretch Armstrong is bearable.

Not really helpful to say that breast feeding will desensitise them, because I need them desensitised before, otherwise I'll never be able to try breastfeeding. Having my nipples touched makes me feel sick tbh. And is so painful.

That does sound extreme and s really tough one. Maybe you need to approach this from a psychological angle? Distracting yourself from the unpleasant sensation until you can deal with it? Not sure what this would be called, sorry. Try and get to speak to an experienced breastfeeding counsellor or Lactation consultant and I bet it’s something they will have come across before or at least heard about or being to signpost you for more help on. They are usually more than happy to talk antenatally and great for helping you though the emotional ups and down of bf as well as the physical side. Other ideas - I rubbed in lanolin cream every day from 37 weeks to ‘prep’ them and never really had any soreness. Might just be luck with a good latch but might be worth a go and help to build up your resistance to the stimulation. Also seeing if you can cope with trying to hand express colostrum before birth? You may be able to then also build up a stash of the good stuff if directly breastfeeding does end up being unbearable for you immediately post birth.