Avent Breast Shells: Because of you, I kept on breastfeeding!
Written: Jul 16 '05 (Updated Jul 17 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: They will heal sore nipples!
Cons: Difficult to dump milk if you have an excess build up, obviously worn.
The Bottom Line: I recommend these wholeheartedly. Before you give up on breastfeeding because of the pain, try these. The pros completely outweigh the few cons.
I did not breastfeed my now 2.5yo twin boys. They were preemies, had a horribly tight suck, and basically killed me every time I let them near my breasts. I also knew nothing about breastfeeding at that time. I thought I just stick my boob in their mouths, and away we go! Ha. With my second pregnancy, I decided to try breastfeeding. It's best, cheapest, easiest, no bottles, less stinky poops, and so on. The benefits of breastfeeding are really endless. And I was told I could eat whatever I want and would still lose the baby weight. Now THAT was incentive.
However, no one told me how painful the first few weeks could be.
My experience
I was about to give up on breastfeeding. My nipples were killing me. I would feed my daughter while in tears. I tried everything the Lactation Consultant in the hospital had recommended: rubbing some expressed breast milk on my nipples after a feeding, using a hair-dryer to blow warm air on them after a feeding (good for blanching), lansinoh cream, even soothies gel pads. Nothing helped. Finally a friend in Canada told me about breast shells. I thought they were just for people with inverted nipples. NOT TRUE! They are also to help heal sore nipples by keeping them protected.
They look like giant plastic seashells; hence the name breast shell. You wear one part on top of your breast, with your nipple sticking through the hole, and then the shell part over it, to protect your nipple. Literally nothing touches your nipple except air, which is how it heals your nipple. You then wear your bra over it. Yes, it's completely noticeable that you're wearing something on your nipples if you're out in public, but I didn't care who could tell I was wearing them because I was so happy the pain had stopped!
Excess breast milk will build up on the inner part, but I never had a lot of excess (due to my daughter who was a "snacker" and wanted to feed for 5 minutes every 2 hours). However, when more than a little build up, it was a pain to dump it without spilling it everywhere. There are little ridges in the outer shell part that are supposed to help you pour the milk out (or save it, I'll get to that in the next paragraph) but you have to be really careful with which direction you pour so as not to get it everywhere. I can see where this would be annoying for someone with a lot of excess milk. But it didn't bother me, because it healed my nipples, I didn't care about anything else!
A pack comes with 2 different kinds of outer shell parts: one with little holes in it, and one without. The one with holes is the type I always wore, as more air on my nipples helped them heal. The type without holes can be used to save breastmilk that gets trapped. I guess because without holes, the milk stays sterile? I didn't read the directions because, as I said, I didn't have gallons of excess milk.
The instructions say not to wear them at night, but I wore them 24/7 with no problems until my nipples healed enough to wear a regular breast pad.
Why I bought them
I was in so much pain I cried when I breastfed. I really wanted to breastfeed, and after trying all the usual ways to heal my nipples, someone recommended these. I'd never heard of them but I gave them a shot because I was about to stop breastfeeding from the pain. THANK YOU!
What I loved
THEY HEALED MY NIPPLES! IT'S A MIRACLE! After putting them on, I noticed a difference in how my nipples felt within about 2 hours. I was happy to breastfeed again!
You can put these in the dishwasher -- top rack -- or I would just take them in the shower with me and scrub them with soap and water.
What I hated
Absolutely nothing, personally. Although, as I mentioned (1)if you go out in public wearing them, everyone can tell you have something on your nipples, (2) if you have an excess of milk, it can be annoying to dump it out. However, (1) really didn't bother me. I breastfeed. I have breasts. I don't care who knows I'm wearing shells, because my nipples were healed! (2) wasn't a problem for me because I didn't have a lot of excess milk.
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I have recommended breast shells to everyone I know who is breastfeeding or going to breastfeed. I now give them as a baby shower present.
If you buy them and they don't heal your nipples, email me and I'll be happy to reimburse you the cost. That's how much I believe in these puppies!
Avent ultrasoft breast shells can be worn inside your bra to protect your nipples from chafing and to collect leaking breast milk.More at lifepluspharmacy
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