my preparation consists of having a tube of 'lansinoh' handy for the first few weeks. i find my nipples get very tender and sore to begin with as they are not used to all that extra attention, but that lansinoh cream works wonders (and if they get too sore I express for a few feeds).
My experience exactly - I literally just got back from buying a tube. I heard that creams are not promoted by the ABA but I loved using lansinoh last time and will do it again - I used it after and between every feed for at least the first 2 weeks and didn't get a single cracked nipple. Good attachment is probably 95% of the hurdle though, but lansinoh certainly gives you that extra protection.