What everyone else said!

I had flat nipples before DD and found the following helpful:

I went to a breastfeeding workshop and a few breastfeeding groups for mums and mums-to-be before she was born.

I got a really good book (sheila kitzinger, Breastfeeding Your Baby) and read it very thoroughly several times.

I had her checked at birth for tongue-tie to make sure the problems i was potentially facing were minimised.

Before every feed i would pull my own nipple out long by hand - it was WAY less painful than letting DD do it by suction as i could do it slowly and gradually over 30 seconds rather than suddenly over 2 sucks.

I expressed a little milk before i tried to attach her if i was very full - flat nipples are hard enough to get hold of, without them being on the front of flat, hard, full breasts. I made sure the nipple and area just back from the areola was softened before i put her on.

I used the football hold where bubs is feeding from the right breast with her side against my right side and her feet going under my right arm (or vice versa for left boob) rather than tummy to tummy across my chest as it allowed me to be able to see the nipple and her mouth and check she had good attachment better.

Every time she slipped off i dried my breast and her face with a muslin cloth before trying to put her back on - the fact that it was all slippery made it much harder for her to get a grip on the nipple properly.

I didn't go to nipple sheilds - i know that one isn't for everyone but i figured what i REALLY needed was to learn/teach DD to feed well without a shield and i didn't see the point in teaching her to feed from a sheild and then having to re-teach her to feed from the boobie without a shield. I figured i'd rather a week of quite sore nipples than 2 episodes of slightly less sore nipples (while i taught her to feed and then when i re-taught her without shields). I would have used them if my nipples had become injured.

Bx