Nipple size

I hope this question doesn't come across as silly

I have quite large breasts (I'm guessing at least E now, if not bigger since falling pregnant), that in itself I've always found hard to deal with in regards to when I tried feeding DS.

Now my breasts are massive. My nipples have always been fat and big, but I've noticed now they are HUGE...do my question is, is there such a thing as nipples being to big for a babies mouth??

TMI - but they are quite big for DF when he sucks, so will a tiny mouth be able to take it in as much as they need to in order to suck and latch on correctly??

Yes, for my gf it was. She ended up expressing exclusively. For most it's not a problem though

No it shouldn't be a problem. It's another urban myth. Attachment is more to do with positioning and babies mouth. Not really nipples. I've had so many friends who were lead to believe their nipples were the cause of attachment issues. Then went on to successfully breastfeed the second time around. It's easy to get caught up in these suggested problems when it's hard, you have a crying baby or cracked nipples. But with the right support and perseverance it gets easier.

I had attachment issues with DS and I have very similar breasts / nipples to yours (from what I can gather) size E, flat and large nipples.
I believe Rouge is right, nipple size shouldn't be a problem. For me the problems arose from oversupply and inverted nipples. Try "tweaking" your nipples (for lack of a better term) to make them come out more, that way, bub can get a clear grasp on the nipple. Also try different positions.

Also my breasts sound similar, size and were flat until I started breastfeeding. I think they toughened them up. I won't lie breastfeeding the first time was hard. Second time around was a piece of cake. It's all about the learning ;) You second guess everything first time around. Second time around I think the fact I wasn't so stressed and knew what to do and didn't feel like I was fumbling made things a lot easier. If I had the support first time around I have no doubt I would have exclusively bf longer. But with DS even though I had some hiccups with overactive letdown and positioning it got easier and easier. It's like anything. It's not until you get over that hump that you actually believe you will.

I don't have flat nipples or inverted, they are just fat and really big/wide/chubby (whatever term describes big lol). A big mouthful would best describe them?

Rouge, I do hope I get the hang of feeding and can do it. My biggest problem is I give up to easily then beat myself up, when that could have been avoided if I got the extra help instead of telling myself I failed and to stop.

It's never failure honey. You can do it. When bubs is here if you ever need a breastfeeding cheering squad my inbox is always open to you. I've helped many women successfully breastfeed when they were sure they wouldn't be able to. Even through pain, cracked nipples... the works. Sometimes you just need someone to hold your hand, be it cyberly to know that someone understands. And I promise you when you get over that hump you will never look back. Have you looked into joining an ABA group in your area? Don't think you need to do this only when you have bubs. It's good to join now :)

I have big boobs, I was a size E before I fell pg, and was an F by the time my milk came in, I also have big nipples too and I don't think that was ever a problem with our BFing. We had some troubles in the beginning, but we were going perfectly by about 3-4 weeks old, and before that I was using a nipple shield. with DD, she never did take in all the nipple and areola, but a lot of it, and it was still good enough to get good feeds. We fed until she was about 17 months old when she self weaned.
I can't stress enough like others have said about having professional support to help you through initially, and help you get into the swing of things. and don't give up! you can do it :) :hug:

Not sure if you are having bubs at a hospital? If so, they should have a lactation consultant who you can engage for free. (well I did via a private hospital)
I didn't bf DD#1 past the first week but was determined to give it a really good go this time around. I quickly realised I was heading down the same path as DD#1 and got onto the LC at day 3. I had severely cracked/damaged and bleeding nipples so knew that attachment was an issue. I ended up using nipple shields and pumping a little bit and am just weaning DD # 2 off the shields now.

With good support, early you can get on top of any issues.

On week 2 I had a private one on one with DD # 2 at the hospital where the LC watched how I was attaching DD#2 and gave me some pointers/things to adjust. She also watched how she fed. I was there most of the day b/c she wanted to see two feeds.

Please use all avenues of support you have if you really want to bf.

I am onto week 4 of bf now & although I still have days where I am unsure if DD & I are going well, I know that I can call the LC, the ABA, speak to my gf's or come onto BB for advice.

I don't know if they can necessarily be so big that you just CAN'T bf, but I think it does increase the degree of difficulty and is something you might need to work on a bit more i.e. extra attention on attachment and finding a position that will make it work well. I think it is common for women in your situation to use nipple shields for a short time until that little mouth gets a bit bigger :)

I have very large nipples, big breasts and a significant milk supply, while Miss A had/has a small mouth and a weird tongue thing (initially thought to be tongue tie but wasn't), and all combined meant she had a huge amount of trouble attaching right from the beginning, and it wasn't until she got to be about 3 months that it got much easier for her, although it still isn't flash a lot of the time. We saw lots of LCs and they all gave me different ways of trying to attach her that would make it easier for both of us. Nothing worked particularly well and in the end I gritted my teeth and let her self attach - it still wasn't great but she got the best attachment most of the time when left to do it on her own. Surprisingly, it was also less painful for me too.

FWIW, this is my third baby and she is by far the most difficult. I think previous experience for mum is great, but each bub is new with their own little quirks so anything can happen - no reason to think your new baby won't feed like a champ right from the start

Thanks ladies, I feel better now. I guess I just wait and see how things go once baby arrives and take all advice and support on board.

Ive enquired about bf classes through ABA, but I just need the funds to join first!

Babies mouths grow - so eventually the mouth will be big enough for the nipple.
You may need to express some feeds for a few weeks - but you will get there.

If you do end up expressing and bottle feeding your ebm, I can recommend the medela bottles or a similar long teat bottle. They help with good breast attachment. Avoid the Avent and Tommie tippee ones as a baby is more likely to learn to nipple feed instead of latching well to the breast.

I believe it did in my case but I didn't actually know that was the 'problem' until I googled nipple size and found mine were huge. I had the same issues with both DDs - they just couldn't attach. I had midwives help me every feed and a lactation consultant - no-one mentioned nipple size which made it worse because I thought it was my lack of technique.

Long story short - much easier at around the 7 week mark. So my advice would be to get all the help you can get in the early days but if you find it's not working, express or whatever to keep up your supply and keep trying periodically. I gave up with DD2 at around the three week mark but then relactated once it became obvious she could attach easily.

It can be an issue if there's a size mismatch - small baby and big nipples - but can be overcome with special attention to positioning and attachment and will get easier as baby gets bigger.