Lansinoh Nipple Cream > Reviews (28)

Seven weeks ago my thinking on breast feeding was clear, I would do it for as long as possible or until I had to go back to work. Not a problem I though, easy peasy! Little did I know how much of a strain it is to exclusively breast feed! Firstly, you can never get more than four hours sleep at a time, this caused me to be so tired that I couldn't remember if I was cuddling the baby or not when I woke up! Secondly you get so dehydrated that I couldn't keep my water intake high enough to deal with the need! And thirdly your nipples become so sore and cracked that you wince with pain every time the baby even glances your way!

The first two complaints are easy to handle, you can catch up on sleep during the day and you can always drink more water. But what do you do with sore nipples when you only get a couple of hours between feeds to sort them out? If left to my partner the answer would have been to kiss them better but I sadly had to decline. The answer was given to me whilst I was in hospital with my baby, the midwife let me have a couple of sachets of Lansinoh nipple cream to help me out, and help me it did!

WHAT IS LANSINOH?
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Lansinoh is made from 100% Lanolin, which is a waxy substance found in sheep and other wool-bearing animals. It's secreted under their skin to act as a water-proof barrier and mostly is found in their wool. Ever wondered how sheep never minded the rain and cold? Now you know!

The idea of using this in a nipple cream is that it acts as a barrier over the nipple like a scab on a wound, which lets the nipple gain back its moisture. The main reason breast-feeding nipples crack is the lack of moisture, which is taken from you when your child feeds, therefore, somehow you need to let your nipple get that back in a short amount of time.

PACKAGING
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As you can see from the picture the cream comes in a purple tube like a hand cream. It has a lid that is top-down, using gravity to our advantage, making the cream fall to the bottom. The lid is flip-top so you can open it with one hand. You get this in a box which has a set of safety instructions on, whereas the tube only has directions, so make sure you read these before throwing the box away! Although to be honest there wasn't really anything worth reading on there apart from the usual one of consult your Doctor if you have any allergic reaction to this.

LOOKING, TOUCHING, SMELLING.
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Obviously the product being like wax it looks exactly that, a very thick, yellowy substance that is so hard to get out of the tube! You have to really squeeze the tube to get even a small amount out. So opening the tube with one hand is a bit pointless because you definitely need two to get the stuff out!

Getting a small amount on my finger you can see it's very sticky and when you rub it the substance is very oily but in a thick way. It reminds me of 'golden syrup' when you can't get it off your finger, although I wouldn't advise licking it like you would normally do because it doesn't taste nice, yes I've tried it but I'll tell you why in a minute!

The smell is not very nice at all. When you have it on your finger it doesn't really smell, but when you use it and it gets warm, that's when you can smell it. It's a mixture of ear-wax and what I believe to be wet-dog! Yes, it's a very weird one to call.

USAGE
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Like I said I started using this in hospital and it couldn't be simpler! All you need to do is apply the cream over your nipple area straight after you feed your baby, making sure you coat the whole area, this basically makes it air-tight and your body naturally replaces the moisture! Wonderful!

The best way to make it work best is to keep your breasts uncovered so it doesn't get rubbed off and it can work to the best of it's ability . I know, I know, how the hell are you supposed to do that? Well, you can't do it all the time but try to do it when you can, like at night or when you are home alone, believe me, it did me the world of good! But you can still use it and get dressed too.

The only thing to remember with this product is that it can stain very easily, I had a lovely, new, white maternity bra, no more, it's now white with yellow patches on the inside. Try to use maternity pads when you have to put on your bra and get dressed, I don't know about you but I needed these anyway! The other good thing about this product is that even when you leak like most women do, it doesn't seem to affect the product, my nipples still felt great after using this and leaking too!

Like all mothers I was weary of using this and my baby eating it and getting sick. Well, that is by far the best thing about this product, you can still feed your baby with this on, it has no effect on your baby. Yes, you don't need to wipe it off and this is a bonus whilst feeding at night, when you're tired the last thing you need is to try and remember if you used it and what can I wipe it off with?!

Before you say it, yes this is why I tried to eat it. I was very happy that the packet told me it was safe, but I still thought, it can't taste nice surely? So I ate some and could still taste it later on it was that horrible. But, to be fair my baby has never not fed because of it, so let her get on with it!

PRICE
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Unfortunately this is the downside and was nearly a reason I didn't buy it. A tube of this in Mothercare is £9.95 compared to most other creams I've seen which range from £3-£6. Yes, it is pricey, but as my partner pointed out it's one I know I love and it has helped me greatly. Luckily I had some vouchers left over to put towards the cost so it didn't seem so expensive.

You can get this from Boots, Lloyds Pharmacy, Mothercare and Waitrose to name a few, and I'm sure you can probably find it cheaply on the net.

CONCLUSION
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As you can probably tell I love this product and would probably have given up breast feeding long ago without it. I'm currently doing half and half with breast and bottles as unfortunately my breast milk isn't enough for my greedy little monster! I'm not put out at all by the stains in my bra as it was my own fault and should have had pads on, so just try to remember that before wearing your best lacy bra! And try not to be put off by the price, it's totally worth it when in the night you don't have to scrabble around for something to wash your boobs with!

I hope this is helpful. Thanks for reading. Louise. x