Homemade Nursing Nipple Salve
Ah, yes. Nipples. A sensitive subject to some. Because of that, I thought about not sharing this recipe for homemade nursing nipple salve, however, when you’re a nursing mother and you find something that actually works, it’s selfish to not spread the word. However, due to sensitive people..I’ll try to mind my manors and keep this short and sweet and only use the word ‘nipple’ about 3 dozen more times. Your welcome. After all, July is the kickoff to World Breastfeeding week.
The Cup Runnith Over
I swear, after giving birth, a women loses all sense of modesty. It’s not intentional, it seems to just happen. Let me tell you, after giving birth to four..well, let’s just say, if you come to my house, while I have a little one, there will be nipples. See, there I go saying that word again.
When I gave birth to my first son, almost 16 years ago, breastfeeding came rather easy to me. Which looking back, is rather surprising for a first time, way to young, mom. My milk supply was overflowing, to say the least. I swear I could have easily fed a third world country.
With my second and my third child, I thought it would be the same. It wasn’t. Not even close. Unfortunately both number 2 & 3 were c-section deliveries. And despite me being adamant that I was going to exclusively Breastfeed my babies, my body had a different plan. My milk supply never came in with either of them. Lactation consultant after lactation consultant chalked it up to being due to the trauma of a c-section and not going through the “normal” hormonal process of a vaginal delivery. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know. I do know lots of c-section moms that breastfeed their little ones just fine, and I was heartbroken that I wasn’t one of them. Needless to say, that after weeks of nursing, pumping and incredible disappointment each time, I gave in to a bottle. By this point my nipples were so sore, cracked and bleeding and I was an emotional wreck from mentally battling my failure. During this time I survived on Lanolin. Some women swear by it. Some women swear against it.
With baby number four, I pulled out all the cards to ensure our breastfeeding success. I took taking fennel Essential Oils in a gel capsule faithfully everyday. Eating gobs of coconut oil. Drinking coconut water. Hired a private lactation consult to come to our home and continue to help educate and troubleshoot with baby and I. Pumping several times a day to stimulate production. Rubbing my milk ducts with essential oils and I even had my placenta encapsulated. All things known to increase the milk production. I’m happy to say, It’s working. However, my little man, doesn’t think it’s working quick enough. Needless to say, my poor nipples are once again, suffering the wrath. They needed help. Bad.
This time around, I needed something more “nutritious” for my nipples.
And since it’s not in my nature to buy something that I can make at home, I went to the drawing board and created a salve that is not only soothing but healing as well. I choose natural products based on their know properties to heal and nourish damaged skin.
RECIPE.
The ingredients I choose. And why they work.
Shea Butter. –
Coconut oil –
Beeswax –
Lanolin –
Lavender Essential oil –
* While it seems expensive to start making your own cosmetics versus buying a single product at the store, the ingredients you use in this recipe, as well as the majority of homemade cosmetics, balms, salves and chapsticks are all the same, just different measurements and a few adjustments. These are staples in homemade products and you really only need a small bit, which in the end, is not only more economical and frugal, but also a healthier choice for you and your family. You can order supplies here..
For more homemade goods using Essential Oils, check out these posts..
