Calendula Breastfeeding Balm Nipple Cream

When I had my first child, I prepared myself for pregnancy to be uncomfortable at times. I expected labor and birth to be difficult. I expected to be emotional after having my baby. What I didn’t expect (or really prepare myself for) is that breastfeeding can also be difficult in the first few days.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth it. The pain isn’t too bad, and it can be mitigated considerably by making sure your baby is attached to your nipple from the get-go. However, it didn’t make the pain go away completely, as many people claim. If anything, the first week or so of nursing my baby was pretty uncomfortable, and I realized I needed to take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself.

If you have breastfed a baby you can probably relate. I’m sorry to those who haven’t breastfed yet but are planning to. I wish someone had warned me!

Nipple cream

A few days after giving birth to my first baby, when I was struggling to practice breastfeeding, my lactation consultant recommended lanolin cream. I tried it, and my symptoms just got worse and worse. Turns out, I was allergic to lanolin!

Needless to say, I stopped using it after that, but I was wondering if there was anything I could do to alleviate the symptoms a little.

Why not lanolin?

For me, the answer was allergies. When I started researching ways to make my own nipple cream, I realized that lanolin was an ingredient I didn’t want to use, even if I didn’t have an allergic reaction to it.

What is Lanolin?

Lanolin is an oil that comes from sheep’s wool. The sebum (oil) is extracted from the wool and then goes through another process to get the finished lanolin. Obviously this is a problem for people who are allergic to wool (raise hand). There are also concerns about pesticide residues in wool and their potential to accumulate in fatty tissue and breast milk.

Many sheep are sprayed with pesticides to kill mites and other pests, and most are fed non-organic or genetically modified feed, which can show signs in their wool. Organic Lanolin It comes from healthy sheep, but is hard to find.

Opinions are divided on the safety of lanolin, with some claiming it’s completely safe. To be on the safe side, I didn’t want to put my newborn at that risk. Most popular brands of nipple creams contain concentrated lanolin. These may help speed up recovery for the mother, but they can also be part of a little one’s first diet, and more natural skin care options may also be effective.

Natural nipple cream

I was determined to make the first few days of nursing with my last two babies easier. I started experimenting with making natural nipple creams and nursing balms to help ease sore nipples. It’s also important to check for cleft lip and other issues that can affect your baby’s latch on to your nipple.

If you don’t feel like making your own, there are some really good nipple creams and ointments already sold commercially. I decided to make my own nursing nipple cream because I had the ingredients on hand. If you want to buy it, here are some brands I recommend:

Choose safe ingredients

Since this cream is primarily for nursing babies, I made sure to use ingredients that are safe, natural and unlikely to cause allergic reactions, so I decided not to use almond oil, beeswax or coconut oil, as I love these ingredients but there is a small chance they could cause an allergic reaction.

Also, this recipe does not use essential oils, and although they are great for skin care (when used properly), I have never given them internally to a baby.

Nipple cream ingredients

Instead of using ingredients that could cause allergic reactions or be harmful, we used the following:

A note about consistency

This nipple cream is a slightly softer ointment that may be easier to apply. If you want a thicker consistency, increase the cocoa butter to 1/3 cup (or more). You can also add beeswax to thicken it, but in rare cases, this can cause an allergic reaction in babies.

but, Pesticides in inorganic beeswax It may be that you have a beeswax allergy, and although I always use organic beeswax in my recipes, I decided to leave it out this time just to be safe.

How to Use Nipple Cream

First, the herbs are infused in olive oil, which helps to preserve the beneficial properties of the herbs in the balm without leaving any residue or grittiness. There are three ways to do this:

1. Solar injection– If you have the time, you can leave the oils in the sun to let them infuse. A quick tip: Place 1/4 cup each of chamomile and calendula flowers, 2 tablespoons of marshmallow root, and 1 cup of olive oil in a pint-sized or larger mason jar. Place in the sun and shake daily to let the oils infuse. This method only works well in warm climates.
2. Time Infusion– Similar to solar infusion, but without the sun. Just mix equal parts herbs and oils in a jar and shake daily for 2-4 weeks.
3. Heat injection– A great option when you’re short on time: Place equal proportions (1/4 cup each chamomile and calendula flowers, 2 tablespoons marshmallow root, and 1 cup olive oil) in a double boiler. Cook over low heat for 2 to 3 hours, until the oil is scented with herbs and has changed color slightly.

No matter what method you use, at the end of the process, carefully strain the herbs and store the finished oil. I do this using a metal strainer lined with cheesecloth. This will give you some extra infused oil, which you can use in lotions or other recipes.

If you want to make a single dose of your own homemade nipple cream, use the following ratios:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon each chamomile and calendula flowers
• 2 teaspoons marshmallow root

How to use nipple cream – I like to use this right after nursing, gently applying to nipples and areola as needed to prevent soreness.

Have you ever tried nipple cream or lanolin? Did it help?