Nipple Piercings

For awhile now I've been interested in getting my nipples pierced and now that I have a boyfriend who likes them, I really want to get them done. However, I've read over and over in aftercare of the piercing, and they all say 9-12 months on healing and NO nipple play during those 9-12 months. Neither of us can wait that long lol, but I was wondering if that was true for all you ladies that got them?