Before I had my son, I thought I knew all there was to know about breastfeeding.
Right after birth they latch, and just like that you have a nursing baby. Boy was I wrong. I'm not going to lie and tell you it comes easy, it's hard and takes lots of work. I recommend a lactation consultant when baby is first born and if you have any questions ever about breastfeeding. Luckily, my mom is a lactation consultant so there were such thing as 4AM wake up calls, crying to come over because my baby wasn't latching right.
It was definitely a challenge in the beginning but we ended up having 9 wonderful months of breastfeeding, and I can't wait to breastfeed my little one on the way.
I have included some essentials I deem necessary when you are preparing to breastfeed your little one.
1. Ergobaby Natural Curve Nursing Pillow I had the Boppy nursing pillow with Bennett and I used it, but honestly I needed something firmer. When your little one is a newborn they can't really help you out much lifting and moving their head. This pillow props your little one up to the perfect spot for them to latch. The Boppy pillow is amazing for tummy time though!
One thing a lot of people don't know about heating up expressed breast milk is that you should not use a steam bottle warmer. It gets the milk too hot which kills nutrients that you worked hard for. The Kiinde bottle warmer is made exclusively for breast milk and uses water to heat the milk. We used ours at least once a day. 3. Itzy Ritzy Nursing Pads I tried the disposable nursing pads, they itched so bad. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't use them. This time around I will probably make my own, but these are cute and look comfy!
4. Hands Free Medela Pumping Bra When you look at this bra it looks pretty funky but trust me when you are holding a baby in one hand and reading a book to your toddler with the other--all while pumping, you would have wished you had this bra. It truly is hands free and comes in handy during those 20 minute sessions.
5. Medela Nipple Shield I ended up needing a nipple shield, something I had never even heard of until probably a week after having my son. I pray you don't need one but if you do just buy the thing ahead of time so you aren't sending your husband out at 5AM searching for one.
6. Earth Mama Nipple Cream I actually never needed nipple cream, but I did have some for if I did need it. I know a lot of people use it, but you can also use good ol' coconut oil.
7. Bebe Au Lait Nursing Cover I am all about nursing covers, it's just how I feel comfortable when nursing out and about. If nursing covers are for you, this is a great one that doesn't suffocate baby and is large enough that your little one won't throw it out of the way when they get bigger.
8. Freemie Pump and Medela Pump I received my Medela pump through my insurance company, but the Freemie I purchased on my own. I actually used this pump when I was driving in to work (I subbed twice a week). It allows you to slip it right into your bra, they actually have attachments that fit your Medela pump so you don't have to purchase the whole pumping system.
9. Baby Brezza Sterilizer A sterilizer is a must in my eyes. In the beginning we used lots of bottles because I needed to make sure Bennett was eating what he was supposed to be eating. I picked this one up on a swap site recently--I loved the dryer feature so I didn't have to stand around and wait for my bottles to dry. It's hard to dry bottles.
10. Lansinoh Pumping Bags and Kiinde Pumping and Feeding Bags The Lansinoh pumping bags were my favorite bags to pump in, but I also loved the Kiinde bags. The Kiinde bags connect directly to your pump, then connect to a bottle that was made for breastfeeding babies. The Kiinde bags are thick so there was never any possible leakage. Tip: put your expressed milk in a ziploc bag before defrosting in case your breastmilk leaks out--you don't have to throw it out!
11. Pack It Lunch Box/Cooler When I was working I needed something that would keep my milk cold all day--this is the best cooler I have found that holds all of my pumping stuff and expressed milk. I also used this when I went to Disney for the Food and Wine festival and had to pump.
What would you add to the list?
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