As most of anyone who knows me or follows me on any kind of social media is aware, I nursed/breastfed Owen until he was almost three years old. Something I am so glad I did! I loved every single second of it. Well, maybe not every second, the latch issues we had for the first month were pure hell and I thought several times about giving up and formula feeding right then. But I didn't. I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. *Sigh* I miss it to be honest. Not the first month, but definitely once we got it down, I miss that part. But I come across women all the time who are planning to breastfeed (for however long) that want to know what they should have that will make their lives easier while nursing. So I thought I'd put together a small list of the things that I could not live without.
1. A Good Breast Pump. I can not stress enough how important this is. No matter if you plan to nurse strictly from the breast (I did this) or bottle feed, a good pump is so important. I know this because I had a crappy one. In fact, I was broke so I had one from WIC. It wasn't awful or anything but it certainly wasn't as powerful as the one they had me use at the hospital. Now, since I only had experience with these two I can't reccomend one from personal experience, but I've heard amazing things about Madela. I know they're pricey (which is why I was stuck with the WIC one) but if you're planning on using it all the time or maybe you plan on having more kids, it'll be worth the money. If you're on a budget (which what mom isn't?) you can sometimes find them on garage sale sites. I'm aware that sounds gross lol, but you can replaces on the parts that might have touched milk or a body part and then you're good to go.
I would not reccomend the hand pump from any pump manufacturer. In my own experience, it just didn't work well. I bought one before WIC was able to get me my electric pump and it just did nothing.
2. Nipple Cream. For the love of all things holy, if you don't get anything else on this list, this is one thing you must have. My nipples were so dry and cracked one day that I was actually bleeding while pumping. It was awful. Just a downside of breastfeeding, totally normal. But uncomfortable just the same. On the advice of some amazing mommy friends, I picked up some Lansinoh cream. It was a complete life saver.
3. Boppy Nursing Pillow. I didn't have an actual Boppy with Owen and I regretted it greatly. Instead I had one of these pillows and let me tell you, it was awful. I only used it a few times before giving up and just using my body pillow (I don't know why I didn't just go out and buy a boppy). But I did have one of these with Gaige and we used it every single day. It wasn't just good for breastfeeding, I would lay him on it in front of the TV if I needed to distract him for a minute (like when I had to pee, because oh my god sometimes that happens) and he learned to sit up using one also. I think I sold it after I was done with it with Gaige though and I never repurchased it with Owen. Sad day. Pick one up.
4. Nursing Cover. Another item I didn't have that I wish I did. I used a receiving blanket most of the time and although that worked just fine, it was also sometimes a real pain. Especially when he got old enough to pull it off. I am aware that this is not an item every breastfeeding mom is going to want, there seems to be a huge debate over public nursing but I say if you plan on nursing in public and want to make life a little easier for yourself (especially in the beginning stages when you have to work a little harder to get that latch) this is something you need to pick up. There are a bunch of different patterns too! You can also get one made especially for you. So woohoo for customizing stuff!
So those are just a few things I think are essential for the breastfeeding mom :).
0 comments:
Post a Comment