Favorite things for breastfeeding

Each mom finds things that work the best for her and her baby. I decided to write about a few of my favorites here because who knows, by #2 I may have forgotten them all!

Today's topic is breastfeeding.

I have been very lucky that BFing has worked for me. My work is super supportive of BFing and so is Ross. I'm still exclusively BFing G and hoping to make it as close to 6 months as I can. I will then, if my supply allows me to, try to keep up with BFing until G's a year. But I know that formula may grace his lips one day and that will be ok too.

#1 Must have for this mama - a good breast pump.

This is something that if you're breast feeding is a MUST! I had to use mine the second or third day home from the hospital because my milk still wasn't in and G was getting hungry! It did the trick to get things going. Now if you're not going back to work and only need to occasionally pump you may want to go with the single hand pump. I am actually thinking of getting a Medela harmony for home so I can leave my pump at work. It's a bugger to lug around every morning.

Now I have the Medela Pump in Style Advanced (PISA). There is a next step up, which is the Freestyle (or even more advanced is a hospital grade pump you can rent but I have never heard of anyone doing that). There are also other brands of pumps but I don't know anything about them...

I think the Freestyle just has a few additional bells and whistles. Like being battery operated rather than using the wall. I bought my pump on a whim and didn't do enough research. I knew people liked the PISA so I bought it because it was on sale one week. If I would go back I would maybe buy the freestyle but I have read bad reviews about that one too so it is hard to say. But know that you're going to be hooked up to that sucker for about an hour (or more) a day and are totally relying on it to feed your baby so you can work (or play) so anything that can make it easier I think would be worth it. 

Like I said I didn't research pumps but here is what I like about the the PISA:

• comes with bottles and everything you need to feed baby with. I didn't bottle feed G except about three times before sending him to daycare. So I didn't need to go out and buy bottles. It was nice to have these at home ready to go!
• Comes with a nifty travel bag for the pump and a nice cooler bag for your milk bottles that fits into the bag. The bag also holds my hands free bra (I'll talk about that next) utter cover and extra parts
• Nice long power cord. So you don't have to sit ON TOP of the wall while pumping. It also comes with a little battery pack that you can insert batteries for pumping on the go. I haven't used that feature yet. You can also buy a car adapter. That would be great for long car rides when you need to feed baby and don't want to stop. I would only do it as the passenger though...I read one review that a lady pumped on her morning commute. That just seems dangerous to me, plus if you got in an accident would you really want to be found that way?!
• It pumps, I don't seem to have a problem getting the milk out, so it does what it is supposed to do!
• Easy to buy accessories and additional parts. I have extra membranes. That's the last thing I would need to happen during my work day is for one of those bad boys to malfunction and then I'm SOL. I also bought extra bottles/storage so I wouldn't have to wash things every night if I couldn't make it work. I am also considering buying extra breastshields for the same reason. They're about $10 each at Target. I like that you can also purchase freezer bags with an adapter that pumps right into the bag! I didn't discover that until it was too late though, now I just pump into the bottles for the next day. Bummer. 

#2 Simple Wishes hands free pumping bra

If you're pumping you need to buy one of these. You won't regret it. They're easy to use and very adjustable. Plus you really aren't going to sit and hold those things to your boobs for 20 minutes are you?! I also found that I never got really good suction when I just used my hands to hold them on. So this for me really was a must.

#3 Pumpin Pals 

I really like these buggers! It is hard to get the full grasp of why they're wonderful until you use them after you've had to use your other flanges. Read up on their website if you're a researcher like me. With these you're able to better simulate a baby's suckle and also the best mom feature is that you're able to lean back in your chair! Seriously you may not think that's a big deal but wait until you have to sit straight up and a little hunched forward in a chair (with a broken tailbone) and all you want to do is relax for those 15-20 minutes. I recommend (as does the manufacturer) you get the three pack with all the sizes. You want it to fit just right over your whole boob unlike the meldela flanges that just cover your nipple.

I also purchased the air-dry accessory bag from Pumpin Pals. I hated putting all my wet parts in a plastic bag. We all know that moist environments breed mold and mildew so I thought this was perfect! PS the next week I found the same thing in the dollar store at Target (veggie sacks) even after I had looked everywhere for something like that before I bought them. Sigh.

#4 Lanolin 

Seriously it is hard to imagine if I could've made it through without this stuff. I had a really rough time with feeding G for 10 weeks. I started off feeding him with a nipple shield. Ugh, I will never use one again if I don't have to. Cleaning that thing in between uses and never having it where you want it when you're feeding is a PAIN! But when I was weaning G off it he cracked my nipple in HALF. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating here. Then it would re-open the wound every single time he ate (he sucked the scab out at each feeding). It was really rough for the 7 weeks this happened. I couldn't get a break, and I may have diminished my supply on that side because I don't get nearly as much out of it as I do the other side, but apparently that is fairly common, so who knows! I would rub this on like nobody's business to keep the nipple from scabbing over (moist healing for the breast is recommended). You do have to make sure you're hands are clean and clean your nipples often when you have problems, moist healing also is a perfect environment for infection or worse TRUSH! I didn't get it luckily but I have heard it is terribly painful. Also, just an FYI this stuff is sticky and greasy and will leave grease spots on everything it touches. So just watch where it lands, I have spots on a few tanks and shirts thanks to lanolin.

On a side note I dare you to google what lanolin is. You'll be very surprised.

Have this on hand. Trust me.

#5 Breast pads

This goes along with the lanolin. I never have been much of a leaker. I just don't have that much milk but some people are and that's got to be annoying. So when I am talking about breast pads it is mostly for nipple comfort because of my cracked nipple.

When I was pregnant I ordered Utter cover breast pads. I liked the idea of reusable ones since I couldn't make reusable diapers work for us (and a little part of me is ok with that) I wanted something I could re-use. The utter cover ones worked great. I would just give them a quick rinse off before putting them in the wash to get all the lanolin residue and (TMI) blood spots off them. But I loved how soft they were on my boobies when they were all sore and anything that touched them would make me want to die. (On a side note walking around topless was very common for me, luckily all my neighbors seemed to work during the day.)

Now, I was also given disposable breast pads. I did not care for those. They seemed to be scratchy on my tender boobs. But a lot of people like them. I used them for travel when I didn't want to deal with keeping track of my reusable ones. I think people are grossed out by seeing the blood or milk on them so they don't want to deal with the fabric ones but really I think the comfort alone was worth it!

Also, on a side note I REALLY wish that I would've been informed about breast shells earlier. I think that they could've helped my sore nipple heal faster. They weren't at my target and I wish I would've looked into ordering them. They're hard silicone shells that protect your sore nips from your clothing. I'm sure they look very silly under your clothing but lets be honest you aren't really going anywhere anyway so who cares! There are air holes to promote healing but I think you should also spend some time air drying those bad boys again so you don't get the trush! Air drying is also how I finally got my cracked nips to heal. I would basically be topless all day and night and picked out the scabs myself and that combo FINALLY worked for me!

These also have a reservoir for collecting leakage if you had that problem and they have something to do with inverted or flat nipples but I really don't know what exactly. It looks like Advent makes some too, do your research I don't know which one is better.

#6 Boppy

I am a boppy girl. I don't know if my breast friend pillows work well or not but they sure look bizarre and I love how with the boppy you're able to use it for baby to sit up with or recline on. I use mine all the time! They make all sorts of fun covers for them so you can kind of personalize your style too. My SIL made her own, that would be fun if I was a little bit better with my sewing machine!

#7 Boobie Cover Up

I tried it all, and frankly I still do them all, but my favorite cover up for nursing in public or nursing around children/men is the Covered Goods cover up. It wraps around your whole body instead of just the front half. I will not mention which little munchkin, but one of them tried to lift up the blanket when I was feeding G, so this is nice to have so you don't have to worry about flashing anyone. In my opinion it is really important to be relaxed when you're nursing. I think when you start getting stressed out things go wrong, baby senses it too and it makes it harder to latch correctly and then you'll probably get a cracked nipple. So do yourself a favor and find a cover up that makes you comfortable.

#8 Nursing Bras and Nursing Tanks

Obviously these are a necessity unless you want to bare all each time you feed baby or pump. I wear size D (before and after baby which has been lucky) so I need a little extra support usually but I can usually get by most of the time with just one of these if I'm not jogging or anything. I have a few favorites but my one true fav bra is a little pricier but what no one tells you is that when you're pumping you nips stay out for awhile after. Also after the first couple of months you are no longer dripping milk because you aren't typically engorged anymore because you boobies and baby have figured out a bit more of a routine. So once your cracked nipples have healed you also don't need to wear breast pads anymore. This means you probably want some padding in your bra to hide those nips, unless its sweater season then you're solid.

No one's abs look like this lady's
after you have a baby. It is misleading.

So I liked this bra by Bravado. It is soft so it is wonderful to wear. It is padded which also gives you a little extra boob which you will want (not only to hide those protruding nips) to give you a little better figure (anything to take away from that post baby belly). Apparently you can also cut off the nursing clips and turn it into a regular bra after you're done having babies. I can't speak to how that function works though. It also washes well.

I also like the nursing bras by Gilligan and O'Malley. They don't offer a lot of support but they're perfect for lounging at home and for sleeping in because they're soft and offer easy boob access. So I wore one for the first 12 weeks, since all I did was lounge and sleep and feed G.  These also wash well.

Also for sleeping I had a Lamaze brand sleep bra. I really liked this one. It's easy and no clips involved. When G is starving he wants to eat and I don't have time to fiddle with snaps in the middle of the night. They look just like these Gilligan ones, I liked Lamaze better though, I thought the G&O ones were stiff and itchy when I felt them in the store.

As for nursing tanks. Bravado makes a brand for Target called Basics by Bravado. They have the BEST tanks in my opinion. They're spandex (think spanx but an everyday version because they don't really offer a lot of sucking in but they're tight enough to give you a little bit of a figure).They aren't sold online so check out your local Target. The Gilligan and O'Malley tank is also a good backup. It is hard to recommend it though. They're always out of stock it seems...

So there you are. My must haves for breastfeeding. It is a lot of work, and it's a commitment and it doesn't work for everyone. Some women come by it naturally and some have to really work at it. It is a choice I made going into it knowing that it was hard but that I wanted to try and luckily for me my stubbornness won in the long run and it is so simple to do with G now. It is 100% pain free (seriously, it does actually get there) I barely even notice he's on there after he latches now, and I feel like I've done something special for my little man, plus I have saved like a million dollars in formula already. Double bonus. Don't get me wrong, I felt like quitting many times along the way (I'm glad I didn't) and like I said above it isn't for everyone, whether it is because of your lifestyle, supply doesn't stay up, your baby doesn't latch or it just isn't something your interested in, being a mom is hard enough so don't feel bad. And for all you judgy ladies out there give the non BFing mamas a break, it's hard enough being a mom we don't need other mom's putting each other down, let's band together instead (I say all this because I know people who have had it happen, it's evil and cruel and needs to stop) END RANT.

I'm wishing all who come across this post happy boobies.

 I linked this post up with Kristin