For example: my goal was to nurse. My mother in law nursed her four children and my sister in law who was pregnant at the time also was hoping to nurse. I wanted to nurse my baby as well. I just thought that everything was going to go smoothly. I didn't even buy bottles or formula. No one told me I would need nursing pads and I never thought I would need a breast pump my first week on the job. I REALLY didn't know what to expect when it came to nursing. Looking back, I was CLUELESS. This discouraged me to the point of wanting to quit my first couple days into to process. Danelle wasn't nursing well and I had no bottles to give her. All I had for formula were my free samples from the hospital and they didn't last more than a day.
Now - I didn't have breast pads either. Sorry if this is too much info but when my milk came in - it went BIZZERKO. I wasn't prepared or aware that I would "leak." I didn't wear a tight fitting bra and my poor, swollen, sore, and engorged 'girls' were leaking everywhere. I finally had to cut maxi pads in half to use as temporary padding.
I was depressed. I felt like I was a bad mom from the start (which of course was mainly thanks to hormones and some postpartum depression I developed over the next six months). Not having everything I needed nor the money to buy it all at once with made it WORSE. Preparation before hand would have been best.
This blog is dedicated to NEW MOM'S who are wondering what to buy and maybe some tips on brands and what to watch for - so hopefully you can avoid the mistakes I had learn the hard way.
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EVERY NURSING MOM'S SHOPPING LIST! (I will make a list for all mom's also.)
#1. Breast Pads. These are next to bottles in the baby aisles. NOT ALL BREAST PADS ARE CREATED EQUAL and CHEAPER ISN'T BETTER in most cases. When you are nursing a baby, like I mentioned you will leak... more often then you think. It will happen when you are thinking of your baby, hearing it cry, watching someone hold your baby, talking about your baby, and sometimes just to be annoying. Wearing a properly fitting bra and the right breast pad however, you will feel more confident about yourself when this happens.
MY FAVORITE: They are slightly more expensive then other brands but the coverage is great and they are very discreet. Let's face it, when choosing a nursing pad, you don't want to world to KNOW you are because of the thick pad shaping through your shirt. These were very thin and easy to hide. They held it "all in" even during my worst leaks or overnights! I never second guessed myself with them.
MY LEAST FAVORITE: While these are CHEAPEST - they are not good... I had to double them up and they STILL leaked. I used three times as many in a day with these too. Overall bad choice. Might be best suited for an extremely light leaker.
Oh and a word to the wise; WASHABLE nursing pads... are just as bad a wearing a thin washcloth. It will not protect your clothes from moisture any better than your clothes will. Sorry to say.
#2. A Boppy or Nursing Pillow. These help SO MUCH when you are trying to get your baby in the right position for nursing. Even if you don't plan to nurse, a Boppy is a wonderful thing and holds baby in just the right place for bottle feeding. They are also fun to lay the baby on, and have tummy time with when they are old enough. Every mom expecting or not would benefit from one. ***Bring this to the hospital when you go into labor - trust me, you will thank me!***
#3. Nursing cover. I recommend having one in your diaper bag and one for regular use. Bring one to the hospital; with the amount of in's and out's the nurses, doctors, and visitors make it's nice to be covered rather than exposed.
#4. Lanolin Cream. Nursing is painful after the first couple days. To make it more bearable, have your cream ready even at the hospital. Lanolin is safe for the baby and can be applied after every nursing. It's soothing and prevents your nipples from drying out or bleeding.
MY FAVORITE: This stuff lasts a long time and doesn't have a funny smell like some of the others out there.
Here are the benefits of a breast pump (tips a lactation specialist told me):
A. If you don't have enough milk pump for 1-2 minutes AFTER your milk STOPS to encourage your body to make more milk. This is a natural way of telling your body, "hey, baby needs more milk" and your body will take the hint. Just don't go overboard - TRUST ME - I would stop encouraging more milk when you can pump 4oz each side... :-/ It can get pretty uncomfortable with too much milk production unless you can keep up with it.
B. Storing milk. I am not the type that likes to sit around a nurse all day. I like the idea of pumping and letting my husband or other family and friends bottle feed the baby too (which of course is probably not the best idea if you are worried about your baby rejecting your breast). Pumps are also great for those nights when baby decides to sleep soundly through the night but your 'ladies' won't let you sleep until you pump off some milk.
C. On the go. If you are ever apart from baby, your milk production will not stop just because baby is with the sitter. You will need to pump out the milk as you go to avoid painful and engorged breasts and avoid MASTITIS! Mastitis is a infection of your breast. It it unpleasant, painful, and in a lot of ways makes you sick like the flu and you need an antibiotic to cure it. My lactation expert suggested to never go longer than five hours between pumping or nursing to avoid this...
MY FAVORITE MANUAL BREAST PUMP: I LOVED the Avent Isis manual breast pump. It was comfortable, quiet, discreet, and QUICKLY got the milk out. It gently massaged out the milk and was effortless in many ways. I loved it so much, I bought two: one for on the go, and one I kept in my bedroom to pump in the middle of the night if needed. I loved that it was quiet enough to go to a public restroom if needed and quickly take care of business. I brought it with me in a small case to family dinners and even used it a couple times in the car on long road trips (with a cover and in the back seat of course) to make things more comfortable.
#7. (OPTIONAL) A bottle warmer/cooler. Whenever I have a baby, my husband and I plan out a "shift" that we take the baby at night. We both need our sleep, and at first our babies eat every 2-3 hours. Shayne usually takes half of the night, and I take the other half. When it's the middle of the night, the worst thing to interrupt your sleeping is to get out of bed, go downstairs, get a bottle out of the fridge, warm it up, feed baby and go back to bed. Wouldn't it be easier if the bottle cooler, and warmer were right there by you??? We thought so. It was nice also because if I pumped any milk in the middle of the night, I could store it back in the cooler for the morning. No need to get up at all. We all got more sleep with this addition to the family.
This is the First Years Night and Day Bottle Warmer System.
#8. Tight Fitting Nursing Bra's. I say tight (not TOO tight, but comfortable tight), because it will keep your milk "in" better. When your nursing, your bra is like your best friend... you will even need to sleep in it so make sure you get some comfortable sleeping bra's too.
#9 and #10. Bottles and Formula. Just because you are nursing, does not mean you will not need these items. There are many bottles designed out there to help your baby with "nipple confusion" so the baby will not reject your breast. They are even making bottles where the baby has to nurse the bottle just as they would on you. I don't know the names of these bottles (I have just now seen them at baby stores), but they seem like a helpful idea. I personally used Playtex Nurser bottles with the drop in liners. I found my babies were less gassy after I could squeeze out the air and feed the baby.
Formula. I have tried many as a nursing mom to try to find the right formula closest to my breast milk. This may be different for each mom and baby, but I found Enflamil Gentlease to be the easiest on my babies tummies.
TIP (January 14, 2013): There is a new formula I am curious about trying. Gerber Soothe...
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I have plenty more helpful tips and things I suggest considering buying before bringing home baby but I am going to have to stop for now... Next up - - - the practical list for any new mom.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
