I need to know what supplies I need so I will have everything in stock and ready to go for when Colin comes.
My friend Jenn is giving me her breast pump that she never used.
I also bought the following items:
Storage Bottles
Breast Pads
Breast CreamSo what else do I need to get started?? On a related note I woke up this morning to breast leakage - first time that has every happened since I got pregnant - I guess my body is really getting ready for my little man.
16 comments:
I really enjoyed having a breastfeeding cover - not because I'm particularly prude - but because I breastfed everywhere - from public transit, to shops, to a bench... and often it was useful for me and for the little one to keep focus. You can also easily make one if you are a bit of a seamstress.
Storage bags! I like the Lansinoh freezer bags because they close tight and you can tell when they are closed. Also, I never used the breast cream. I got lots of free samples from the hospital and after a few weeks I didn't need it anymore. Depending on how many bottles the pump came with, you may want to pick up a few more. Oh, and a good nursing bra! I love one from Motherhood Maternity. I have 3 in the same color/ size because I wear them all the time and I am planning on nursing for at least a year. If you want to know which one I like just send me a message on FB.
You need the microwave bags, they steam the bottles; they are cheap and so much easier. You need a drying rack (Target has a super cute one that looks like grass!)
I agree the storage bags are great b/c they thaw faster and save freezer space. Nursing tank tops and/or nursing bras.
Good Luck!! It is the most special bond with your baby and you will never regret trying!
Nursing tank tops! Way better than the bras in my opinion =). I had 3 nursing bras and wore them each maybe twice.
We needed more bottles than came with the pump too (but I did have twins, so IDK for sure with one baby but I still think extra would be helpful).
If you do plan to pump you may be more likely to use the lanolin. I used it all the time...but I was also pumping 8-10x a day...the ladies got a little sore! LOL.
Breast pads, definitely, and a nursing cover isn't a bad idea. I only used mine once or twice though. I found that a blanket worked just as well, and if I wore any nursing tops at all they kept me nearly entirely covered all the time anyway, so really no need for a big cover. Just depends on what you are most comfortable with.
One thing to remember...breast feeding may hurt until you and Colin get the hang of it and that's OKAY! Breastfeeding isn't necessarily easy or natural for everyone and it can take a while for everyone to adjust. Just be patient and try to keep your cool, and don't be afraid to ask the lactation consultants at the hospital for help. Good luck!
Oh! And a boppy! It held the babies in the right position for breast feeding. =)
My best advice would would be to not spend too much money until you know if BF will work out for you. I bought an expensive pump and the whole works and ended up not having milk :( long story but that's the jist of it.
When I was on lots of meds and pumping like crazy to try and give Baby C milk before I completely dried up when he was just 6 weeks old... I used a hospital grade pump (that I rented because my medela couldn't get a drop from me). I loved those skinny medela bottles at first, but they only hold two ounces so depending on how much milk you can produce in one sitting you might need more. I pumped right into bottles sometimes, then I would pour them into baggies to freeze if I had any "extra" (we were doing half milk half formula in an effort to store some milk since we knew I would run out quickly). I bought the freezer trays that are like water bottle ice cube trays but dried up before they got shipped here. I thought those would be cool though because you wouldn't have to pre-thaw the whole bag to use the frozen milk. I DEFINITELY used the lanolin. Especially for pumping because I thought that hopsital pump was ROUGH on my poor nips.
Definitely a nursing cover.
Get the microwave sterilization bags for sure!! You can get generic brand ones. You sterilize so much stuff so often with pumping!
Make sure you get these. I know they seem a bit costly, but they are worth it. I used them every single day for the first two weeks when I was really sore.
http://www.amazon.com/Lansinoh-65005-Soothies-Gel-Pads/dp/B002KGHUL4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323664315&sr=8-1
If you have a Medela pump, these are nice because they are soft and conform to you, unlike the generic plastic ones that come with the pump.
http://www.target.com/p/Medela-s-SoftFit-24-mm-Breastshields-2-pk/-/A-10311648
And, if you're really serious about nursing, the best advice I can give you is to have the lactation specialist or your nurse help you EVERY SINGLE TIME you nurse while in the hospital. Every time. Even if you think you've got it down. Every time. I thought I was doing pretty good until I had the night nurse, my second night there, watch me. She showed me some little tricks that saved my nursing life! And here I am, going strong 7 months later, relishing every single time I get to snuggle my baby girl and nurse her.
PS - give yourself 4 weeks. If you have milk than stick it out for at least that long! The soreness and engorgement goes away and you do get into a routine, it just takes a few weeks. So tell yourself you'll keep at it for at least 4 weeks! (assuming there are no medical reasons to stop.)
PS - if you have a Medela, you can buy bags that "clip" right on to the pump so you don't have to use the bottles to pump and then pour into the bags. I use these and then just pop the bag into the freezer.
http://www.target.com/p/Medela-Pump-Save-Storage-Bags-50-pk/-/A-10421047
patience. a comfy place to sit (and sit and sit and sit). Patience. Lots of water in a bottle you can drink out of with one hand (I like the camelbak ones). And some more patience. :)
A copy of The Nursing Mother's Companion or the like.
A boppy pillow
lanolin cream
nursing cover
breast pads (love lanisnoh here, too, or NUK to just throw in sleep bra.)
Nursing bras
Sleep bras (target!)
Nursing camis (target too, I often double up with a cami and a nursing bra for extra support)
Freezer bags (lanisnoh kind are the BEST!)
Grass drying rack (from target)
Bottle brush
I think that's it. Good luck!
I have to say you don't need much. I would also get those Lansinoh plastic freezer bags. I read a while ago that someone saved the plastic wipe boxes and then put the bags flat on top of each other in that box in the freezer for easy storage. I also preferred nursing tanks over nursing bras.
contact nipple shield saved my breastfeeding,
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2901997 (i would have in several different sizes, no telling what size you will love need)
and be prepared to have a lot of patience, it takes time and both you and they baby are not experts from the time she/he is born.
the nipple shield helps with flat nipples and sores, my baby had difficulty with latching wich was solved by nipple shield.
I had happy 13 months of breastfeeding with nipple shield.
I never produced more than the Medela bottles held, so they worked for us. But it was so easy to store the fresh milk in them for the next feeding. If you end up bottlefeeding recently expressed milk, you'll probably want larger collection bottles.
Most of my friends said their hands-free pumping bra was a lifesaver, but I could never get anything without compressions. See how it goes before getting one.
We were never able to directly BF without the Contact Nipple Shield. They're cheap and it might be nice to have one on hand just in case. It was also great for reducing pain caused by stimulation after we tried going without it!
And if you end up having trouble with pumping, a manual pump got way more milk for me. I dried up on the electric after just three weeks. The manual was able to get small amounts for another week after that.
I know I already commented, but to add what everyone else said, yes, a Boppy or something similar, a handsfree pumping bra, and I also really liked having a cheap manual pump that I use occasionally when I just need to pump a little bit and don't want to get my Medela all set up.
Everyone else pretty much covered it, but my main thing would be: perseverance! Someone else mentioned patience and that's great too. It hurts like hell in the beginning. That's normal. Give it a week or so and it should start to subside. I loved The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding if you're looking for a good book to prepare you. And if you don't have a big milk supply in the beginning, Fenugreek is CHEAP (way cheaper than switching to formula), easy on the stomach, and works wonders.
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