Milking It For All Its Worth (Nursing Must Haves)

Nursing is hard.  Really hard.  I don't think I've met anyone who said it was a total cakewalk.  You are literally having life sucked out of you.  There are TONS of benefits, but any woman who does it should get R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Here are some things that is making baby feeding better:

Evenflo glass bottles - Plastics are great and have their place. I just want to minimize any risk of leaching.  I work part time and have only needed/used 4.

Dr. Brown's nipples - They have the best reputation for proper flow & age.  It's easy to just buy them and replace them on the bottles you already have.

Breast pump -  Ameda Purely Yours.  It was a good price and has worked very well so far.  The lactation center at my hospital really love both Ameda & Medela, but I've also heard great things about the Ameda Customer service.  Hopefully I'll never have to use them though.

If you need the above, then - Lansinoh Breastmilk Bags - These have worked great so far.  I usually only refrigerate them, but I've frozen a few, and they hold up, no problem!

Boon Grass drying rack (the largest size) - It's not that big, but big enough for my pumping accessories & a couple of bottles.  It's cute to look at in a sea of exhaustion.

A great water bottle - You'll be thirsty.  ALL. THE. TIME.

KIND bars - See above, but apply it to being hungry.  These are gluten and dairy free if those are problems, and they taste really good.

Boppy - As mentioned in the previous post.

Comfortable place to nurse - For some, this means a rocker/glider.  Those things are ugly, but man, are they comfortable for nursing.  I would love to have one (despite the look), but space issue preclude it.  Instead, at about the 5th month, I made sure we updated our 8 year old couch.  I Craiglisted it and got a new one.  It reclines quite a bit and is very soft.  You want it to be as simple as possible (other than a nightstand for your necessities) since you WILL be sleep deprived.  And keep the floor areas clear as possible.  I have a few shin bruises from a few unfortunately place ottomans.

Nursing tops - I actually am still navigating this hurdle.  I know I do like nursing vs. regular tops. I have a few Milkstars shirts and a Japanese Weekend. I like them both.  I'm not a huge fan of the ON ones though... :(  I liked their maternity though.

Nursing bras - See above.  I've actually just used the cheapest ones I could find (with good reviews of course) on Amazon and a couple of ones on Sale from the Lactation center.  They work just fine.

Nursing pads -  I had never heard of these until my baby shower.  I continue to thank the girl who gave me these to this day.  They're basically cotton pads that soak up extra milk that flows out.  I buy the Lansinoh ones in bulk.

Lanolin - I had heard about this during the class.  And while I hope for the best and prepare for the worst, in the back of my mind, I was kinda thinking I'd be one of those freak people who have a phenomenal experience right off the bat.  I wasn't.  But this stuff is great.  Expressing extra milk didn't relieve anything for me.  The same girl who gave me the pads, gave me a tube of Lanolin.  She's totally my hero.