Spa time baby!!!
June 22, 2018
Come to Mama! July Lust List
July 3, 2018We’re in the middle of National Breastfeeding Celebration Week in England [25-29 June] and I thought I’d give you some ideas on essentials/gifts for the breastfeeding mama.
I breastfed both of the Stockubes [first one was combi-fed for various reasons] and believe that I did what was best FOR MY OWN KIDS. There’s a lot of strange judgemental shenanigans surrounding this subject – much to my confusion, but there you go!
Public Health England wants this week to be a celebration to try and encourage mothers to breastfeed for the first six months of their child’s life at least and to provide advice, encouragement and support to these mothers.
Breastfeeding is not easy. It’s painful at first. Really bloody painful. But once you battle through it becomes a truly lovely experience.
So, with that in mind, see below for my top picks for breastfeeding [particularly in the early days]
My lust list
These are really bloody expensive – eye watering expensive really [they’re shipped from the US] but they work. My god they work!
Rufus had tongue tie so my nipple was a bit of a mess after he gnawed on it for the first couple of days. These pads helped me push through. They’re almost like a concentrated version of the usual Lansinoh gel but in a full breast pad and they cool and soothe the area. Definitely one of my best buys!
Muslins
These bits of material are great – useful for mopping up all bodily fluids produced by your baby, but get a big enough one and you can drape it over yourself if you want a bit of privacy when feeding.
I lusted after these muslins from Etta Loves and they have a new animal print range which I would jump on if I had a newborn!
Lactation Cookies
Yep, you read right. A delicious cookie [or brownie!] that you can eat guilt free because you are feeding your baby AND it helps to produce the good stuff!
I had not heard of these until I found Meg on Instagram [@motherslovecookies]. I had tried fennel tea [yuk] and ate porridge oats until I was sick of them.
These cookies really worked! I didn’t have a supply issue with Rufus after a few weeks but I do believe that they enriched the milk…he didn’t cluster feed as much after I ate them anyway. Could all be coincidence but they’re bloody tasty so I’ll take it!
Nursing Bra
I am a Bravissimo girl through and through. The ladies in there are so lovely [I usually go to the Manchester one] and helpful. Both times I have used the Panache Nursing Bra which is really comfy and easy to access. Nursing bras are not the sexiest [by a long shot] but this is one of the nicest on the market for those with ample busom!!!
Breast Pads
Not the most glamorous at all but in my experience, you do get what you pay for. I had many a time when you could see the old leaky boobs through my t-shirt because the pad had slipped out of place or was not absorbent enough. Nice.
If I were to have my time again, I may even look into the reusable ones. Good for the environment and my washing machine seems to be constantly on nowadays so they’d get washed quite regularly!
If I’m honest, with my second breastfeeding experience I just got the girls out wherever and whenever but I had confidence then!
When I first started breastfeeding I was so shy about feeding my own baby in public. I used to get cold sweats if she started getting hungry if we were out. Eventually I got a feeding scarf which was great. It gave me coverage that I needed but did not feel like I was covering up out of shame. My friend swore by the nursing apron but that style just was not me!
Breast Pump
With Cecily, I had a manual pump and it was goddamn awful! I was convinced that I was not physically able to pump so gave up with that one.
I had a Lansinoh electric pump with Rufus and it was brilliant! I didn’t pump to feed him [tried that but he wouldn’t take a bottle] but I pumped to let down the supply before feeding in the early days [my flow was quick so he used to gag on it] and when I was away from him I pumped as if he was feeding to ensure that my supply was not messed up.
I have heard a lot about these new eco friendly breast pumps – the Haakaa Pumps which would be interesting to try out.
Breastfeeding top
Breastfeeding friendly clothes are a MUST! You need easy access to the boobs but you also want to look nice – you’ve just had a baby!
My friend has recently had a baby and is wearing these tops – they look really nice, nothing like a feeding top and they are much better than my maternity/nursing H&M ones [which I am still wearing ha!]
Water bottle
Breastfeeding makes you thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. I found keeping up my water intake really difficult so the bearded tit got me a water bottle – so that I didn’t have to keep filling up a small glass and I could take it with me if I went out.
I am still crap with my water intake so might actually buy myself one of these!
So there you go! MY top picks for breastfeeding mamas…I have probably forgotten something given that I am no longer in the throws of cluster feeding [oo lots of paracetamol and ibuprofen…it hurts!]. Would you agree with my picks or is there something that you’ve found amazing? Let me know!
x
