Hey loves,
Lets talk all the deets on nursing essentials. I breastfed Josephine for 16 months and it was truly one the greatest and most difficult things I have ever done. However, I did get really lucky with my breastfeeding journey with Josephine, she was such an easy baby! This go around with Jace it has been a breeze as well! My body knew what was up and went to work. Below are my must haves for nursing!
Dry Brush: Girl, go ahead and start this about 4-6 weeks out from your due date. Use a dry brush and brush your nipples once a day. I would do this after I got out of the shower a minute on each side. It helps your body become less sensitive and prepare for a babe! Im serious, this will save you from getting sore, dry, and cracked.
Medela Gel pads: Get them now! Use them in the hospital immediately they are life savers! I bought two packs of them and used them from hospital to about day three. You can use them multiple times and they help you from getting sore. With Jace I never got sore and I totally credit these and dry brushing.
Haaka Pump: I had bought this with Josephine and never used it correctly so thought it was a waste, boy was I wrong! After youtubing some vids and learning how to correctly use it before having Jace I was ready. CANT LIVE WITHOUT IT! I use the haaka 1 -2 times a day to catch my let down and milk from the side he isn’t nursing. I get 2-3 ounces each time! It also helped me relieve some pressure when my milk came in and I was so engorged. Jace is almost a month old and I have around 100 ounces in my freezer stocked up without ever having to pump.
Bamboo pad: Get these so you don’t leak through your shirts. I love them because they are soft and reusable. They come in a generous pack. Use them for a day and throw in the wash. These also prevent you from rubbing in your bra and getting sore after nursing.
Nipple Balm: This brand is my favorite! You don’t have to wash it off before you nurse, which trust me at 3am that’s the last thing your thinking about doing when you have a crying hungry baby. I would use this every evening before bed apply a generous amount, then put on a bamboo pad so you don’t ruin your clothes. When Jace would wake up I would use the bamboo pad that is in my bra already and wipe it off, then nurse him. Also mom hack this is the best stuff for dry lips! I use it every night like a lip mask.
Hatch Baby App: We use the hatch baby app because we have the changing pad that tracks his weight. However, you can use this app without the changing pad! It tracks his feeding, what side we nurse on, and times. It’s so user friendly! You can manually enter in weight to track your baby’s growth as well. It also keeps track diapers, naps, it’s an all in one app! The diaper tracker is super helpful in the beginning when you are trying to make sure they have enough set and dirty diapers.
Nursing Bras
I have a few favs ! First the amazon 3 pack everyone has shared. I like these for at home or under t-shirts, they don’t have a lot of shape to them so I wouldn’t wear them with a “cute outfit” but loungewear I would if that makes sense, like a comfy bra. These are the best for nighttime! They aren’t even nursing or maternity but they are so comfy, hold your bamboo pads in place, and are easy no snaps just pop out and go at night. Especially when your milk comes in these helped support me at night so I wasn’t in a ton of pain. And the holy grail of nursing bras are from Leading Lady. Ya’ll they are affordable, comfortable, cute, and supportive! Let me break down my favs from them. 1. The Janet – This one is seamless wire free and so soft! It’s like the amazon bra but more luxurious and actually supportive. 2. The Alyssa– This bra is seamless and wire free as well, a super comfortable at home fav. 3. The Dorthy – This bra is a great wireless t-shirt bra! Supportive and has cups to hold you in and give you shape but incredibly comfortable. I love this one! I wear it a lot. 4. Peggy Luxe – OKAY! This bra, I have it in nude and I am going back to get the black. It is a lace bra with wire that is seriously the softest most comfortable bra I have ever wore. I mean can I wear this when I am done nursing? It’s nice to slip something on that makes you feel good about yourself while in the midst of newborn haze. Get this bra, thank me later! 5. Nursing Tank – This tank is amazing I got two of them because I love them at much! They are like shapeware and hold you in and are so flattering. I don’t wear a bra with them either since they have a built in bra!
When you shop anything from Leading Lady you can get 25% off by using code 25CHRISTINE at checkout! Right now with my code they are also donating 2 bras to a mama in need with your purchase, which is truly amazing, we are all in this together. Hope this helps all of you mamas out there! And as always if you ever have questions about anything just shoot me a message or email.
Xoxo
Christine
Pristine Christine 