Being a first time mom I wanted to give my baby every possible advantage in life. I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but I also knew that it wasn’t necessarily going to be easy. I’ve had lots of friends, family, and clients tell me about the struggles they had while trying to breast feed. So being the type-A personality that I am I made sure that I was prepared with all the things I thought I might need while trying to breastfeed. I had a ton of stuff on my registry that revolved around feeding my new little one. Some of the stuff was great and some of it I didn’t really use.
The good news is that breastfeeding wasn’t too hard for us to get the hang of. However, pumping took a little more time for us to master. But it was important to me to not only breastfeed my little guy but also build up a stash of milk. I know I’ll need this when my little one starts daycare and when I want to leave the house for fun. I now treat our stash of pumped milk as gold.
Here is a list of products I found most helpful while breastfeeding my little guy:
- Nursing Pillow – There are a number of different nursing pillows out there. However after trying a few I decided I love the My Brest Friend pillow. You strap it onto you and basically creates a pillow table for your little one to lay on. It’s easy to use and makes breastfeeding much easier! If I could recommend only one product to you this would be it!
- Nipple Cream – Just trust me, you are going to need a good nipple cream. I recommend purchasing one that doesn’t need to be washed off before baby eats. It’s just one less thing to worry about. I had great success with Bamboobies Boobease Natural Nipple Balm.
- A Good Breast Pump – Most insurance companies cover the cost of a pump. So there really are no reasons not to get one. I ended up getting the Medeal In Style pump. So far I have no complaints about this product. My only tip here is that just because the pump can pump at 100% doesn’t mean you should use it at 100%. When starting to pump try using the pump at 20% power and see if that gets the job done. I learned this lesson the hard way.
- Milk Cooler – If you plan to take a bottle anywhere you are going to need a cooler for your milk. Starting out I really liked the Madela cooler set. The bottles fit nicely in the very functional bag. However, once baby outgrows the 5oz bottles or if you need to transport more then 2 bottles at once you will need a larger bag. For a larger bag I’m a fan of the MaxiCOOL bag. It’s inexpensive and does the job well. You can also use any type of ice pack with it.
- Hands Free Pumping Bra – A good hands free pumping bra will allow you to do other things while pumping. Pumping goes so much more quickly when you can play on your phone or busy yourself in other ways. This bra worked great for me.
- Moistening Body Wash – With your expanding chest and changing body you need to keep moisturized both to prevent stretch marks and to help you feel better. I feel in love with the Dove Body Wash Purely Pampering on my post-baby body. Just trust me here, this stuff is fantastic.
- Washable Nursing Pads – Yes, they do sell disposable nursing pads. However the washable ones are SO much nicer! They are softer and less bulky. Softness really matters when you are just starting out breastfeeding. They are also a little more environmentally friendly. I loved the Bamboobies Ultra Soft Washable Nursing Pads.
- A Good Cup – You need to drink a lot of water when you are breastfeeding. You will be forever thirsty. My Bubba Cup made drinking so much easier. It holds a lot of water, keeps it cool, and has an awesome handle.
- Nursing Pads – Ameda ConfortGel Pads nursing pads are great for sore nipples. They can be used at room temperature, or for added relief you can freeze them. Unlike some of the other options out there these ones can be washed and reused.
- Milk Collector – While you are nursing this product is used on the boob that your baby isn’t nursing on. When you let down milk flows from both sides. This collects the milk that is released for the side that your baby isn’t nursing on. This product was gifted to me by a friend that highly recommend it. I didn’t start using it until my little one was about a month old as I didn’t think I needed it. However, once I started using it I realized how much milk I was wasting! This products collects enough milk for about a half of a feeding a day. That may not sound like much, but let me tell you it’s huge and it really does add up. I’m a huge fan of the Milkies Milk Saver Collector.
- Nursing Cover – If you nurse for any length of time you are likely going to have to nurse in public at some point. Also in the first few months after baby arrives you will likely have lots of guests. You can either go and hide in a room while you nurse or just get a nursing cover. I’m a fan of Bamboobies nursing cover as it’s lightweight, not at all see though, and very soft.
- Nursing Tanks – Nursing tanks where great while breastfeeding! There is no need to wear a bra, and then your tummy is covered while your nursing. They also look good under button up sweaters or jackets, which makes it easier to pump, especially when you go back to work. I found some nice ones on Amazon and I also liked the ones from H&M.
- Baby Pillow – When you are pumping and you are home alone with baby you are going to need somewhere to put baby. For this I really enjoyed the Boppy Lounger. It kept baby within arms reach but allowed me to pump. My little guy loves to talk to me and giggle with me in this lounger while I’m pumping which makes the process so much more enjoyable.
- Milk Trays – Making bottles from frozen milk for daycare is a process since you have to bring bottles that are prepared to the center. This product solved that problem for me. The Milk Trays allowed me to just pop the ice cube milk into a bottle and then it’s ready to go. Each cube is exactly an ounce which makes things easy! Check out the Milkies Milk Trays if you plan to freeze milk.
- Nursing App – Keeping track of all the feeding can make you a little batty especially when you are running low on sleep. Some people use paper and pen, but for me that was just one more thing I had to keep track of. It was so much easier to just keep track of everything on my phone. I used the Glow Baby App which was free. It worked well for me but some of my friends also really like the Baby Nursing app which is also free.
- Lots of Burp Cloths – I thought we had a lot of burp cloths until I had a baby that needed them. I seriously do a load of burp cloths every other day. Trust me you need a LOT of these bad boys. Here are a few brands I liked:
Luxury Brand – Burt’s Bees – Very soft organic cotton.
Bargain Brand – Gerber Cloth Diapers – These aren’t anything fancy but they do the trick just fine. - Nipple Shield – This small piece of plastic was my best friend while breastfeeding! My little guy had a hard time latching (apparently I have flat nipples). This made feeding so much easier and it also made things a lot less painful. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t use one of these! I used the Madela nipple shield. If you would like more info from a more qualified source on nipple shields check out Jaimie’s guest post 6 things moms should know before using a breast shield. Jamie is a certified breastfeeding specialist.
If you have a baby registry these are all great things to add to your baby registry.
I hope you found this list of breastfeeding and pumping products helpful! Is there something not on this list that you during your breastfeeding journey? If so, please leave a comment below and let everyone know!
Lynn says
Nicely written!! Many good suggestions!
laurie says
great suggestions
Nelya says
#11, the disagreeable person in me says Pffft, that should be used by those who are offended! Lol.
But really, thanks for sharing and encouraging people with options for breast feeding.
Mimi green says
I agree with you, I swore by my hands free breast pump. That was the single thing that changed my world.