Nursing Tips

When I had my son over 5 years ago, we had only been in IL for a year and I knew no one locally to get information from when it came to baby care, baby gear, things to do with babies, or nursing. Yes, there's your midwife or la leche league... but I didn't have any friends with experience to really go to for questions or advice.

Baby Paige - 8 days old

Now that I have 2 kids under my belt... or wrapped around my legs, tugging on my skirt if you will, I just wanted to write a post to help anyone out there that might be in the same position I was 5 years ago. Everything has been trial and error for me and hopefully this post can help save you time and money based on what I've learned.

BABY CARE:
The Baby Book by Sears and Sears - this is your baby bible. It has month-by-month information telling you what to expect, activities you can do with your baby, development information, illness info, feeding, baby wearing, temper tantrum suggestions, sleeping info... etc, etc! It's the baby gift I give every new Mom because it's so helpful and informative

BABY GEAR:
Baby Bargains Book by Denise and Alan Fields - they review EVERYTHING that you do and do not need for your baby. I agree with most of their reviews and they update the book regularly. Side note: my favorite baby carrier is the Ergo. It has paid for itself 10x over. (I even used to mow the lawn with Parker in it at age 3.)

NURSING INFO: (this is the main reason for this post)

1.   Nursing Bras - Hands down Bravado Body Silk Seamless. The Gap sells them online and if you have a coupon you can get a better price. You don't have to worry about going up or down a size as your ladies get bigger or smaller, they give you good support, and they're super comfortable. Sleep Bras? Hands down Majamas' Easy Bra (do a search online). Motherhood's are okay. Medela's are horrible. All nursing bras that have underwire eventually give me blocked milk ducts which are extremely painful. Padded nursing bras are a pain to fold down. I've bought nursing bras at Target - all of which give me floppy mono-boob; Motherhood - they don't last; La Leche League - the worst of them all, horrible fit and design; Medela - fit weird.

2.   Nursing Pads - I seriously have tried every single friggin' brand of nursing pad, including reuseable ones. Some make you look like you have targets in your shirt, some make you look like you stuffed your shirt with paper towels. I can't go without them, so here's my take: My favorites are Tommee Tippee and EvenFlo because they have full coverage over your breast. Lansinoh used to be good but now they look like the stuffed paper towel ones - so are Medela's and Nuk's. Avent and the Johnson & Johnson brands are the target boobs ones. All of the washable ones make me feel like I'm putting a wet washcloth back on your boob after you leak - which then itch and make me feel like I'm going to get an infection. Love the concept and the money savings it can bring, but I'd have to swap out and wash nursing pads daily just to make it work. The plastic ones (Lilypadz) are just plain icky. Milk still leaks out and then you feel like you have wet saran wrap on your boob. Nasty.

3.   Nursing Pillows - I love the Boppy because it's the easiest to use and is multi-functional. When your baby is really little and falls asleep while nursing you can just leave him/her there snuggled up for a nap while you read or watch TV. You can use it to prop your baby sitting up on the floor. You can use it for tummy time and to help strengthen their arms in preparation for crawling. Parker was over 9 lbs - a giant baby - he was so heavy right off the bat that I really needed something to help hold him up to me. I just find it uncomfortable to hold your baby without arm support while nursing. I tried My Brest Friend and didn't like having to strap on a pillow. I also tried using my body pillow or regular pillow, which kept slipping and sliding out everywhere.

asleep on the boppy after nursing

4.   Nursing Tops - I really don't like lifting my shirt up to show peeks of my flabby post partum belly, so I've found "normal" tops I can pull down to nurse in that aren't too obvious. Keep an eye out for cowl neck tops, criss-cross tops, button-down tops, or stretchy boat-neck tops. I've found some at Target, Express, and the Gap. Or wear a nursing tank (I like "full sling" ones, not the ones with just an inner strip of fabric on the sides) with a cardigan. I have a few tops from Motherhood, but they don't wash well - they shrink, pill up, or get holes in the seams. Other options online are very matronly and dowdy looking... but my favorite online option is MILK: Cute, comfy options that wash well and last.

5.   Nursing in Public - The three places I've learned that support nursing by providing a nursing area at their place of business are: IKEA, Nordstrom, and Sea World. That's it. Otherwise, good luck finding a private area to sit down in a store to nurse that isn't a bathroom toilet. I nurse in the backseat of my car (sometimes I keep a boppy and burp cloth in my car for this reason), I nurse at my son's swimming lessons, I nurse in the changing rooms at clothing stores, I nurse in airplanes. You're going to have to do it eventually, so might as well find a comfortable unassuming spot to feed your baby. I was shocked and actually mad that places like Target or Carter's don't have a nursing area. So buy a nursing cover or use a receiving blanket when you need to nurse while you're out and about.


I'm hoping my thoughts and opinions are helpful. Not everyone will agree with me on everything, but it's a place to start for new Mom's who are just beginning their wild and crazy ride in this thing called "motherhood."

As always, feel free to email me with questions and I'll help you however I can! And if you have anything to add to this list, please leave a comment. Thanks!