10 Things You Need By Your Side While Breastfeeding/Pumping

Let’s face it, breastfeeding is a world and whole topic of it’s own. It took me a good month to get used to it, and to be honest, I am still figuring it all out. But each week is getting easier, and I am now learning that there a few things that have made it smoother and that I can’t go without. (None of these reccs. are sponsored!) Mommas that are currently breastfeeding, and mommas to be, here are ten key items I have found are awesome to keep by your side while breastfeeding/pumping:

1. A nursing cover: This is essential for feeding in public or when visitors come over and if you are like me and aren’t comfortable going bare unless it’s my sister or husband etc., then you need one that covers well, but doesn’t make it hard to see your little one. I like the Bebe Au Lait cover. It come in super cute patterns and has a little inner pocket for nursing pads:)

2. A comfy nursing pillow: I borrowed my friend’s, (Chai momma Neesha!), Boppy and love, love it. It’s easy to use, comfortable and it’s not huge.

3. Water in an easy drinking cup and healthy snacks: It’s so important to be drinking water and staying hydrated during nursing and sometimes with your hands being tied up, it’s hard to get that water in. Here’s a great idea my sister in law gave me- to use a tumbler with a straw! And this one is perfect. If you are drinking hot liquids, here’s an insulated tumbler that will do the trick also and prevent hot spills! For hot liquids, I recommend trying Organic Mother’s Milk Tea , it doesn’t taste bad at all and has been working great for me! An example of a healthy snack that I keep by my side: (nursing always makes me hungry-ladies we are burning off a lot of calories-it’s hard work!) is coconut flakes. (Coconut contains lauric acid, a powerful anti-microbial fatty acid that protects the immune system of the newborn. It increases the quality of the breast milk too!)

4. A good pump: I have been using Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump  and it works really well, is strong enough, easy to use and also the one I got has a cute tote and is compact, so even when you bring it places, it doesn’t look like a big machine you have to lug around. I also love all the items that go with it: Medela Pump & Save Breastmilk Bags, (great for freezer storage), and the Medela Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags, (so easy to clean the parts with).

5. A computer duster: Yes you read right, a computer duster! Have a handy bottle of the computer compressed gas duster post pumping, and you will see how it works wonders on keeping your pump tubing free of condensation and keeping it dry. 

6. A hands free breastpump bra: When I invested in this it was totally worth it a million times over. Now when I pump, I can be on the computer,typing chai mommas posts of course;) or read or do anything in the vicinity of the pump, but it just makes pumping so much easier. I got one that my friend Sapna recommended, the Simple Wishes Hands-Free Breastpump Bra, and am so grateful she did!

7. A comfortable seat or foot stool: I am just investing in this now. I learned the hard way though and at first, using the somewhat comfy sofa chair we have in our bedroom was working, and so was just feeding on our couch in our living room. But eventually, my back started getting tight, my shoulders started hurting and even hip joints ached from sitting in these chairs that were not made for nursing. Definitely get a glider. I didn’t want to get one that was too pricey, I know there are a lot there you can really spend your money on that have great reviews, but I settled on Stork Craft Tuscany Glider and Ottoman because I know someone who used it and had a good experience and it’s affordable.

8. Nipple cream and nursing pads: Nipple cream is a must, especially in the beginning when your nipples are sore, can even be cracked and it’s about healing them as they go through something they never went through before! Chai momma Shraddha recommended  Motherlove Herbal Nipple Cream to me and I love it. My sister is studying to be an acupuncturist and a fellow classmate of hers made me a cream of chickweed, plantain, comfrey, calendula, olive oil and beeswax that was heavenly and all natural that I used too. Definitely be sure what you are using is all natural and safe for the baby even if you wipe it off before feeding. The pads I got and used a lot the first month are the Lansinoh Soothies Gel Pads which are cooling so I loved them. I also got Organic Cotton Nursing Pads and still use them all the time.

9. A timer and record of breastfeeding times/sides:  With the amount of times you breastfeed in the beginning especially, it’s a good idea to keep a record of times and side you fed on/pumped from since with all the sleep deprivation, it is easy to forget. I use this amazing iPhone app called iBaby Feed. It is totally worth the download! You can record separate feedings times, pump times, bottle times, analyze times between feedings and more. It’s awesome!

10. Good reading material: So I calculated how much time I spend feeding/pumping and according to my app, it’s about almost 4-5 hours daily! Have a good book to read while you pump, (I write these wonderful posts haha), or have a laptop by your side. It’s nice to bond with your baby some of the times, but ladies, multitasking is something we all figure out is essential to getting things done as mommies;)

Hope this helps and if you have any other tips or things to add to this list, please do and comment below!

-Puja