Succeed when you breastfeed

If you are looking at all the breastfeeding paraphernalia and wondering if you really need that or not, here are some of the things that I found helpful when I was breastfeeding.

Burp cloths.  I have had 4 babies and 4 out of 4 were spitters.  They spit up almost every feeding and I stayed covered in spit up it seemed like.  I hope you have better fortune!  I always have 4-5 burp cloths placed around the house in case of spit.  As I said in an earlier post, they are helpful when your breast starts to squirt milk everywhere when it lets down too.

Lanolin.  I usually had sore cracked nipples at first and putting some lanolin on them after every feeding was helpful.

Gel soothie pads.  You can ask for a pair of these at the hospital and they should be able to get them for you.  These help when your nipples are really sore.  They help to keep moisture in and help the nipples to heal.  You just wear them between feeding and they feel very good too.

Hydration.  Breastfeeding makes you SO thirsty.  I was always walking around with a huge cup of juice or something to drink.  If you can, try to have something close to your nursing spot so you don’t get stuck nursing while you are parched of thirst.

Snacks.  I think I was hungrier while I was breastfeeding than I was while I was pregnant.  It doesn’t hurt to have a few granola bars, or whatever your snack of choice is, close on hand while you are nursing either.

A pillow.  Or something to prop your arm and the baby up during the feeding.  A Boppy pillow or My Brest Friend or even a small bed pillow work well.  Personally I usually pulled my knee toward my chest and used my leg as a prop.

A cover.  If you are nursing in public you will probably want some kind of cover.  There are several covers on the market.  When I use a cover I usually use a receiving blanket.  If you pull the corner of the receiving blanket under your bra strap then drape the rest of the blanket around you it works well to keep it from falling off!  When I’m at home I don’t usually use one.  Truthfully I don’t usually use one in public either.  You can pull your shirt down far enough that nothing can be seen once you get the hang of it and that’s just one less thing to worry about.

A comfy seat.  Once you start a feeding session you are pretty much stuck.  Making sure you are comfortable before hand is very important.  Often times it is so relaxing that you fall asleep with the baby so a cozy recliner works well.

A good book.  Or magazine, or video game or movie.  Like I said you’re kind of stuck until the feeding is over and if you are alone with no one else around it can get a little boring sometimes.  I like to have a book nearby that I can read, or sometimes even the video game controller to pass the time.

These are the things I can think of that helped me while I was breastfeeding and I hope you find them helpful too.  I will talk some about breast pumps in a later post and when they are useful as well.