Dr. Nikki's Breastfeeding Must-Haves!

A little over two weeks into this new mom thing and I am feeling compelled to share some of my favorite items that I have been loving during this phase of life.

Silverette Nursing Cups -silver nursing cups designed to heal and protect nipples during the breastfeeding journey. Silver is a naturally antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial metal – contains potent anti-inflammatory properties that can be used to heal and prevent cuts, cracks, soreness, wounds, and infections. I’ve used these since day 1 with Jack and despite his challenges with latching (he has a tongue and lip tie) my nipples have been spared the typical damage that would occur during the first few weeks. They are a bit of a splurge at $60 but they last forever and can even be used with subsequent babies!

Auden Nursing Bralette- I was gifted several nursing bras from friends who were done with that phase of their lives but most of them were a spandex material and actually provided a bit more compression than I preferred. I found this bralette with a quick search of Target’s website and figured for $10 I would give it a try. I now own 7 of them.

Stars Above Pajama Sets- I have been living in pajamas during this phase of life and this set from Stars Above are incredibly comfy and nursing friendly!

And most important of all, SUPPORT. I have been lucky enough to have an incredible support system. I made it clear to my husband, mom and mother in law, that the two weeks following Jack’s birth I would be relying heavily on them to help meet my needs. I knew my focus would be on my healing and on Jack so I asked for meals to be brought to me and laundry and dishes to be done. Taking these things off of my plate allowed me to really focus on me and baby. During those first few days, breastfeeding was way more challenging than I expected. It was painful, Jack’s latch wasn’t great and my body was cramping significantly in response to him feeding (this is a normal process to help shrink the uterus back to it’s pre-pregnant size). I also found that if I didn’t respond to Jack’s early feeding cues ( opening mouth, turning head, sticking his tongue out or even sucking on his hands) it would be much more difficult for me to get him to latch. If I was worried about tending to other things, I might have missed his early cues more and this would’ve made establishing the breastfeeding relationship even harder.

Beyond the support of my family members, I also had taken a prenatal lactation course that laid a great foundation, but ultimately in those early sleep deprived days wasn’t enough. Having a resource to reach out to for additional lactation support BEFORE you give birth is so important. I contacted Danielle in the first 24 hours to set up a home consult. During her visit she assessed both me and Jack and offered suggestions to improve the breastfeeding relationship.

Every situation is unique, but one thing I know for sure is that we aren’t meant to do this alone! Don’t be afraid to ask for support!