Breastfeeding and Bottle Feeding Essentials – Items for You and Your Little One
Although feeding your little ones, in theory, sounds easy – it can actually be a lot of work. Especially in the beginning when you are trying to get your milk in, teach your little one how to latch and feed efficiently, get into a routine, figure out if you need to pump, etc. There are a lot of different items marketed for feeding your baby and we are here to tell you exactly which items we found essential and why.
We also want to make sure we emphasize how difficult feeding can be. It seems that it will just naturally happen, milk will just come in sufficient amounts and my baby will automatically know what to do. However that is not always the case. For some their milk doesn’t come in at all, or their milk isn’t enough to feed their baby. Some babies will have lip or tongue ties which makes it very difficult for them to latch and transfer milk (which in turn affects your supply). These are just a few examples of different circumstances that will affect the ways in which you will feed your baby. We also want to recognize that there are a lot of societal pressures to breastfeed your baby but… that isn’t always possible or it may just be something you dont want to do (which is totally okay!). Ultimately, however you decide to feed your baby is the right decision for you.
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Items for Breastfeeding & Bottle Feeding:
The first item isn’t actually a product but a resource – a Lactation Consultant (LC). We are big believers in LCs to help you figure out what will work best for you and your family (which isn’t always 100% breastfeeding or breastfeeding at all). Its an old belief that LCs will only help with breastfeeding; often times they will help you figure if you are going to exclusively bottle feed or do a hybrid (and what that will look like) as well as decide which bottles work best for your little one. I have personally used an LC to transition to bottle feed exclusively for my first baby after my milk didn’t come in and then work to breastfeed exclusively with my second (which we were able to do).
Items for Breastfeeding:
The next item that most mommas will need for some length of time is a breast pump. It is a good idea to have a hospital grade breast pump in the beginning stages however once your milk supply is established you can often use a regular breast pump. Hospital grade breast pumps are able to be rented from a lot of pharmacies which is the most cost effective way to access one. The breast pump we both used, and enjoyed, was the Medela Pump in Style. It has hospital grade performance, can be battery operated for on the go usage, and also has hands free collection cups. It also comes in a cute little bag which is a fun bonus! Breast pumps are useful to have even after the initial period so that you can build up a freezer supply (nothing crazy but enough for you to go out for the night etc), help keep up your supply if baby is sick and not feeding enough, and express milk when you are away from baby for any period of time (trust me your boobs and your supply need this!).
Other Items you may need while pumping are:
- Milk Storage Bags – I found the quality of the Medela Storage bags to be the best however several brands work well!
- Pumping Bra – I preferred to use a bra that could work for both pumping and nursing (most bang for your buck this way) and got the Medela 3 in 1 Nursing and Pumping Bra.
To make breastfeeding easier on your body an important item to consider is a nursing pillow. At first I thought that they were a money grab. I figured I had strong arms and enough pillows to make it work without needing to spend money on a “special pillow” for nursing. I was very wrong. A good nursing pillow makes breastfeeding a lot easier on your body and allows you to utilize your hands more. Access to both your hands is important when you are still trying to figure out latching and may be doing hand expression during a feed. The pillow we both recommend is My BrestFriend. It is comfortable, adjustable, and has a little handy pocket at the front.
When you are out and about especially, a comfortable nursing tank top is also needed. We enjoyed the Bravado Seamless Nursing Tank. It has the softest fabric and works well as a base layer. I preferred a nursing tank top to a nursing bra so that when I was feeding in public my stomach was also covered (if I lifted up a sweater/shirt).
Another item that is surprisingly helpful while breastfeeding is a milk collector cup of some sort. You would be surprised how much milk you can passively collect, and therefore use to build a bit of a stash, while feeding on one side. The idea of a collector cup is that it is placed on the side you are NOT feeding on. It literally just sits there to collect any milk that leaks. The cup I used with my second baby is the Haaka Ladybug however with my first I tried the Haaka Manual Breast Pump. The Haaka Manual Breast Pump does utilize suction, the ladybug doesn’t, which means it may lead your body to think it needs to produce more milk (like you’re feeding twins if there is stimulation at both breasts at the same time) which is why the Ladybug has grown in popularity. It helped me to grow a bit of a freezer stash, or just excess to have in the fridge for top ups when needed, without putting in any more work (i.e. pumping after a feed).
An item we recommend to protect/help your nipples would be a nipple cream. Especially in those first few weeks of breast feeding when you and your little one are working on latching they can get sore. I even experienced some cracking while in the hospital which was not fun. The cream we both used was the Lansinoh Nipple Cream which we found very fast acting and effective! Pro Tip – it is also very useful for cracked lips (the hospitals are often so cold and dry that it wrecks havoc on your lips).
Items for Bottle Feeding:
The top 5 items we would recommend are explained in our blog post Top 5 Baby Products for Bottle Feeding. The items are:
- Baby Brezza Advanced Pro
- Dr. Browns Baby Bottles
- Sponge topped bottle cleaner
- Boon grass countertop drying rack
- Washing basin
It is important for us to note that every baby has their own unique preference on bottles/nipples. The Dr Brown Bottles we both used, along with a lot of our friends, and therefore are what we recommend however they MAY not work for you. If you are having any troubles finding a bottle that your baby latches onto well we recommend consulting a LC because there is an overwhelming amount of different bottle/nipple types available.
As always, please let us know if you have any questions!
Love,
The Friendly Moms – Jen + Karlee ♥
*This blog post contains affiliate links- we may earn a commission if you purchase through our link or promo code.*
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