Breastfeeding Gear

I didn’t buy a lot of breastfeeding gear until I was actually doing it, and realised there are so many things I needed to make breastfeeding more relaxing and comfortable. So here’s a list of things that I found essential to achieve that especially for mums who want to breastfeed on the long term.

1) Bumblebee nursing pillow

I breastfeed for a month without using this, and by that time, I had aching arms, back and backside! I tried all kinds of pillows and chairs around my house, and different positions but couldn’t get one that’s actually confortable. It’s no fun to to holding a baby that gets heavier each day for hours on end trying to control the latching and the pain. Initially, I thought it was too expensive to get one and I could make one myself, but it was too late to make one when I’m so busy. So I cave in and bought one out of desperation, and it’s a soul saver, ok, maybe just an arm saver. Now I carry it with me everywhere, baby is comfortable propped up on it and so am I. It’s basically a huge hard pillow that goes around my waist, and to use it I need to sit upright with legs straight. It normally costs RM76.90 but for today it is RM53.80 at littlewhiz.com.

2) Nursing wear and intimates

During my pregnancy, I did not think it was necessary to get these. Well, for the first month at home it was ok, but when it was time to go out to church, I wore my normal clothes and really struggled with nursing properly and discreetly. Even more if I wanted to nurse in a public place, nursing wear are so much easier and appropriate to use. Problem is, nursing tops that looked good are so pricey, well even those that don’t look good are pricey. Nevertheless, since I stayed at home, I could only shop online. So I bought them mostly from littlewhiz.com which are limited and then from mamaparadise.com and later on internationally from maternalove.com. It’s a Singapore site that’s a little more pricey, but comes to the same if I bought those on 50% sale, and their designs are so much nicer, with some of the blouses usable even when I’m not nursing anymore.

3) Fabulous Mum Nursing Poncho

I also wondered if I needed this at first, but turned out to be heaven sent. It’s actually made of very nice, light weight material, and looks good like a shawl too. Just put it on and nurse in total discreetness..I used this especially when nursing in restaurants and cafes, since I have to eat and can’t hide in nursing rooms. Sometimes I also use it to cover the stroller where it’s too bright, so baby can sleep in dimmer conditions. This is pretty costly too at RM59.90 but it’s really well used.

Going hand in hand with breast feeding is breast milk pumping, or expressing breast milk. Expressing is necessary for times you would be away from baby for more than 3 hours, you need to empty the breast for it to continue to produce. A good hospital grade pump is absolute essential to make it work. More about this in the next post. 😛