What do I need to buy?
Hi parents! I intend to breastfeed my baby after birth. I didn't get the chance to do so with my other kids as my milk supply was really low even with Fenugreek. I also intend to bottle feed my bm just in case my nipples hurts/cracks. What do I really need to buy? The essential things for breastfeeding. I know breastpump is needed. What else? Also, what should I do to increase my bm? TIA for your advice & help ☺️
Nursing bras/nursing wear are very useful for convenient feeding in and out of home. A nursing cover too, if you intend to breastfeed outside. You’ll need good nutrition (carbo, proteins) and lots of fluids (aim 3L/day) so don’t stinge on taking care of yourself:) you’ll also need some rest and to avoid stress because these can affect supply quite a lot. Breastfeed on demand (even if it’s every hour initially), not at fixed intervals. This helps build a healthy supply. In between direct latching (if the intervals are longer), pump your milk. Power pumping also helps build the supply. As for storage, if I’m going to use the milk within 24hrs, I usually store the milk in reusable storage bottles and keep that in the fridge. If I’m going to store the milk in the freezer for the future (usually within 2 months), I use disposable breastmilk storage bags. Milk bottles are of course needed for bottle feeding, and the teats need to be upsized at the suggested ages because if the flow gets too slow, baby will reject the bottle. For nipple cracks, I used Medela Purelan ointment. It worked wonders. Even when there was pain, I would apply it just before feeding, and latch on immediately after, and it felt okay. Then after feeding, I would apply it one more time, so the cracks healed pretty quickly. All the best and have fun:) remember that you get to decide when to start and stop breastfeeding. Hope you find joy and fulfilment!
Read morehi there! for me, i have prepared a few things beforehand: 1. sourcing out a good pump (i bought 2 pumps one for home and one for work/when im out) 2. make sure that the flanges also fit so that it will maximise your milk flow. 3. Have a container so that u can wash all your pump parts easily especially when at work 4. buy lots of milk bags and bottles to store your milk. even if you are breastfeeding, it will be good to pump and stash some in the fridge/freezer so that baby can still be fed if u leave baby at home with husband. read more about storage guidelines 5. good nipple cream 6. ice packs/ice bag from packit. to store your pumped milk when u are out and about alone but still need to pump 7. good lactation products to boost your supply. one product i really recommend is BC Hot Mama lactation hot chocolate. can check out IG: @hazel.bcmama
Read morei use pumpables brand for my breast pump. they have a printable measurement that u can print on their website. alternatively they also provide free online consultation where u can send photos/videos and they can advise accordingly
hi mummy, my suggestion to you is only to get a pump after your LC confirm you will have milk supply. meanwhile you can use haakaa first while waiting for your milk to kick in. just a little info fenugreek don't works on everyone, some mama had supply drop after consuming. you may want to eat milk booster food instead and avoid milk killer food. I'm a over supply mama I think it has somehow got to do with my diet during pregnancy too at 6 month pregnancy I leak colostrum quite a bit and easily leak after that. maybe during my pregnancy I had lots of fish and Milo. you might want to try eating salmon, oats, Milo, durians, threadfin fish. papaya milk, green papaya fish soup etc. if you have any questions feel free to DM me at my IG @mummyjlife hope it helps!
Read moreFenugreek actually made me have gastric problem so I was forced to stop to take. I hand pumped my milk but it was tiring and frustrating at the same time. I did use a manual breast pump but it was so painful, I had to stop and just latch my baby. And I have no idea what Haakaa is? My last pregnancy was 9 yrs ago and everything seems new to me. Thank you, Mummy J. Your advice is very helpful. I'm gonna drink that Milo for milk supply. Hopefully it works for me too. I'm not a fish person but for baby's sake, I'll have that too.
Nursing bra and breast pump/bottles. I intended to bf initially and wanted to avoid baby clutter so I didn't get any pump/ bottles. Boy, I was wrong. Pumping helped me to stimulate the nipples for more milk and also relief the tenderness when baby sleeps longer
Thank you so much, MomC. Your advice is very helpful to me. I will take note of this. Now I understand why my breasts felt tender last time. So sad I couldn't properly bf my kids last time due to lack of knowledge.
Im a pumping mommy. I pump directly into feeding bottles. These act as storage bottles that I keep in fridge. Have many so I don’t need to wash that often. You can find these storage bottles easily online.
Ahhh... That's a good advice too. Maybe jusy buy bottles, easier. Thank you for your advice.
Besides breast pump, you may want to have bottles, storage cup (we prefer cup as it is reusable) or storage bag, nipple cream, nursing pad, nursing bra (some mummies find unnecessary).
Thank you so much, Alex. This is very helpful for me. I will take note of this especially the reusable cups.
Breast pump, bottles, milk storage bags to store your ebm, nipple cream for cracked nipple
Babe, storage bags are one time use only! They're pre sterilized and do not have to be washed. Do buy more if you intend to freeze milk