Nursing Necessities

Nursing so far with Emma has been going great! I'm more relaxed this time and hope that I have more success and can go for as long as I did with Eleanor. I wrote about our Breastfeeding Journey recently and you can click the link to check it out. Nursing is not for the weak of heart, it's tough work and was so much more difficult than I had expected it to be.

A few things I'm doing differently this time than I had with Eleanor:

- Keeping up on my water intake
- Eating good meals often and healthy snacks
- I've started pumping sooner, just 5 minutes after a feeding at least once a day. I'd like to increase this to twice a day, but we'll see how time permits once Matt goes back to work.
- I bought more nursing friendly garments and tanks which make life so much easier!

Here's a breakdown of my favorite nursing basics:

Nursing Shaping Cami- This tank is so comfortable and offers a lot of support to your breasts. It's lined and shaped at the top, similar to a bra and not just a built-in shelf bra like other tanks. I would take the "shaping" in the title loosely, it's just has extra elastic and is comfortable to wear, nothing like wearing Spanx. I bought this top in both white and nude.

Slimming Nursing Cami- This tank doesn't offer quite as much support as the above shaping tank, but is super comfortable. It's probably the most comfortable nursing tank I've worn!

Full Coverage Bra- A real bra people! It's so hard to find good nursing bras that offer the same support as a regular bra and I really like this one. The only flaw is that it does have an underwire (they say to avoid them for milk production), but if you're going somewhere special or wearing a top that requires more support a few hours or a day or two I wouldn't think would hurt your supply.

Seamless Bra- This bra is amazing! Lots of support, feels like a sports bra, and is seamless so it's easy to wear. This one is my favorite to wear, especially on these hot days we've been having.

Sleep Bra- I don't care much for these during day wear, even just around the house, but they're great for sleep! That's why it's probably called a sleep bra, duh. They're soft and comfortable, not a ton of support which is why I don't care for them for the day.

As for accessories, here's what I prefer to use and have the most success with:

Medela Pump In Style- I love this pump and used it every single day when nursing/pumping. It's easy to use and I like that it's convenient to shop for. In the event that you left pump parts at home you can always run to Target or another nearby shop and pick up parts and accessories on your break.

Car Adaptor- I didn't have to use this often, but it really did come in handy, especially when Black Friday shopping! Sometimes you have to pump while on the go and the adaptor is a life saver.

Pump Accessories- When you're pumping on the daily, it's nice to have extras because washing these puppies every single day gets tiring. I love having some extra this time around (they should also be replaced every 6 months...or at least with each new kid!), it makes cleaning and being ready to pump so much easier.

Aquaphor- When you first start nursing, your nipples are so sore and feel like they may fall off with every latch. Plus, they can get cracked and possibly bleed. So much fun.... Of all the products I've used, I've always stuck with Aquaphor, it heals so quickly and you don't have to wash it off before nursing. I give it to all my mama friends as gifts.

Breast Gel Pads- Also, another must have throughout all of nursing/pumping. You can heat or freeze these babies and they feel amazing when you're breasts are engorged, have a plugged duct, mastitis, or are still tender from the start of nursing. If you buy anything to help soothe the pain, buy these! Matt ran out and bought these for me the first day being home with Ellie and I've used them since.

What are your favorite nursing/pumping necessities?  What are some of your best tips for success?

Our Breastfeeding Journey

Our breastfeeding journey was such a roller coaster and I’m so thankful that I was able to nurse Eleanor for as long as I did. We went a whole fourteen months and I loved the bond that it helped us form and loved holding her close to me, but we hit some lows along the way. I wanted to first share our story a few months ago, this post is nearly an entire year late, but I thought it would be best to wait until we were done when I would have to time to look back and reflect on what it meant to me (and us) and how I dealt with the struggles when I wasn’t in the trenches of pumping and nursing.It's also been on my mind with the upcoming arrival of our second child and I have such mixed feelings about doing it again. I definitely want to, but now I realize it's not as simple as I expected it to be.

Since getting pregnant I knew I wanted to nurse my baby, it just seemed to be the easiest and most natural path for me. I immediately signed up for all of the classes my health provider offered. I didn’t read any books about it because I figured it would be a stroll in the park for us- oh she’s hungry? Just put her to your breast! Around that same time, Julia of Girl in the Red Shoes started featuring bloggers’ journeys with breastfeeding and I learned it was going to be a little tougher than I first Imagined. I guess I just never thought about the intricacies of supply, latching, or the possibilities of infection. I figured I’d learn more from the class I signed up for, but after the class I was really disappointed. They went over breastfeeding in the most basic of terms that would only be a benefit to someone who had no idea about the concept in general. One thing that I was hoping to learn more about was pumping! How the heck does it work, when do you do it, and what do you do with the milk afterwards. I eventually learned the ropes of that too though.

Fast forward to Ellie’s birth when we were wheeled over to the quiet room for bonding, Ellie latched right away and nursed for nearly an hour. Then throughout our hospital stay, whenever she was hungry I would nurse her and she would latch right away and it was beautiful. I was so thankful that we were starting off on the right foot. Before leaving, I sat with two lactation specialist and they praised my every move and said I was a natural! We practiced different nursing holds and away I went thinking this would be one of the easiest jobs of motherhood. Ha ha.

My milk came in five days after she was born and things were all honky dory, I’d feed her on demand and she was having regular bowel movements. After a few weeks, I was exhausted and worn out from nursing 24/7. Ellie would nurse for hours, she was constantly falling asleep at the breast, and if she was upset the only thing we could do to calm her was to nurse. I never understood how sleep deprivation could be used as a torture tactic in war until I had an infant. After about four weeks I made an appointment with a lactation consultant and we discovered through weighed feedings that I was making about 1-2 ounces less than needed in order to give Eleanor a full tummy. I felt terrible. No wonder she nursed all the time and cried a lot- poor girl was starving! I felt like such a failure and was embarrassed that I didn’t realize it sooner. I wasn’t ashamed to supplement with formula, in fact I was thankful formula existed and she could get the nutrients she needed. I was disappointed in myself (which I realize now is ridiculous). I was watching what I was eating, nursing on demand, drinking water, I started taking supplements to help give my milk supply a boost and it was all helping, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of not having enough. Luckily, Ellie took to a bottle and went back and forth between bottle and breast easily. I also worried about that as well! I didn’t want to give her a bottle too soon and I didn’t want her to refuse the breast because the bottle was easier to eat from.

We had to supplement her feedings for about 2 weeks before I was able to produce enough milk on my own. I was so happy to finally be where she needed me to be and thought things were looking up. To keep up my milk supply and create a small stash, I pumped after she went to bed, woke up around 2am to pump, and then pumped again at 5am. I did this for months. I was so tired! I finally was able to stop my midnight pump session, but would start that back up anytime my supply dipped. When I went back to work, I still pumped after she went down and woke up extra early to pump again. Then I pumped three times while at work and it would only give me enough milk for one day at daycare!

There were a lot of times I felt like giving up or switching to only formula, but I felt like it was such a small sacrifice that I could keep going. My main goal was to pump for one year, but with how difficult it had been I broke it up to nurse for three months, 6 months, 9 months, and then a year. Every milestone I met kept me motivated to keep going. I only have X amount of months left, I can do it! Seeing how close I was with Eleanor, how attached she had become to me, and seeing how healthy she was (she only had one cold!) were all benefits to the choice I had made for our family. I loved to nurse her, to hold her close, to know that the chunky thighs had come from nourishment that I provided to her.

With a new baby on the way, I'm really looking forward to nursing again, but I'm not going to be so hard on myself or beat myself over about it. I still have the same main goal of nursing for a year and plan to focus more on my diet to hopefully help my supply. I loved nursing and I'm excited to build that bond again with our little one.

How was your breastfeeding experience? What choices worked best for you?