I’m 7 months pregnant and planning on breast feeding. What can I purchase now to get ready?
How many nursing bras & what type?
Nursing tops?
Night gowns that button down?
I have no idea and this is my first baby.
Next question will be about which pump to buy…
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I breastfed my daughter and bought none of the above, I used my maternity bras and just wore a vest under my normal top. Simply lift the top up and the vest down.
However they recommend not buying a nursing bra until at least 36 weeks.
Pumps wise, an electric one is much easier and quicker than a manual one.
Part of the wonder of breastfeeding is that you don’t need to buy a lot. You can buy breatfeeding tops if you wish, but a vest top under your usual stuff does the same job. Some feel ok just using normal bras, but most prefer a nursing one. I had about 4 and that seemed to be enough. You’ll probably only need 2 or 3 button nightgowns (again, some get by fine without, I did) depending on how often you do laundry. You will need breast pads, and you’ll probably use a lot – you could look into reusables, but I was a heavy leaker and they never did the job for me. You might find you don’t even use a breast pump, so it may be worth waiting out on that one. They recommend not introducing a bottle for at least the first 4-6 weeks anyway, just in case. I did use a nursing pillow which I thought was a huge help – but I had position problems because I’m large chested. Again, plenty get by without.
I have 4 nursing bras and it’s up to you which ones you have to be comfortable I like more support but the under wires are so uncomfortable.
I don’t have nursing tops I don’t go out much but I wear tanks or button up shirts and layer maybe two tanks that way I don’t have a lot showing.
I have one nursing pj’s the top has straps that come down but I wear a t shirt and that works fine since it’s night time and all I have to do is pull up my shirt.
I think the most important factors in choosing your breastfeeding gear is how modest you are and/or how often you plan on nursing outside the home. A nice lightweight blanket can fix all modesty problem, but there are also some breastfeeding covers that are designed especially for that. I just used a blanket. It helped keep my son from getting distracted while he nursed and kept me covered when I wanted to be.
I couldn’t have lived without my nursing bras. I used the kind that had a clasp on the top and folded down for access. Nursing pads were an absolute must for me, as I had so much milk I could shoot milk across the room if I wasn’t careful.
I also recommend Lansinoh Lanolin to ease sore nipples.
As far as shirts, a t-shirt works fine, but if you want to dress up a little more, you might consider a nursing top or two that are cute.
I always wore a nursing nightgown, because I didn’t like to fumble around while I was half asleep and the nightgowns allowed me to nurse easily.
I also loved my Boppy nursing pillow, but there’s a lot you can do to position your baby while nursing. All depends on how much you want to invest!
As far as pumps go, I had a hospital grade Medela pump, but I couldn’t stand it. It always hurt and was never as effective at getting the milk as my son was.
Good luck!
I like the maternity tops that I had that were cross wrap front…..like thishttp://www.motherhood.com/Product.asp?Pr…
That way I could just pull the one side down and nurse. Plus with my body type I look GREAT in baby-doll type tops like this, pregnant or not…lol
With the nursing bras…..wait until your baby is here and just wear a really comfy and supportive non-underwire sports bra for the first few weeks. Your milk will be established by then and the engorgement will have gone down and you can get a more accurate size. I bought all of my nursing bras from motherhood mainly because they will measure you right there and help you find the right size!
I never wore PJ’s before I had my son, so I just wore a really comfy sports bra and panties at night.
If you want some really cute options for nursing wear later there is a website you should visit
http://www.motherwear.com
They have the CUTEST most comfy stuff!
As for the pump, I used an Evenflo single electric pump and it did really well for just relieving fullness when my baby wouldn’t eat (it happens sometimes) and that is all I really needed as I wasn’t trying to pump to go back to work or school or anything. It has a plug in or batteries and I took it with me if we were going more than an hour away. I was given a Medela double pump recently though and I am SO happy!
Don’t buy any nursing bras yet, you could end up being a different size when your milk comes in and you would have wasted a lot of money.
You can buy a few nightgowns and tanks if you like, but I’ve never used the gowns and only rarely use the tanks.
You got some really great answers but I want to chime in about the breast pump.
Get a double pumper for sure! Try to get a model that allows you to pump manually, is electric and battery powered. This way, no matter where you go, you can pump if you need to.
I just got one bra and that was it. No need for a special gown or top
the only things that were really a life saver for me was a TON of nursing pads and lansinoh!
i got a couple of nursing bras, but honestly, i didnt really like them much. when baby nurses, milk dribbles down their chin and the bottom of your nursing bra will be soaked. its a real pain because if your out and about, you probably wont be able to change your bra, and if your gone all day, you are going to smell like rotten milk by the time you get home…ugh!
anyhow, i really found that sports bras worked the best because you can just lift one side of the bra up for baby to nurse and leave the other side covered. With the sports bra there isnt any part of the bra under you breast for milk to dribble on.
they are also alot cheaper than nursing bras so you can have a bunch of back-ups! between milk messes from baby dribbling and just plain leaking all over yourself plus the fact that your not gonna wanna be washign nursing bras every day with a new baby, after nurisng my son for 2 1/2 yearsi really thought they worked out pretty well!
i did have a couple nsg bras that i used when i was wearing a shirt that didnt really work out with sports bras.
i would try to find nsg bras with larger openings…i had one that just opened just enought so that the nipple was uncovered and that one was ALWAYS soaked! And ones that were stretchy! before my milk came in i was an A/AA and about a week after giving birth i was a C, that lasted about two months and then i was back to A – B depending on how long ago my son ate. So, anyhow, stretchy is important.
nursing gowns and shirts arent super useful, i didn think anyhow. just so long as your shirt is stretchy enough to pull it up and uncover you boobs.
also, the boppy is great! in case you dont know about the boppy, its like a half circle shaped pillow that you put around your waist and it helps hold baby in the right place to nurse.
Also, when your milk comes in, your boobs are gonna get big and sore! ice really helps, i know alot of people say to use a bag of frozen veggies or something (and that was what i did for nursing) but i actually just got breast implants and my plastic surgeron told me to fill a ziploc baggie with 1/3 rubbing alcohol and 2/3 water and freeze it. The alcohol will stop it from freezing entirely thru and it will just be a semi-solid icey slush that shapes really easily to your sore boobs. I put my alcohol/ice in two ziploc baggies, after freezing them a few times they started to leak a little.
good luck and just remember that breast feeding isnt easy (in the beginning!) or everyone would do it! it really is a commitment but its totally worth it.
m
Leave a Comment