Nursing Resources

• Lactation Consultant – I found the hospital one to be great after my first birth, but it is not a bad idea to have one in mind who you could call to come help you at home if needed. Breastfeeding is tough and you need support.
• Breast Pump – My insurance the first time around provided the Ameda Purely Yours. I didn’t use it very much but it worked fine with the Medela accessory kit. The second time around I got the Spectra S2 and like it better than the Ameda.
• Breast milk storage bags – I ended up mostly storing in bottles because I didn’t build up a “stash”. However, I can see that they would be useful for a “stash”.
• Lanolin – Absolutely necessary in the beginning, just keep in mind it stains. It’s like chap stick for your nipples. I went back and forth between liking the Lanisoh brand and Medela… I think I was just using too much in the beginning. The Lanisoh is clear and the Medela is darker… but they both seem to stain. Don’t use too much, but I definitely needed this the first time around! The second time, I didn’t really need it after the first week which was surprising but good because I hated having greasy fingers. 
• Nursing Bras – I got these from Target and really like them. I was able to wear them during pregnancy as well. I have read that nursing moms should wear wireless bras but I really prefer bras with a wire in them. However, in the very beginning of my nursing journey, the two times I used the underwire ones, I got chills and started getting a fever that almost let to mastitis, so I just stuck to the no wire ones for a while. But after that scare and the second time around, I have had no additional issues so I’m not really sure if the chills were just caused by something else… 
• Nursing Pads – I started out with and still use Bamboobies. They do what they need to do, but they are relatively expensive. I needed more, so I bought some random reusable bamboo cotton ones on Amazon and like them. I seem to leak more the second time around for some reason. The first time, I only needed them with my non-padded nursing bras because I didn’t leak that much. 
• Nursing Pillow – My Breast Friend was great in the beginning as it gave a lot of support and set me up in the correct position for nursing, but I only used it for about 6 weeks and then I just held my little guy. The Boppy is great for propping the baby up and putting behind a baby who can’t sit up. Second time around I haven’t used one at all! We use the Boppy for propping up baby but that’s it. 
• Nursing Tank Tops – I have purchased some various nursing tank tops, but I also wear normal spaghetti strap tanks that can be pulled down. There are some I got from Old Navy that are silky and soft and I really like them. If I am going somewhere, I use the two shirt method and wear a tank top with a normal shirt on top and pull up the normal shirt. 

Unpleasant things to stock up on

• Maxi pads (super with wings) You need super absorbent ones. I even used depends for a while because I didn’t want to ruin my underwear.
• Tuck’s medicated pads – a must, very soothing on top of a pad post-birth, the nurse at the hospital showed me how to use these. Also, after both births, the hospital gave me these so I did not need to buy them. 
• Stool Softener (Colace)
• Motrin/Advil