Hey Mama! Location councilor here! Breastfeeding is a wild ride. Some babies may get the hang of it quickly and some babies take longer to figure it out. And that’s okay! That being said every baby is different! Your first baby might be a great nurser and your second might really struggle latching. It can be hard to prepare for breastfeeding. Let me help easy your burden. People are always trying to shove products in your face of things you should get and it can feel overwhelming. I want to make it simple for you. There are only 5 products I think you need! These are products to heal your body when it needs healing and to help you successfully breastfeed.

Here they are-

1. The Haakaa
2. Lanolin Cream
3. Dry Breastfeeding pads (reusable or Disposable)
4. Gel Pads
5. Nursing Pillow
6. Silverttes

Let me explain why I think you need these things-

1. When you first start breastfeeding your breasts will feel sore and tender for a couple of days to a couple of weeks. This is normal! Your breasts are trying to adjust to babies needs. But at times your breast can become engorged. This typically happens on day 3-5 postpartum. It can be very painful and hard to nurse do to your breasts being engorged. Heres what you need to do – if you don’t plan on pumping then don’t right now. This is because you want your breasts to adjust to the amount of milk baby needs. If you pump and breastfeed this will tell your breast to make a ton of milk! If you want this that is great! But if you are just wanting to nurse and not pump- use the HAAKAA. This by far my favorite breastfeeding tool! The Hakka will help you pump breast milk out without stimulating your breast to produce more. But, that being said, if you use this for a full pumping session then yes it’ll stimulate your breast. But, if you use it to talk out some of the milk it will relieve the engorgement without stimulating the milk supply! Thats a win!

2. Lanolin Cream is by far the best nipple cream that you can get at any store. It is hypoallergenic and amazing at healing cracked and bleeding nipples. How to use it- (I have a great explanatory video on tiktok if you need a visual.) After baby latches off leave the breastmilk on your nipple and let it air dry. Breastmilk is healing! Now add the lanolin cream- a good amount then add —-

3. A dry Breast pad on top of the cream! Then cover breast with a loose bra or a more fitted tank top to keep the pad from rubbing (ouch.) You can choose between reusable breast pads or disposable ones! This is all preference! If you have sensitive skin I would recommend these bamboo ones!

4. An alternative option to the cream and dry pads are gel pads! These are ultra healing if your nipples are in a ton of pain. They are a little more expensive but they get the job done! These gel pads provided cooling pain relief in a manner of minutes! You can use these ones up to 72 hours! Like the directions above- latch baby off, let milk air-dry on your breasts then apply the gel pad!

5. A nursing pillow can be your BREAST friend lol. It ca be hard to get baby to latch right when you don’t have the right support. These pillows hold baby up for you so you can adjust baby to the breast with ease. There are different brands of pillows. Here are my top 2 favories!

1. Breast friend

2. Frida pillow

3. Boppy Pillow

6. Silverttes. These are super great for your breast and environmentally conscious! These don’t heal your nipples as fast as the other remedies but they still work great!

If you want more direction for breastfeeding visit this blog post!