Wednesday, February 12, 2014

5 Favorites – Breastfeeding Gear Edition

Five Favorites, hosted at MoxieWife.com
I wrote about this little baby already.  But it’s so awesome it deserves another mention.  If one has double let-down, this thing saves laundry AND milk.  SO helpful.  And given to my by someone who selflessly thought of me when she saw it – she has low supply issues when breastfeeding, but she thought of me and sent it when my fourth was a couple weeks old.  Friends are the best!
 
2.  Athleta Shelf Bra Tank
I can’t seem to find the exact ones I have on the website, but they are completely indispensible, as far as I’m concerned.  I have some serious issues with the usual supportive undergarments worn by breastfeeding moms – and I don’t mean I want to burn them.  I mean that any time I wear even so much as a sleep bra, I end up with a plugged duct, especially in the first 18 months of nursing a baby.  One day I went to the Athleta store and tried on every single one of their shelf-bra-type tanks, barring the ones that I could tell would be too tight without even taking them off the hangers.  I found one that works, and got it in several colors.  Now I wish I’d gotten more, because they’re not making just that one any more, so I’m going to have to repeat my odyssey.  But it is worth it.  Nursing is easy with these, too, because they’re stretchy, so one just pulls down the top.  Plus, Athleta has some super-cute skorts.  (Not a must for breastfeeding, but handy for an active mom!)
 
3.  Evening Primrose Oil
This stuff is like magic!  When my fourth was 18 months, I was still getting 1-2 plugged ducts per month, and they were laying me up for a day or two each so that I wouldn’t get mastitis.  I was afraid to exercise because I didn’t want to wear myself out and get a plugged duct.  Dr. Jack Newman, a breastfeeding expert from Canada, had a short paragraph on the fact that EPO might be helpful for preventing plugs and mastitis, so I gave it a try.  NO PLUGGED DUCTS SINCE!  That was in May, I believe.  And I had a crazy-active summer, and started working out 5 days a week.  EPO is a daily supplement for me now!
 
4.  Dr. Jack Newman, breastfeeding expert from Canada
I already have a fangirl post about Dr. Newman.  (So he's not technically gear, but he's definitely a breastfeeding favorite.) He’s been helping breastfeeding moms and babies for a long time, and he’s good at it.  His recipe for all-purpose nipple ointment is what healed my cracked nipple that had been cracked for 3 months.  If that wasn’t enough to make me a fan, Favorite #3 cinched the deal.

5.  Cabbage
Cabbage apparently doesn’t work for everyone.  This does not surprise me – we are all so different, different bodies do different things.  But for me, cabbage (topically applied, by which I mean, I put a leaf directly on the areas that are having problems) helps stave off engorgement when my milk first comes in.  And then, it helps stave off engorgement for the (sometimes) longer times between nursing that happen at night.  With my last two nurslings, I put a cabbage leaf in each side of my nursing nightwear every night for the first 6 months, maybe more.  It helped.  Of course, cabbage is for the person who has more than enough milk.  Those who don’t have enough should stay away from cabbage, topically applied.

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