Happy Friday everyone! This week has flown by in a flurry of activity! Looking forward to a quieter weekend ahead!
Sometimes I get questions about breastfeeding and truthfully I feel like somewhat of an expert now. It wasn’t a smooth journey for me and I have researched and experimented with so many different things to help different problems! I know there are many “breastfeeding” essentials lists out there on the internet. They would contain things like nursing pillows, nursing bras/tanks, nipple cream and pumps. Sure, you need that stuff…but there are things that a lot of people might not consider! Here is my list of some of the things that have really helped me!
1. Sippy cup, or at least the adult version of it! I was always someone who had water with me but now I NEED this cup near me. After I am done nursing Sam, I am parched! It is like there is sand in my mouth.
2. Cheap tank taps!
I had bought a couple “nursing” tanks at Target. They have this nice little built in shelf which would be really great for extra support if you wore a size B cup!! When you are “well endowed” like myself, it doesn’t fit over your girls! Being that is not comfortable, I now find myself just wearing some stretchy tanks that I can pull down!
3. Oatmeal
This one is kind of weird but a long time ago I once read something that said, “a bowl of oatmeal a day will keep your milk supply high”. I guess it kind of stuck in my head because it is now my breakfast nearly every single day! It’s kind of a lazy girls guide to Oatmeal. Cereal bowl, 1/3 cup of oats, 2/3 cup of water and microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds! Just like that, a warm breakfast! I’ve had to get creative with my creations as to not get sick of the same thing! These are my favourites:
Apple Cinnamon
Peanut Butter and Banana
Blueberry Maple Syrup
4. IPhone or Kindle!
Yup! I am that Mom! I get SO bored sometimes feeding Sam! At the start, it could take up to 45 minutes! I’m sorry, I love him but that is a lot of time to sit at start at the same spot on his head. If for some reason I am not feeding him infront of the TV (my favourite spot), I have some sort of electronic device in my hand!
I started out by reading a normal paper book while nursing but sometimes the heavy book was hard to keep up (and not falling on Sam’s head) with one hand! A lot of the time while I am feeding Sam I am surfacing social media, texting, responding to emails, banking, watching Netflix or even reading on my Kindle!
5. A pillow, of any kind! I use a nursing pillow while I am feeding Sam in his nursery! I am not going to cart that thing everywhere I go though! Holding a 16 pound baby up to feed for 15 minutes? Not fun! So I will either roll up a blanket or use a pillow of any kind to support Sam.
6. Booze.
Ok, ok… Don’t go all child-protective services on me! It is honestly for a good reason. At the beginning my milk wouldn’t come in and then when it did I had a really slow let down. You know what can cause that? Stress! Truthfully, I am a stressful person to begin with. I am very A-type. Lists, organization and always punctual. Adding a baby into my sweet little routine can make someone like me go bonkers.
One night I was SO fed up and it actually led me to a bottle of wine. I don’t even like wine at all unless its fruity stuff. But I poured myself a BIG glass (aka:half the bottle) in a beer mug,on ice and slugged it back. You what happens when you haven’t had anything to drink in 10 months? You are a lightweight! Let’s just say I was no longer stressed, about anything!
So I am not saying that I still have a glass of wine every time I am stressed and need to feed Sam. But that one time I did! I needed to relax in order to do the job of feeding my son!
Truthfully, it is all about what works for you! You find your own little tips and tricks as you go and experiment. These are just a few of the things that have helped me! 
Happy Friday!
xo
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