Tell me all about what devices you're considering hooking up to your boobs! Electrical or manual? Nursing Pads and pillows! Nursing and Pumping Bras! STM+ what made all the difference? FTM's what fancy tools are you thinking of trying?
DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
Re: Product Spotlight: Breastfeeding Devices and Accessories
I'm a SAHM, so I never got and never needed an electric pump. I have a manual one that I used to occasionally pump for dates and such. Based on my research, I wanted the Avent pump, but at the store, I decided I wasn't using it enough to care about how great a pump I got, so I bought the Medela Harmony because it was cheaper. It works fine. Idk about great. I definitely don't feel that it gets my breasts as empty as my baby does, but I expect that could be the case with any pump because, compared to a baby, a pump is a really ineffective and inefficient way of removing milk. And I'm sure I could get a bit more if I worked at it, but again, didn't need to.
Never used a nursing pillow. I used a regular pillow occasionally. Mostly, I just nursed with one foot up on the couch to support the arm that was under her head.
Can't say enough good about the flexible plastic nipple shields that are worn while nursing. They tend to get a bad rap, but that thing saved nursing for me. My daughter had a bad latch. Got tongue and lip ties snipped (didn't do a thing) and tried pretty much everything. She hurt so bad. Cringing and almost in tears with every suck. The shield protected enough so that the pain wasn't quite as bad, and I could nurse. I used it constantly for a week, and then, they said I should taper off with it. So I tried. I would use it for a few days until the pain tapered off, and then I'd stop using it for a few days until the pain built up so I had to go back to using it. It went like that for 2.5 months. Toward the end of those months, the stretches I could go without began to lengthen until I was able to just never start using it again.
Also used Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple butter. It worked fine. I haven't used anything else, so nothing to compare to.
Pumping - I work full time so I pumped 3-5 times a day at work and pumped full time while traveling for work. I used the Medela PISA and I liked it, but I think I'm going to switch to the Spectra this time. I like the Medela parts though so I will probably continue to use those and just get the adapters for the Spectra. I also had the Medela Harmony hand pump for pressure relief and traveling while weaning. It works well, but I would never be able to use it as my full time pump. Also, I loved the converters to pump directly into bottles. DD could never take the Medela bottles, so I would pump directly into my Tommee Tippee bottles and just send them off to daycare the next day. I have tons of tips for moms traveling and pumping so let me know if any of you are in that situation!
Nursing Pillow - I used the Boppy at first when DD was really little (with two pillows underneath it because I have a really long torso. It worked well for the first few months when I was so tired and holding her in the exact position without a pillow seemed like I was expending too much energy.
Nursing Bras - I was never particular about nursing bras. I lived in nursing tanks though for my maternity leave and then evenings and weekends after that. It was SO much easier and more comfortable than wearing a bra. The Target brand were my favorite for both.
Pumping Bras - I used the Simple Wishes one mostly and I really liked it (although some people hate it). About halfway through my pumping time I started also using the Bravado pumping bra that clips right on to your nursing bra. That one I liked even more. A hands free pumping bra is a MUST HAVE for anyone who pumps regularly. I would never have made it to a year of pumping at work without one.
Nursing Pads and pillows! Didn't really need.
Nursing and Pumping Bras! I used the freemies so I didn't need pumping bras. I have a bunch of nursing tanks from super cheap to way too expensive. They've held up great. I nursed #1 til, well, we're still nursing. So 19+ months. I don't use the tanks anymore because we don't nurse during the day. I wouldve been lost without those tanks early on.
I had the medley Pump in Style electric pump and harmony manual. The manual was good for if I felt just a little engorged or was out for an evening. I highly recommend pumping directly into your bottles. It saves so much effort. I also used a couple hair ties and on friday’s would pump directly into breast milk bags. If anyone wants a tutorial on that, I will elaborate. I don’t recommend the medela bags that you pump directly into. Lansinoh and target Up&Up bags are way better.
I liked the boppy but you do need a couple extra pillows for the first month or two when baby is really little. They’re also good for tummy time and learning to sit up.
I second the Earth Mama nipple cream. Most registry bags come with Lanolin. Keep the sample tube but never buy a whole regular sized tube! You need very little and it’s so thick I rarely used it for anything but as nipple lube for pumping. It’s hard to apply if your nipples are already hurting.
I nursed for 19months and pumped for 9months and donated 107oz of breast milk to our local milk bank. If anyone is interested in that, I highly recommend it. Many banks will ship your milk if you have a certain quantity and it goes to help NICU babies that really need it. *gets off the soapbox*
Married: 2016
BFP #1 4/23/18, blighted ovum 5/29/18
BFP#2 7/14/18, DS 4/5/19
I exclusively pumped and supplemented with formula for as long as my breasts would allow, but my supply, which was already sadly low, went down to about 3 oz total a day with multiple pumping sessions over every few hours. At that time, I decided to hang up the flanges and take back that time with my daughter.
I basically lived attached to my pump at the time, and I really liked my Spectra. I especially liked that it was a closed system and no milk would ever get inside the machine or the tubing.
I LIVED in a Rumina hands free pumping and nursing bra from Amazon. It was large and supportive enough for my 38F breasts to wear all day, not just for pumping sessions.
I highly recommend ordering your pump from Aeroflow. If your insurance allows, they will send you FREE replacement pump parts monthly. Those things get expensive and it’s a lot of work to keep up with the CDC’s recommendations for cleaning and sterilizing pump parts, especially if you EP. Having extras is wonderful.
Pump: I am alllll about the pump. I EP'd with my twins and plan to do it again. I had the Medela Pump In Style something or other with an adapter for the car. It worked great, and since I had a longer commute I wasn't wasting valuable time and would hook up when I left work, cover with a nursing cover and pump the whole ride home! Definitely recommend an electric pump.
This time around I plan on splurging for the new Willow pump that I've had my eye on since right before we started TTC. Sort of hoping someone from a previous BMB who has tried one is lurking and will give me an opinion! Anyone else thinking of trying it? It looks awesome!
Nursing pads and pillows? You mean like the Boppy? I had a fancy pillow that I could tandem feed with, but wasn't really a fan of breastfeeding so never used it since I EP'd. I did use boppies to feed the girls their bottles in though.
Pumping bras, I always just used the strapless bras that zipped in the front and had the holes for the shields. I always wished I had something with straps though because I always had to hike it up. I also vastly inderestimated how many I would need and the size (I went from a smaller B to a DD, it was awful!)
My girlfriend had recommended Lansinoh cream and gel pads at the beginning for the pain, and that seemed to help.
I also asked for a pump in the hospital immediately following my c-section so I could start to work on my supply right away.
As much as I couldn't wait to be done pumping, I loved being able to do it. I hope I am that lucky the second time around!
I am also excited that there are now apps to track feedings!
I have two, both that I made. One is the piece of cloth with a strap and a stiff edge that stands up so you can see the baby, the other is the convertible car seat cover/nursing cover kind that pops over your head and completely surrounds you. I've never used the second one. The first one is great! Use it all the time. Because of the nature of the car seat cover fabric (being a knit so it fits snugly over the seat and being thick so it blocks light), it's thick and heavy and hot. The stiff edge one is made of super lightweight cotton.
I don't know of any commercial cover's I would recommend I registered for an "extra wide" one, didn't end up getting it, and then made my own. My nursing cover is almost twice as wide as the "extra wide" commercial one. I wouldn't want one much smaller. The width is so nice to really cover you and make it harder for the baby to pull t aside.
A cover really made nursing work for me out and about because I'm just not comfortable with part of my breast being exposed no matter how natural or wonderful or "feeding a baby is normal" it is. I'm just not comfortable. I hear women who say things like "I could pop my baby on so discreetly and no one knew, and my breast is completely covered by clothing and the baby's face." That's great for them, and I'm sure they're telling the truth about their experience, but that's not universal. That wasn't and still (after a year of EBF) isn't my experience.
For me, in order to get a good latch, I have to expose a lot of my breast. And sometimes it takes awhile to really get a good latch. Or the baby just spits it out after awhile. The few times I attempted without a cover at home with just my mom and family, I found it took me even longer to get her latched because I was trying to only expose a tiny bit and get her on quick. And it was hard for her to get latched with me exposing so little of my breast. And it sometimes was more painful because I was specifically trying to be quick.
Also, it can be a lot harder to nurse discreetly if you can't afford to or don't want to buy a nursing-friendly wardrobe.
Anyway, so that's my experience with covers. And if anyone wants a tutorial on making one, I can share the blog I followed to make mine.
Nursing pillow: boppy worked perfect for the most part. I got a different brand with a beautiful pattern on it for free from someone, but it was super small and not really usable.
Pump: I used lansinoh. It was okay. Milk production while pumping wasn’t great, but it was mostly due to work schedule and not pumping often enough.
I was also lucky enough that the nurse I had gave me tons of sample packs of lanolin so I never had to buy any.
I used disposable nursing pads and they worked fine for me. I think I used nuk brand.
Nursing pillow: Boppy, but there's a u shaped one that worked better for me when I saw the lactation consultant.
Pump: Spectra, which was great.
I'm really hoping that I am more successful with breastfeeding this time around so I'm looking forward to continuing to read other responses.
Married: 2012
BFP #1 Sept 2014, MMC Dec 2014 | BFP #2 May 2015, DD Jan 2016 | BFP #3 May 2017, MC July 2017 | BFP #4 Jan 2018, MC Feb 2018 | BFP #5 July 2018, fingers crossed
And yes to pumping in the car! When I traveled for work I would pump between appointments. It's such an easy way to get an extra pump in during the day without having to take time away from other things.
[spoiler=TW in signature]
Me: 36, DH 37.
August 2014- 6w MMC
July 2015- CP
PCOS, plus some medical issues that make me high risk.
Our rainbow babies are due 3/21!!!!!
[/spoiler]
@brookepdavis I am so glad I was not the only car pumper! I loved being able to knock that out on my drive home.
ETA: I feel mostly insurance companies want a medical equipment company because they'll typically file the insurance claim too.
I used edgepark for my Medela PISA and was surprised when I got a bill for $180. I refused to pay that sucker for a long time before I realized what @meggyme outlined.
Married: 2012
BFP #1 Sept 2014, MMC Dec 2014 | BFP #2 May 2015, DD Jan 2016 | BFP #3 May 2017, MC July 2017 | BFP #4 Jan 2018, MC Feb 2018 | BFP #5 July 2018, fingers crossed
The good news is my insurance said they'll cover any pump at 100% from a DME like Edgepark.
I will probably do that and then spring for the other on my own to have the freedom of not being tied to a wall every time I have to pump.
Married: 2012
BFP #1 Sept 2014, MMC Dec 2014 | BFP #2 May 2015, DD Jan 2016 | BFP #3 May 2017, MC July 2017 | BFP #4 Jan 2018, MC Feb 2018 | BFP #5 July 2018, fingers crossed
I've mentioned this before but, test your baby's reaction to your frozen milk before you put away any significant amount. High lipase is most easily dealt with by scalding before freezing, and this is critical to figure out early, as it is a huge challenge to deal with later, but a pain to do if you don't really have to.
Married: 2012
BFP #1 Sept 2014, MMC Dec 2014 | BFP #2 May 2015, DD Jan 2016 | BFP #3 May 2017, MC July 2017 | BFP #4 Jan 2018, MC Feb 2018 | BFP #5 July 2018, fingers crossed
@BuckeyeNut05 I'm not sure if the lipase changes, but each baby's sensitivity to it would be unique, so it would be worth testing this time around too.
@mamakate1616 you can scald either on the stove or in the microwave, and there are pros and cons either way. The stove tends to be more temperamental, but preserves more of the good stuff in breast milk. The microwave is more consistent, easier, and faster, but has a broader impact on beneficial compounds. But, either way, some of the benefits of breast milk are lost after heating to 160 f, but it doesn't lose all of the protective benefits, so may still be worth it. Alternatives to scalding include mixing it with fresh after thawing, adding vanilla (preferably alcohol free, but it's only a drop or two anyway), or both.
To test is super easy. Once you get past the point of feeding the previous pumping season's milk, freeze 1-2 oz of the next pump for about a week. Thaw and smell/taste to see if it's got a sour note (it hasn't gone bad, that's just the lipase enzyme breaking down the milk, like its supposed to, but aggressively), then offer half to baby, even if it is sour, they may not mind (this was us, high lipase, didn't care). If they reject it, try cutting the other half 80/20 fresh to frozen to see of they can be eased into it, or add vanilla, or both. If they still reject it, you should consider scalding any milk you plan to freeze.
Jumping into the convo a little bit late.. I ended up pumping in the car a couple times as well, due to my workplace having double-booked the room that was supposed to be reserved for me for pumping. I used the pump provided by insurance - the Medela one. It worked ok - though DS never liked taking a bottle and it was a struggle to get him to take one while I was at work. One thing I'd recommend - if you need to get back to work, make sure your LO is used to taking a bottle beforehand - otherwise it might be hell on their caretaker with a screaming baby who won't eat. Ironically enough, DS went on a nursing 'strike' two weeks after he was born, and refused to take the breast so I pumped and used bottles! After his 'strike' ended he then refused bottles. ARGH. The struggle.
This time around, my pump I used with DS is officially toast (won't work anymore) so I will need to get a new one. I believe insurance covers it again? I hope so.
Almost all other 'accessories' I used Lansinoh. Liked their milk storage bags and disposable breast pads the most of all brands. I used their nipple cream a few times as well.
I used a Boppy pillow for nursing in the early days, and loved it. Much easier to get baby in the proper positioning and gives tired arms a rest. I think I used it for about 2 months before we outgrew it.
ETA I used the S#$% out of the boppy. Loved it.
https://youtu.be/3i-ZiA7ll60
ETA: But I'm really happy you resurrected this thread because I somehow missed it the first time around, and as usual, you ladies have a ton of great information to share. From the FTMs in the house, thank you again!
https://bit.ly/ElviePump