If you are a first time mama, you are probably wondering what kinds of things you need to be a successful nursing mom! I had no idea what I was getting into when I first became a mom! One thing that saved me was talking to friends who had done it, searching online for information that I wanted to know, and then plain figuring it out the hard way in real life. I’ve created my own list of the top 10 nursing must haves for you!

 

Since online information was something that was so helpful to me, I wanted to put my own list out there in the universe for any mama looking to know what they needed as a nursing mom!

 

I put them in order from what I thought was MOST important to least important, although I would seriously suggest getting them all, because they are all life savers!  

 

Honest Nipple Cream

If you are breastfeeding you HAVE to get this. As a first time mom, I had no idea how bad it would actually HURT to breastfeed. The act of breast feeding itself didn’t hurt me, but it rubs your skin SO raw.

 

This stuff is amazing because it works magic on your raw, sore boobies. Seriously. Get it! Also, use it before your boobs start hurting. Use it after every time you nurse and I swear, you will hardly hurt at all! Skip using it too much, and you will die.

 

Milkmaid Nursing Cover

I loved this thing. I bought several of them and used them all the time! I initially used them in the hospital room. We made a strict rule to have a couple hours to ourselves each day. Our friends and family came to visit all the other time periods in the day. This makes it super awkward to nurse every 2 hours when your father in law, brother in law, or husband’s friends are all in the room.

 

If you’ve never had a newborn before, they can nurse up to 45 mins at a time. I was very selfish about keeping my 2 hours a day of no visitors, but I’m a southern gal. I wasn’t about to make visitors stay in the waiting room for an hour before getting to see us until I was done nursing.

 

This thing was so handy. I could feed my daughter, without having to worry about awkwardly exposing myself and feeling uncomfortable.

 

After going home, I wore these things every day. They covered my flubby stomach making me feel like I was back to my pre pregnancy weight long before I actually was.

 

After I went back to work, I wore this while I was pumping at school. This came in handy particularly when a student walked into my room to get their lunchbox they forgot during our lunch time! I was sitting there happily hooked up when they strolled in. If I hadn’t have had my cover on, I would have scared that child for life!

 

These things also double as a carseat cover or quick blanket or burp cloth when you need it.

 

Nursie Arm Pillow

When I was having Hazel, everyone told me I needed a Boppy pillow for nursing, so that’s what I did. When Hazel was about 2 weeks old, my dad got in a serious motorcycle accident and almost died. We spent many of our days when she was an infant at the hospital, and the boppy pillow just wasn’t convenient to tote around so I looked for an alternative and I found one I loved and I have NEVER gone back to the boppy pillow! It goes right on your arm to support their neck while you nurse better than the boppy pillow ever did. I always felt my arm getting sore having to still hold her up  to nurse with the boppy pillow, but not this one. This pillow is literally a dream almost the most important item you need while breastfeeding. I would say the most needed and loved item for me is the versatile nursing cover.

 

Nursing App

This app is amazing. When I first had Hazel, I had no idea that the hospital was going to ask me to document literally every single little thing my daughter did. Every time she peed, every time she pooped, how long did she sleep, when did she nurse and for how long? I also didn’t realize that when breastfeeding, you actually had to pay attention to those kinds of things. I just kind of assumed I would feed her when she cried. I didn’t realize you needed to remember what side you nursed on first or last, or that I needed to keep track of how long it had been since she last ate. This app documented and helped me remember all of this stuff. It even has alarms you can use to help remind you when you need to nurse again.

 

Medela Breast Pump

If you are a working mom, you are going to need a reliable, easy to use breast pump. The great thing about Medela is, they even have a breast pump that is attached to a backpack, making it super convenient.  I once went on a fieldtrip to 4 hours away and had to pump in the porta potty on the bus. This backpack version of the pump was super helpful in this awkward situation.

 

I also recommend the medela breast pump, mainly because it offers bags that you don’t have to hold. Please see the next must have item.

 

Medela Breast Pump and Save Bags

These bags hook right onto your pump. After you’re done pumping, you can zip them right up like a zip lock bag and freeze them. It’s so convenient to not have to dump the milk from a bottle into a bag for storage. For this reason alone, I recommend the medela pump over any other! I haven’t seen any other pump that had bags like these.

 

Hands Free Pumping Bra

You need to either get a pumping bra, or make one. It is so nice to not have to hold the pump to your boobs. The suction is strong, but what I didn’t realize is that once the milk starts coming, it gets heavy and will unsuction if you aren’t wearing a bra while you pump, or, you have to sit there and hold them to your boobs the whole time, and that is annoying. I could always sit there and get work done on my computer while I pumped. It was so nice to not have that time wasted. Even if all you’re doing is scrolling instagram or watching netflix on your phone, you need your hands.

 

Prenatal Vitamins

As a first time mom, I had no idea that I still needed to be taking prenatal vitamins to continue providing what my daughter needed outside the womb. I thought that was one expense I could knock out once she came, but it’s wasn’t. So, if you’re nursing, continue taking your prenatal vitamins. I love all things Honest and these were the prenatals I took. They are fairly inexpensive, especially if your OB has ever tried to prescribe some to you, you know how expensive that can be!

 

Lactation Vitamins

This was another support I used to help my milk come in and to keep up production. I know that some women really struggle with keeping production up and I didn’t want to have that problem. I was committed to not having to spend money on formula, diapers are expensive enough! I was willing to pay a little extra month to have a supplement to help my body do what it needed to do to meet my goals as a new mother.  

 

Lactation Cookies

I started taking these after I went back to work. When I was away from Hazel at work, I had a bit of a drop in my supply. I started eating these cookies every day and they really seemed to help with my production. I also loved having an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast. 😉

 

If you have any questions about any of these products, please let me know! I love all of them! None of these are paid partnerships of any kind, it’s just me wanting to be helpful to any expecting mom! It was blog posts like these that were most helpful to me so I want to pay it forward!

 

I love connecting with other moms online, come hang out with me on Instagram for momspiration, momtog tips, and momhacks!

https://www.instagram.com/meghan_holden/