Hi everybody, Melissa here.
This is a show about everything you need to get ready in order to be able to nurse your
baby.
Okay, and at the end I'm going to throw up a graphic so you have a nice little list of
what you need to buy when you go to the store.
Okay, let's start with one of the basic, most basic things for a nursery mom- your nursing
bra.
You're really going to need to have a couple good nursing bras.
These are some of my old favorites - think comfortable.
You want to think a very nice, stretchy fabric.
You're going to need to get at least four of these because they're going to get wet,
and you're going to be washing these frequently.
I recommend hanging them up to dry, which preserves the elasticity.
Second thing you're going to need, whether or not you nurse, is nursing pads because
even if you're not nursing, you're going to have leaky breasts.
Because when your milk comes in, it's going to come in too fast and too much.
You're going to have leaky breasts and you're going to need nursing pads.
I have a show that goes into the detail about the options.
But you really want to get some of these on hand and you're going to bring them to the
hospital with you.
Okay, nipple creams.
Nursing is like boot camp for your breasts.
They can get sore, they can get dry, your nipples can get cracked, they can get bloody,
definitely try to have at least one good nipple cream on hand.
You might want to do something, which is very popular, which is lanolin-based such as Lansinoh.
This is a very well known brand.
And there are some organic brands on the market now that are really, really fun for those
of you who might want to use organic products.
These are all supposed to be safe to put on and then to have your baby nurse from your
breast.
Okay, so that's sort of just the technicality of what is going to go on your breast, in
terms of pads and creams and all that.
Okay, let's talk really quickly about pumping.
You do have an option when it comes to the pump.
For the last few babies, I have rented a pump from the hospital.
I've rented the Medela Symponey pump, and so you can price it out.
This to me is the Mack truck of pumps.
It's really got a lot of "ump."
And I did pump after every feed.
So I was a big fan of that.
If, however you know you're going back to work, you know you're going to need to be
mobile; you're going to want to think about investing in a portable pump.
And there are tons of things on the marketplace right now.
It's really expanded.
What I bought back in the day was a Medela.
I'm going to pick up my bag here.
And it can come in a handy shoulder bag or it can come in a backpack.
And when you buy a pump, it will come with certain pump equipment.
But this is an example of the backpack.
I'm going to show you the actual pump now.
Don't be scared!
You're going to learn how to use all of this and you're going to be a total pro.
This is the actual machine of the Medela Advanced pump.
And Medela actually makes one now.
This is the Pump and Style Advanced.
Medela makes one now that is even more portable.
So this stuff is just getting better and better and better.
There are a variety of things that you're going to need to make the pump work.
You're going to have a plugin, you're going to have a battery pack, you're going to have
a set of tubing, this is a set of tubing, and what you need to buy extra is going to
depend on what comes with your pump.
So I'll make a recommendation at the end of the show about how much you're going to need.
But let me walk through the basics.
You're going to need bottles, these are bottles, you're going to pump into these bottles.
You can use them to freeze too.
Okay, you can get smaller ones by the way.
On top of your bottle, once you take the lid off, you're going to have what's called a
breast shield.
You can get these in the right size for your breast.
There might be standard ones that come with the pump.
But you're going to have a breast shield.
Okay, then for storing milk, I am a big fan of plastic storage bags.
Here's an example of a Lansinoh bag, here's a Medela bag.
I think these bags are great.
Lansinoh storage bags can take a higher quantity of
milk, they're bigger than the Medela, they are both excellent bags.
Now you see on the top here, you have a little area and here you're going to write the date
on which you froze that milk because that's going to help you know when you're going to
use the milk.
And to do that, you need a ballpoint pen or a sharpie pen because other pens will run
and then you won't be able to see your date later on when you want to use your milk.
Okay, now onto one of my favorite things.
I did not have this for two babies and it was literally life altering when it came into
my life -the hands-free pumping bra.
And there are different models of this on the marketplace.
Now this one is by Easy Expressions.
I'm such a big fan of this.
In addition to making me look like Jane Fonda in Barbarella, this completely frees you up
and liberates you when you start to pump.
I'm not going to pull this baby all the way up because I have my mic on so do not assume
that my boobs are this low but for demonstration purposes.
This is how you're going to use this thing.
It should be snug.
You can put your breast shields right into this.
And you are happy as a clam.
You can talk on the phone, you can burp your baby, you can file your nails, you can do
whatever you need to do.
I have a mic here so this is low.
And it's really going to free you up.
So that when you're pumping your not standing there hovered over your pump with like carpel
tunnel syndrome going like "ugh."
Otherwise it's such a huge waste of time.
All right, so the hands-free Expressions bra.
So now I'm going to put up a graphic with all these things and going through with you
guys what you're going to want to buy, especially in terms of quantity.
So you are going to want to buy: four nursing bras, breast pads, nipple creams, a pump,
which you can rent or buy.
Your pump equipment should include six bottles and four breast shields, you'll need plastic
freezing bags, and you'll want to invest in a handless pumping bra.
So those are all you're basics.
Get all of this stuff ready and hang in there, you're going to do just fine.