Should I Exclusively Breastfeed? Exclusively Pumping vs. Breastfeeding Part II

First of all, whether your baby is breast-fed or bottle-fed, breast milk or formula, however you decide to feed your baby is up to you, and I love the term “Fed is Best”. This post is for what has worked for me, and I hope I can help some other mommies with my tips and tricks.

Breastfeeding

            When I got pregnant with Nolan I was determined to give breastfeeding another try. I knew that if it didn’t work out I could always pump like I did with Weston, but I wanted to experience that breastfeeding relationship. Nolan didn’t come early like his brother, he was born 37 ½ weeks gestation, and because I went into labor at home my labor was much faster too. After delivery we started to attempt to breastfeed, and he immediately got it.  

Because I was so nervous about nipple confusing I refused to give him a pacifier or bottle (I now feel like that was a huge mistake on my part). Of course the first few weeks are always new and difficult for both mom and baby but we did it. We were able breastfed exclusively for 13 months.

Tips and Tricks I’ve learned

The number one tip I have for breastfeeding moms is NEVER quit on a bad day. You will have terrible days where you are both crying and your boobs hurt and you just want to throw in the towel, but don’t.

Sessions: I breastfeed on demand, I do have that luxury because I am with Nolan 24/7, but I know that most moms don’t, in the beginning I would feed him every two/three hours. I did this to
1) Get my supply up
2) So we could really get this breastfeeding thing down and become pros at it.

Supplements: I still take the occasional fenugreek for my milk supply and I still eat granolas bars a lot.
Pump: I did pump occasionally at the beginning to try and have a stash in my freezer for date nights or dad feeds but…. Nolan refuses the bottle COMPLETELY. So that little stash I have probably won't get used by him.

Drink: I feel like this time around I really need to drink water, if I don’t drink water I notice a change in my supply. So water, water, water!

Supplies: In the hospital the lactation consultant gave me a Lansinoh Latchassist to help make the nipple easier for Nolan to get to. I feel like this was a great tool and I recommend it to everyone that is starting to breastfeed.

The next supply you will need is lanolin; I really like the Medela Tender Care Lanolin it helped so much when I was first starting.

Another supply for the nipples would be Lansinoh SoothiesGel Pads, I would put these on between sessions and they would sooth, and help repair the damage.

Lastly I would recommend a good nursing cover, I love my Milk Snob cover. It has so many more uses then just nursing, I use it to cover his car seat, as a blanket for him when he takes a random nap, at the grocery store I cover the cart, and its super cute that I will wear it around my neck when we walk to the park so I have it on and ready to go. I seriously love my milk snob cover!

Nolan was a great breast-feeder. Out of either exclusively pumping or breastfeeding I would choose breastfeeding. It was just so easy to never have to worry about bottles or warming up milk.