3 Brilliant Breastfeeding Benefits of Breast Shells

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In the hospital, one of the nurses mentioned breast shells to help with baby's latching issues. Once home, I ordered some (I looked in a few stores and it seems nobody stocks them).

I was pleasantly surprised to find their benefits are threefold:

1) If you have inverted / small nipples, it will help make them "protrude" a bit more to make an easier latch for baby

2) Allow the nipples to air out and protect them from friction against your bra

3) Help contain the milk that trickles out on the opposite breast during feeding or pumping (a good alternative to the disposable breast pads). You can use the milk (safe to drink only if you store it immediately)

*One bad thing about these is I didn't feel comfortable going out in public with them because, well... they didn't look normal. Kind of pointy, like they were designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier.

9 Useful Breastfeeding Products, Resources and Tips

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You see moms in the mall nursing their babies and it looks like the easiest, most natural thing ever. I never even put any thought into it until I was pregnant. That was when I heard how challenging nursing could be. I didn't know what I could do to prepare myself for it, and maybe there isn't. There are classes, books etc., but maybe it's a case of "learning by doing" and it's easier for some than others.

Did you know that high-pitched sounds (like a crying baby) can make your milk leak? Or that when you feed or pump on one side, you leak out the other? I didn't, until discovering spots on my shirt! Also the shower can bring on the waterworks... What surprised you about breastfeeding? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

1. Breastfeeding Classes, Organizations & Online Resources 
I remember telling a non-mother about how difficult it was and she said "yeah, I heard of a lot of moms here having trouble, but I've never heard of women back home in Venezuela having issues". That's probably because until you're actually going through it yourself, you don't seem hear about it. Breastfeeding issues happen across the globe - in fact there's an international organization called "La Leche League" built up around the subject.

In hindsight I definitely should have signed up for a breastfeeding class while I was pregnant. I'm sure they inform you about difficulties that can arise, how you can avoid / recover from them and tell you all about the helpful products out there. Most hospitals with Delivery Rooms probably offer breastfeeding classes for expectant mothers, and many also offer post-partum lactation support groups.

2. Get Rest & Focus on Breastfeeding!
If you could, I'd recommend to spend the first few weeks in bed trying to nurse pretty much 24-7. Don't try to get up, cook, clean, do laundry, play hostess to company. You can do that in later weeks/months. You only have a short window of time to get the breastfeeding established. The added bonus is that, if you're in bed, hopefully visitors will feel awkward about staying too long! 

3. Breast Shells & Nipple Shields for the Super Breastfeeder!
The nurses in the hospital kept saying that they were going to bring me breast shells because my baby was not able to successfully latch on, but they forgot about me. This is where that birth coach would have come in handy!

One lactation consultant recommended I get a nipple shield (not to be confused with the above mentioned breast shells!) as well for the latching problems, so I did, and it worked. It was also good for avoiding soreness.

4. Some Sort of Nipple Ointment
Because nipples can get quite sore from all those failed attempts to latch properly! After having baby number two, I found out about APNO (All Purpose Nipple Ointment), which worked much better than any other cream, salve or ointment I tried. Sorry, I don't have a link to it, because you have to get a prescription from your OB! Warning: it's expensive. I think I spent $75 for the smallest tube (I should add I haven't used it up yet after almost 8 months, because you only need it in the newborn stage. Possibly you'll use a little bit of it later if you're unlucky enough to be suffering from blocked milk ducts, mastitis or owning a Medela Pump in Style).

People swear by Lanolin ointment but it has done nothing for me. Try it, can't hurt! Your hospital may give you free samples in the recovery room. 

I was optimistic about Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple balm, since I found their other balm to be a gift from heaven, but I was mildly disappointed the "Earth... Nipple Balm" wasn't a miracle cream - it wasn't much better (except in ease of applying it) than Lanolin (I found Lanolin to be very thick, difficult to even squeeze out of the tube). 
I've hear of people using coconut oil, too. 

5. Nursing Bras
If you're staying at home most of the time, I found that I didn't need too many nursing bras with underwire. The most comfortable and convenient thing is regular Hanes cotton sports bras and nursing tanks. The stretchy spandex sports bras I used to wear to the gym made me really sweaty while holding a little furnace! 

6. Nursing Pads

Like I mentioned above, when you're lactating from one boob, the other follows. That's why you need nursing pads, so you don't get milk stains on your shirt.

The reusable nursing pads were so-so, I soaked through on occasion. But they're also more breathable than disposables, an important feature so you don't get sore nipples. I found the TL Care Organic Cotton Nursing Pads, Natural, 6 Count  to be better than the Avent brand reusable nursing pads. However, you can see the bulky outline on your shirt.

More discrete are the disposable nursing pads and they didn't leak either, but I ran through them so quickly I felt it to be more economical to use reusable nursing pads when I was just hanging out around the house.

7. Ice Packs
You will need ice packs whether you are dealing with milk coming in, oversupply, weaning, or blocked milk ducts.

8. Propping Pillows 
A boppy pillow was convenient, but not necessary. You could use regular pillows or blankets to wedge under your arms or under baby.

9. Supplements and Some Other Bonus Tips
With my first baby I had low milk supply in the beginning and I don't know if it was the constant effort that finally paid off or the fact that I gorged myself on lactation cookies (with brewers yeast - I'll post a recipe someday), this mama's milk tea, and that I finally broke down and bought an electric pump and used it on turbo speed. When she was 1 month old I actually developed an oversupply of milk! That lead to problems like overactive letdown and engorgement, so don't do that - take it slow!

When I started my first baby on solid food at 6 months, I increased her solid food portions too fast. Of course that meant baby wasn't as hungry at the breast - not draining as much as previously and I got clogged milk ducts, then one evolved into mastitis. Not fun! I'd say that was almost as painful as natural childbirth! Remember to really gradually increase the solid food portions.

However, blocked milk ducts and blisters may have been caused by sleeping on my stomach, being run down, not feeding baby on a rigid schedule, wearing a bra with underwire, improper latch, baby being lip-tied... Who knows, maybe the causes all ganged up on me and gave me a giant sucker punch in the boob?

With second baby I developed chronic clogged ducts again. Yayayayayay! Yay! One nurse suggested getting some Lecithin pills, which she said is supposed to break up the fatty particles in the milk so it can easier travel through the ducts? I'm not 100% believer in supplements, but figured it can't hurt! It's mainly sunflower oil.

Tip from my big sis that I kept in mind: Remember to nurse in different positions, so you don't develop blocked ducts. Also if your baby gets used to only feeding when you are laying down, it could be inconvenient when not at home base.

5+ Popular Baby Bottles Reviewed

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This is another post that I wish I could send back in time to my first-time pregnant self. That way I'd be more prepared before the baby arrived, instead of wading through piles of products, discovering what personally worked and didn't work for us. If you disagree or have anything to add, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

I did not know that all bottles and nipples weren't universally interchangeable. They are pretty much ALL different, except I think the old school standard nipple size is what Medela uses and Dr. Brown. The pre-mixed formula bottles use the standard nipples.

Here is what I personally found to be true for us:

Medela 


Pros: "Standard" bottle size, fits my Medela hand pump and Medela Pump in Style electric pump.
I like the flat yellow travel / storage caps.

Cons: None.

Side note: We didn't use, but Dr. Browns are also "standard" size. I decided not to go for these because they had too many complicated parts to assemble for washing.

Avent Classic

Pros: Came with my favorite pump.

Cons: Leaks, required an additional attachment to prevent this.

Avent Natural

Pros: Excellent!
We had no issues with leaking.
Attach to my favorite pump.
They're really easy on the eye. We have a couple with little monkeys on them.
I think these tinted ones would work well to prevent those unsightly unremovable orange stains that sometimes happen when you run your baby bottles in the dishwasher at the same time as something that has tomato sauce on it.

Cons: None. Well, a question maybe. I'm not sure if these were designed for storing frozen pumped milk in. (I know they're "safe" for that, no baby bottles have BPA anymore).
They do come with some sort of plug thingy to put in place of the nipple to prevent spills while traveling, but I am curious if the milk would get freezer burn or something if these plugs were not designed for freezing.


Avent Storage Cups


Pros: Great value. Stackable. Connects to Avent pumps and nipples with adapter.

Cons: The worst thing about these (and I've noticed some other baby bottles, too) is that the measurement markings are in WHITE. Now good luck reading white measurements on a white milk background! I ended up filling in the notches with a black sharpie so I could tell how much was in there.
The cups are a little flimsy and therefor it's hard to tell if the caps are properly screwed on. For that reason, sometimes they end up spilling the milk when transporting. I had one that I filled a bit too close to the top and it popped open as the milk froze and expanded and leaked a little when defrosting.


Nuk 


Pros: So cute! And orthodontic?*

Cons: For me, since I don't have a NUK pump and it doesn't connect to the Medela or Avent pumps I have, that makes it a bit annoying that you have to pour your milk from one to the other and make MORE dirty dishes. Plus you waste some and risk spilling that liquid gold.
In the beginning we couldn't figure out if the little hole goes up or down, so that frustrated us (and babysitters we forgot to inform) and lead to leaks.

I did some research and it seems there isn't even a NUK adapter that you could attach to any other brand of pumps. So you could only use this with NUK pump.

We stopped using these after a few months. Really quite disappointing since I'd hoped my babies could have the orthodontic bottles, but maybe it's not that big of a deal, since they don't have a bottle in their mouths very often (have you heard of baby bottle mouth?).

Tommy Tippy 

Pro: This design is "muy caliente"!

Cons: The Tommy Tippy marketing schpiel is "Closest to nature"* and I indeed bought it so my baby would be less prone to nipple confusion (which she did get in the beginning anyway).
Does not connect to any pump that I know of, so again, it's a bit annoying that you have to pour your milk from one to the other and make MORE dirty dishes.

*Supposedly the close to nature and orthodontic ones are marketing bologna. I wish we had read this, including the I instructions on how to bottle feed before my baby was born. 

http://thebreastfeedingmother.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-trouble-with-calma-and-quest-for.html?m=1   

CONCLUSION: I wish baby bottles were all universal! Naturally, since my personal favorite pump is the Avent one (see the blog post about pumps), I liked the Natural Avent bottles and we didn't have any problems with the bottles leaking or the babies rejecting them.
Not every breastfed baby "goes for" the same brand of bottles, so I think unfortunately you DO have to buy a few brands and try them out. However, it would be ideal if one could buy just one brand of bottle that goes just with the brand of pump you have!