There was a time where I didn't think I would write this post. Ella's first week home was soo rough and I thought I would have to give up on my idea of breastfeeding her for the whole first year. We endured the frequent weight checks and trips to the lactation consultants office in tears and here we are... Ella is approaching 15 months and she is now fully weaned.
I wanted to wait until she was completely off the "tap" before I wrote this. Truthfully this whole weaning process has been emotional for me. I tried when she was 12 months and then felt guilty for turning her away so we went back to 2 feedings a day. I tried again at 13 months and decided that I wouldn't force it, that I would just feed her when she asked for it. Slowly the feedings dwindled down. From 2 a day to 1 a day to 1 every other day and eventually she started going 2-3 days without it. I can honestly say I don't remember the last time I nursed her. That makes me a little sad because I felt like it would be a memory I would always cherish. That last time I would share such an incredibly special bond with my daughter. But life just sort of happened and we got busy and she just stopped.
We had her sleep in our room for the entire time she was nursing. It was just sooo much easier and I have to admit I could probably count on two hands the number of times we were up with a crying baby more than once at night. Ella was a cuddler and we really enjoyed having her with us. I thought she might put up a fight when we switched her to her own room. But truthfully I think it was harder on me than it was on her. Each night we read a book, sing a song, and she plays quietly in her crib with this little lantern toy until she drifts off to sleep. SO that has been a huge blessing to go along with weaning. I don't have any guilt about kicking her out of our room and taking the "tap" away at the same time lol.
So this post was supposed to turn out to be some tips of mine from our year of nursing. So here are a few products that I could not have lived without while I was breastfeeding!
- Lansinoh HPA Lanolin! This stuff is a life saver for cracked and sore nipples. I was afraid of using too much at the beginning and I paid for that mistake. Its safe for baby to ingest so cake it on after each feeding!
- Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads! I never really had a huge problem with leaking but when you are caking the lanolin on all the time its better to have a pad to keep from sticking to your bra. I really liked these because they had the most cushion.
- Medela InStyle Electric Breast Pump! If you are going back to work or you just want to give hubby a chance to feed the baby I really recommend this pump. I actually borrowed it from a friend who used it for her two children and it still worked great! Medela makes a smaller version now that still comes with a nice carrying case I believe it is called the Freestyle.
If you decide to pump you will need these handy little bottles to pump into. I only used them for pumping the milk and then I would put the expressed milk into freezer bags. When it was time to feed I would just put the thawed milk back into these bottles and Ella took to it very easily. I found that the Medela nipples were as close to the real thing as I could get. Ella tried other bottles but they seemed to have too fast of a flow, but the Medela slow flow nipples really worked great for us.
I always used the Lansinoh breast milk storage bags. They were normally the best value at the store and they stand up on their own which was very handy when thawing the milk.
Something that no one warned me about was how bad nipple damage could be. Ella had a very strong latch which made things very difficult for us in the beginning, but then I went to the lactation consultant and she gave me one of these handy little things. It is a shield you put over your nipple before you nurse. It protects you from further damage during feedings and lets your nipples have time to heal up. Another tip I used for cracked nipples was to put wet tea bags in my bra in between feedings. I know it sounds weird but the tea really does work and it helps you heal so quickly! Just place the wet tea bag directly on your nipple then put a nursing pad over that and then put your bra back on.
The last thing I will list in the Hooter Hider! It has a funny name, but it works like a charm. It has a rigid rim around the top so you can see your baby when you feed her but no one else can. It sure beats fidgeting with a blanket in public. I fed Ella in restaurants, stores, and even at church using this baby! There are lots of products similar to this but I found that Hooter Hider had the cutest prints.
So there you have, my own personal arsenal of breastfeeding must haves! I also used the website kellymom for a ton of advice. It has a lot of really good articles and tips for you to read. My own personal advice to is to pump some even if you are going to a be a stay at home mom. It is so nice to be able to let someone else feed the baby once in a while and I know that my hubby really enjoyed sharing that time with Ella. I hope that someone somewhere can find these little tips helpful. I know that breastfeeding turned out to be quite the journey for me, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!
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