Mom Tips 01
On Mondays I’ll be sharing a little mom wisdom that I wish I had known before our baby’s arrival. Today’s tips are centered around pumping.
Tip 01: Get to know your pump
Order it way before baby’s due date. Read the manual and get familiar with the different settings and suction speeds. Because trust me when I tell you, you do NOT want to be trying to figure out how to use it late at night, when your painfully engorged and so sleep deprived with a newborn.
“I wish someone had told me to do this before my delivery date. It would have saved me so much time and headache.”
Do some research and get to know the different suction settings on how you can trigger your let down and get the most out of your pump. There are so many great resources out there. If your on Instagram I highly recommend the following accounts: @legendairymilk, @milksprouts, @oatmama
Tip 02: Sterilize and prep your bottles before hand
I couldn’t decide on what brand of bottles to use and like an idiot I waited until the last minute to get some. And it was such a pain to have to wash and sterilize them when we badly needed bottles. I wish I had them all prepped, organized, and ready for use before our baby was born. There’s already so much you have to learn and juggle that first week home from the hospital. Just do yourself a favor and save yourself the stress, get it done beforehand. And BONUS this is one task your partner can be in charge of!
Do yourself a favor and sterilize and prep all your bottles, nipples, and pump accessories before your due date. I recommend having one designated zone for the bottles and pump supplies either in your kitchen or somewhere in your home.
For bottles, we tried so many different brands and nipple shapes. I recommend buying one bottle from the brands you like before committing and buying multiples. We finally settled on the Philips Avent newborn bottles. The shape of the nipple and the flow were similar to my breast and Julian responded well to those. For sterilizing the bottles, I really liked the Avent bottle sterilizer. It saved me from having to boil all the bottles and parts in a giant pot. It steams and sterilizes in about 6 minutes, which was a huge time saver for us.
Tip 03: Take a lactation class
Take a Lactation class. Breastfeeding is not easy and sadly, the details of how much goes into it are not widely shared. It is NOT just placing your baby on your boob and Ta Da they’re eating. Oh no honey, breastfeeding is a lot more complicated! Sign up for a class at your local hospital or check out a book and get familiar with nipple shields, nipple cream, tongue-ties, the football hold, and so much more. And if your struggling, like I was, I highly recommend attending lactation group meetings or setting up a private session with a lactation expert during the first few days after your baby’s born.
Thank you for reading my first Monday Mom Tips! I’d love to hear your experience and what advice you’d give new mamas.
Pictured: Julian and I during his first month