By being a newborn baby photographer and having my own two boys, we often chat about our experiences of feeding our little ones.
When my first son was born 14 years ago, I remember very well being told that breast was best and felt a little bit pressured in to making sure that this is what I did. I found this to be very over whelming at many times.
Dylan struggled to latch properly at first, and then the pain and frustration came along with guilt that my husband who was also a first time parent, could not share this type of bonding that I was trying to do. Eventually, the breastfeeding became easier, and we decided as a couple to mix the feeds. So my son was breastfed in the night and maybe once or twice throughout the day, and my husband would bottle feed just before bed and first thing in the morning to allow me to sleep from the night feeds.
By doing this we both managed to get the individual bonding time with our son. When we had our second, we said we wanted to do the same kinds of feeds that we did with our first.
Getting an established amount of milk proved difficult at first with both my babies, but once it was there we managed to get some good feeds. It is the hardest thing to get milk established, it makes you feel guilty if you cannot produce enough.
I personally feel there is too much pressure placed on mums to be about breastfeeding. Some want to feed via breast and others choose not to, whilst others want to but are unable. What ever your stance on feeding is, please be reassured that as long as your baby is receiving enough milk and is thriving, then the job you are doing is brilliant, whether that is breast, bottle or both.
I thought I would share with you somethings that I used and some that have been recommended to me through other mamas.
1. A BREAST PUMP
Whether you choose to breastfeed fully or just to express and then bottle feed, either way your going to want a good breast pump. The Wren electric hands free breast pumps are an excellent product. With them being hands free, you can pump on the go. Each of the pumps holds up to 150ml of breast milk, which can then be decanted and stored in the fridge. When your wanting to express you pop the pump in to either one or both sides of the bra and adjust them to your comfort level with the bra adjusters.
2. NIPPLE SHIELDS
I used these when I was breastfeeding, the butterfly shape allows your baby to smell and feel your skin to help in stimulating milk production. Due to the thinness and flexibility of the shields, they are made to feel like the nipple. These were a god send to me, especially when the nipples became sore.
3. LANSINOH
Lanolin nipple cream provides relief to sore and cracked nipples, as well as being safe for the baby, so you don’t have to wipe it off before feeding.
4. GIANT MUSLINS
Both my boys suffered with wind so were sicky for the first few months and would bring up their milk quite often. So, by having large muslins, it always helped save the day as they could cover a larger area to prevent yourself getting covered in those milky sicks.
5. INFACOL
This is a must for babies with windy problems. You always think that the babies first flavour will come from the food from weaning, but actually millions of babies first taste must be the orange flavour from the infacol. I know both my boys loved the taste and it helped so much.
6. TABLET / IPAD
This is definitely a must for those first few months whilst your sat nesting and feeding. Also a subscription to something like Prime or Netflix to go along side it for all the must watch boxsets.
7. CHOCOLATE
Not much to say here, except you deserve a treat and to keep up those sugar levels 😊
8. ANTI-COLIC BOTTLES
The Tommee tippee bottle has a 3-piece anti-colic venting system to draw air away from milk and a star valve to keep milk from travelling up the tube. It also has a built-in heat-sensing strip for extra reassurance that the milk is a safe temperature for your baby.
After I had tried several different bottles to help with the wind, I found these ones to be the better ones for my boys. However, there are so many different ones on the market. Another good choice would either be the Nuk or Dr Brown’s.
9. NIPPLE BUBBLE
These are something that have been showed to myself and not something I had heard of before, but after reading about them they look like a very good idea. The 2 in 1 nipple protector and milk collector helps to stop sore and cracked nipples from rubbing on clothes, but at the same time it collects every last bit or milk that seeps out after feeding and / or expressing.
whiteorchardphotography@gmail.com | 07828335449
If you would like to book a photography session for your newborn baby, please take a look at my Newborn Photography Information page.
Breast Feeding | Essentials | Newborn Photographer Barnsley | Barnsley Photographer | Newborn Photography | Newborn Photoshoot Barnsley | White Orchard Photography
Comments