Best Nursing Dresses, Products, & Tips for Breastfeeding Mamas · Everything A First-Time Mom Needs for Happy & Successful Breastfeeding!

 

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

I didn't think I'd get this far, but as a first-time mama who came into motherhood (not to mention breastfeeding) with a ton of self-doubt, I'm grateful to say that my baby girl and I have been going strong in our breastfeeding journey since birth.  It's 12 months and counting!

To celebrate this special week, I'm sharing with you the best ever nursing dresses, my favorite products, AND my personal breastfeeding tips to help other moms have a happy and successful breastfeeding journey too! 

Nursing Dresses

Firstly, I must share the most beautiful and functional nursing dress I've ever seen and had the pleasure of wearing!  This is the Floral Charita Dress from Mome, which is a lovely boutique that specially designs and sells ethically-produced garments for breastfeeding, matching with your mini, and more!  It's made for moms!

You can check out my Full Review of the Mome Charita Dress blog post for all the details, or my Video Review of the dress.

In short, here's why I love Mome's Charita Dress:

• You can nurse conveniently and discretely anywhere without the use of a nursing cover
• It has large, hidden pockets
• It comes with an adorable, matching hair bow
• You get to match with your little one (there are matching outfit sets for both boys and girls!)
• It is both stylish and comfortable 
• The smocking back design gives it stretchiness so you can wear it even when changing sizes (super maternity-friendly and postpartum friendly!)
• The design is super flattering on all body types (like my new mom bod!) with the way it's shaped (to hide my glorious arm flab and belly pooch) 

5 Must-Have Breastfeeding Products

If you're going to breastfeed, these five products will help you greatly in your breastfeeding journey! 

1. Nipple Cream

Alright, in case you didn't know, your nipples are going to need some major TLC if you've never breastfed before.  When first starting breastfeeding, many mamas suffer from cracked nipples with bleeding and broken skin.  This is where nipple cream comes in handy, and here's the one I personally used and absolutely loved.  It really helped soothe and moisturize your sensitive skin, and the best thing is, there's no need to wipe it off before nursing!

2. The Haakaa

Yes, the legendary Haakaa.  This is a manual breastpump that lets you express milk with natural section.  When I first started my breastfeeding journey, I'd use it on my non-nursing side while my baby feeds, and I'd collect on average 3-5oz of milk during each feeding (which would otherwise have been wasted, while simultaneously getting my side all wet with lost milk!).  Through this method, I was able to collect a lot of surplus milk, pretty much the same amount my baby was drinking, which allowed me to donate my milk to a local baby with CP.  Anyhow, the Haakaa is a pretty surefire way of saving extra milk with minimal effort.  It's super portable, lightweight, easy to clean, and easy to use! 

3. Double Electric Breast Pump

For those of you who wish to guarantee your milk supply, power pumping is a really effective way to do it.  The easiest way is through the use of a double electric breast pump, which you can pop on to help stimulate your milk production after every feeding with your newborn.  For breastfeeding moms who are returning to work and wish to continue giving baby breastmilk, a double electric breast pump is a must-have.  The one I used is the Motif Luna, which has an incredibly powerful expression mode (that I've heard is stronger than Spectra) and I've been nothing but happy with this product.  It definitely does its job!

4. Nursing Cover

If you're planning to feed baby on the go and wish to have a cover-up, you'd probably be looking to get a nursing cover.  The one I have below is lightweight and breathable to prevent baby (and you!) from overheating.  It also has a rigid neckline to allow you to have some air circulation and make eye contact with baby. <3

5. Water Bottle

Lastly, since hydration is KEY to having good milk production, it's important to get a really awesome water bottle!  I feel that having a motivational water bottle really helped me not only keep track of how much water I was drinking, but push me to drink a larger amount and more often!

My Personal Breastfeeding Tips

Go with your baby's flow.

In the beginning, when your newborn is cluster feeding like crazy, it can be exhausting to try and keep up, especially when you're sleep deprived, but try to just go with your baby's flow!  Take things day by day, moment by moment.  Your baby's cluster feeding will help you establish your milk supply.

Eat well, and stay hydrated!

If you really want to up your supply, make sure you stay super hydrated and drink lots of water!  It'll help your production to eat a lot too.  Remember, Mama needs to be well-fed for Baby to be well-fed!

Power through the pain.

Those cracked nipples can be so, so painful.  I kept telling myself that I was strong, and that I can do it.  As someone who has pretty shoddy pain tolerance (getting a shot hurts me, haha!) I was able to power through this experience by telling myself that my body is meant to feed my baby.  Through literal blood, sweat, and tears, I kept that in my mind, knowing that my body was giving my baby all the nutrients she needs to live, grow, and thrive. That was a motivating goal for me, and it helped me keep at it during the toughest of days!  The first several weeks really were the worst in terms of pain level, but it began to get better, and by the third month, the pain had all but left! 

 

Try not to overthink or stress.

Treat breastfeeding as a natural thing. Your body is designed to be in-tune with your baby's needs!  If baby's wanting more, your body will produce more.  I know this is hard for some of you, as it was with me, but try not to overthink or stress out over breastfeeding.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you!  I wish you lovely mamas a beautiful breastfeeding journey!  It might not be easy, but you CAN DO IT!!

Warmest wishes,