Breastfeeding Must-Haves: An IBCLC’s Favorite Products (Episode #12)

For solutions for literally everything. So today we're gonna talk about exactly what I think breastfeeding moms should have on deck and maybe go over a couple of things that I think could be a little bit problematic if you were to purchase them. So first and foremost, always do your own research before buying any product for yourself or your baby.

So two things that I always recommend to my clients for sore nipples. That is ettes. I'm a huge fan of ettes. I think they're an amazing product. I think they work really, really well and I think that they work well enough to justify their slightly high price point. They're usually around 50 bucks, I think, which is on the higher side, but they work extremely well.

They're good for, wound healing, for supporting swore nipples in general, and I just really couldn't say enough good things about them. Beyond that, another product that I think every mom should have for treating sore nipples is a nipple balm. I personally, personally, am a big fan of Lanolin. I know it's become a bit of a pariah a little bit.

I'm looking around to see if I have my haka. I have it right here. It's inundated with IB CLCs who have really strong opinions about Hawkes and how they may or may not ruin your supply in one way or another.

So. Not my favorite for catching milk. I think it works in a pinch. I think it works well for hand expression. I think it works great for clogged ducks and other stuff, but my favorite thing for catching milk is something like the Boone Trove. I think the Boone Trove is an excellent product and any client that I've ever suggested it to has had nothing but.

Amazing things to say about it. I've had so many clients who've came back to me and they're like, oh my God, I never knew this thing existed. This is the best thing ever. It stays in place. I've gotten so much extra milk. I built a little bit of a freezer stash, you know, without really trying, I've just had it in my bra, if fits comfortably, it is not at risk of getting kicked around like this guy is.

I definitely think pads are really, really good for wearing in your bra so that if you hear a baby crying or you're a boobs decide it's go time and you're in line at Whole Foods, you don't soak through your clothes. They're really, really great and super useful. Most of them are really inexpensive. I prefer to get like.

An organic bamboo or cotton, something like that, product rather than something that could be made with less than ideal materials.

So that we're just making sure everything we're putting right up against our breasts, is supportive of our hormones and everything else. So I would say the reusable ones are cool if you're the type of person who can keep up with them. I have a lot of moms with the best of intentions who buy washable nursing pads, and they do not end up keeping up with them.

They get gross or. Worse, they try to stretch them further than they should because they don't wanna wash them, and that's not good. So if you're the type of person who can stay on top of washing your nursing pads, keeping them tidy and keeping up with them, reusable ones are great. If you're more like I am, you're more of like a type B mom and you don't want extra shit to have to wash.

So for engorgement and c clogged ducks, I would say the two big things I could go on and on, but the two big things that are really good are something like a pad that fits on your breast that is good for cooling and heating, that you can either pop in the fridge freezer or you can warm up, is super awesome for dealing with engorgement. With that said. Again, hot takes on TikTok from IBCLCs as of late.

It's really up to you. I've had a lot of moms use that across time and it works just fine, but. When we're trying to save off inflammation, the line of thinking is that adding more heat could potentially just increase inflammation, so on and so forth. I think using heat and cold together as has been used across time and medicine for all the different things is a great protocol.

But again, do your own research and decide where it works for you. So those hot and cold packs I think are great. There is a brand, mom, freedom, mom cozy. I think both of those. Freedom Mom. I think I got it backwards. Freedom. Mom and mom, cozy both make really good, like breasted shaped packs. You don't necessarily need that.

I tell a lot of moms if they're not wanting to buy an extra thing, even just a pack of peas that you like, draw like an on with a Sharpie and you're like, these are the peas from my boobs. Nobody eat these. That works just fine. A hot pack, a hot water bottle, something like a stock full of rice, et cetera.

If you have flat nipples having something on hand. To pump with if you're just in a situation where you don't have electricity, I think they're really, really great. I'm not a model fan, so I'm not saying anything disparaging about the brand, but I am not a big fan of model pumps when it comes to their electric pumps.

They're hand pumps, they're manual pumps. On the other hand, I think they're great. so I just don't ever want to get anyone confused where they're like, oh, she said, Mandela pumps are good. The manual pumps, the model manual pumps and the Len know manual pumps. Both are good. I would say Modela is probably my favorite.

So when it comes to bras, we wanna make sure that our bra is fitting us well and that it's supportive and that it's comfortable. Generally speaking, I'm not a big fan of women wearing brass. That's a whole other podcast you get into for, lymphatic drainage, how it affects our breast tissue, all those different things.

But I think when you're nursing, good bra is important, especially if you're gonna be out in public. , And especially if you are pumping a good pumping bra is really, really nice. I would say two of the brands that I really like when it comes to nursing brass are kindred, bravely, and Mom cozy.

I would just say that a good bra is important for most moms. If you're pumping, I would say a good pumping bra is a must if you're nursing and feel like you'd benefit from a good nursing bra, definitely, like if you're wearing a bra, you should be wearing a nursing bra. Definitely, a really good choice.

We wanna make sure that if we are wearing a bra. And we are nursing that, it's a nursing bra because if not, we might be doing weird things like pulling a cup down or if we're wearing a bralette, pulling it up and it can cause, pressure on different areas of our breasts. So with that said, even a good nursing bra,

we always wanna make sure that we can very comfortably remove our breast. From the bra without any like pushing. If you're watching the video, you can see like if certain nursing bras might be digging in this way or digging in this way, we don't want any of that because the putting pressure on the ducks can cause clogged ducks or other damage or it's just uncomfortable.

Different nursing pillows. There's a lot of strong opinions. US IB CLCs are an opinionated bunch, but personally I would say my two favorite pillows are the Mom Cozy Pillow and the My Breast Friend Pillow.

I like both of those. They're good across time. I've seen a lot of clients use them and they work really, really well. With that said, depending on the position that you like to nurse in the location that you like to nurse in the size of your torso, the size of your baby.

A dozen different factors. We want to decide on a pillow that works for our body. Some moms like the pillows that are already on their couch or the pillows that are already on their bed. But I would say if you are going to be nursing the hospital, having a breastfeeding pillow on. Hand is really useful.

Or just bringing some good quality pillows to the hospital. Pro tip there. Super useful hospital pillows kind of suck and you don't want to be hunching over and starting your breastfeeding journey with improper posture that's gonna teach you and baby that you are needing to be leaned forward or crunched up.

So now that we've gone into the things that I do, like, let's talk about the things that I don't like. So I, of course always wanna be respectful of brands. This is just my opinion. I'm not. You know, shit, talking to anybody too bad. I'm just sharing what I've seen work and what I've seen not work based on working with thousands of moms across a bunch of years.

So I would say the number one thing that I think is a waste of money would be, those countertop sanitizers for bottles and pump parts. I know that's like. Maybe, not a well received opinion, but I really don't like them. I don't think they're necessary, and I think, they can cause a lot of harm to mom's mental health when she feels like she has to wash her bottles and sanitize them in that way.

In your pump parts with hot water and soap, in most cases, assuming you don't have an immunocompromised baby, that's a whole other thing. But generally speaking, we're never really sanitizing things anyway, because as soon as they come out, they're not sanitized anymore. They're not sterile. So, and sterilized is the word.

I mean, rather not sanitized. Sterilized. So the bottle sterilizers, I would say leave those off the list from there. I would also say something like a snoo, or I can't remember, maybe it's Greco has, something that's similar to a snoo, like a less expensive versions. I think that those are not ideal for most breastfeeding moms because they are so good at comforting babies that we will miss hunger cues a lot of times, I think developmentally.

We're gonna look back and we're gonna be like, holy shit, we put a baby in that. So I kind of feel like. Snooze might be on that side because I don't think that they're super protective of baby's, innate, primitive instincts that are so, so important. So not a fan of the snoo. I don't mind swings. I think if your baby's big enough and use 'em safely, I think that they can be okay.

Used in the right amount of time. But the snoo on the other hand, not a big fan of that. So from there. Let's talk about products marketed for breastfeeding moms that are protein shakes, protein bars, meal replacement shakes, hydration drinks, all that good stuff.

If it has less than 700 calories, it is not a meal replacement. It is a snack. If it has less than 200 calories, it's not even a proper freaking snack. I see, there's a big brand out there. Again, not gonna call that one out by name, but there's a big brand out there, that makes a lot of products for breastfeeding moms and their influencer marketing is on it.

Like, if you have looked up anything about breastfeeding or watched a single video about breastfeeding, I'm sure you're getting their ads, or at least you're getting, what you might not realize are ads from other influencers who are talking about their product, so I'm not a big fan of protein shakes, meal replacement shakes, bars, et cetera, that are marketed for breastfeeding moms.

I think focusing on whole food, nutrition and products that just really support the raw fuel that our bodies need is gonna get us further than an overpriced. Pea protein shake, and I could go on and on about pea protein and why that's not optimal for most breastfeeding moms and how it can cause issues for babies.

Just like a quick rundown, if you are not a vegan, if you're not plant-based, then you should be leaning on animal-based protein because it's far more bioavailable. 19 grams of protein, from plant sources is not the same as 19 grams of protein from an animal source. Just not as bioavailable. So I would say those are products that I would also avoid.

I wouldn't buy a bunch of that stuff. I am a fan of supplements when they're the right supplement. So, below I can link that as well. My supplement guide that I have for breastfeeding moms, it has a disclaimer in there, but as. Always do your own research when it comes to supplements, talk to whomever it is you feel that you need to talk to in deciding about using a supplement and make an educated decision as a sovereign adult woman.

Because I'm not suggesting that anyone necessarily take anything. I'm just sharing information. So I would say, that's my thoughts on protein powders. I meal replacement shakes, all that good stuff.

But suffice to say, when you're buying a bottle, you wanna buy a bottle that looks like a bottle. It looks like a nipple from a bottle. It does not need to look like your nipple. Quick rundown on why. The wider, the base of the bottle, which typically the nipple rather the wider the base for the nipple, the harder it is for a baby to get a good deep latch on it.

And they're most likely going to be just nursing on the nipple. Of the bottle nipple. The very tip, if you're watching the video, you can see this one's a little wider, so they're gonna have a harder time getting down on there. With something like the Dr. Brown that's nice and tall and has a very narrow base of the nipple, they're gonna have an easier time getting a deep latch.

So those are the things that I really like and that I don't like. I hope you all have found this very helpful.