If you’re interested in breastfeeding one of the biggest questions you probably have is “what items do I actually need to successfully breastfeed”?
While you realistically only need your breasts and baby, there are a few key items that will help make your breastfeeding journey successful. Comfort and convenience will help you continue to breastfeed as long as you want to.
Check out the breastfeeding essentials below, but first…
Breastfeeding Benefits
Before we dive into what helpful breastfeeding products you should add to your registry or Amazon cart- let’s take a moment to appreciate the benefits for mom and baby.
Baby
- Excellent source of nutrition
- Breastmilk adjusts according to baby’s needs
- Decreases the likelihood of diseases such as type I diabetes, asthma, or obesity
- Less likely to develop ear infections
- Less likely to get colds and viruses
- Shares antibodies from mom which will help boost baby’s immune system
- Breastmilk can be easier on baby’s tummies so they are less likely to experience gas or constipation
- Could assist in preventing SIDS
- Nutrients can often be more easily absorbed
- Less risk for postpartum depression
- Increased calmness, less crying
Mom
- Less likely to develop breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type II diabetes or high blood pressure
- Can be easier than bottles for mom since there is less to haul when leaving the house and less dishes
- Saves money
- Burns calories, so mom may lose weight**
- Releases oxytocin which helps your uterus contract back to pre-pregnancy size and also is a hormone that is associated with bonding
- Decreased chance of heart disease or stroke
**Take this one with a grain of salt. Although I had very minimal cravings or increase in hunger while pregnant, I had an astonishing increase in hunger and cravings when breastfeeding!
The Best Breastfeeding Products
I breastfed my daughter for 17 months. The first month or so was a bit rough (my poor nipples!), but we persevered.
I am so proud of this experience, and no matter how long you manage or choose to breastfeed for, you should be proud too. Every drop counts!
These items made my life a whole lot easier, and I think they will help you too!
1. Breastfeeding or Nursing Pillow
This was one of the items that made the biggest impact on my breastfeeding success in my opinion. I highly encourage you to read my comparison of The Boppy and the My Brest Friend nursing pillows. The Boppy caused so much frustration and it also caused my daughter to have a poor latch!
The My Brest Friend is a far superior product and I might have given up so early if I hadn’t switched to it!
The BEST breastfeeding pillow!
2. Nipple Gel Pads for Breastfeeding
I went to see my hospital’s Lactation Consultant a few days after I gave birth. I scheduled this appointment while I was in the hospital by the recommendation of one of the doctors.
I HIGHLY recommend you do this as well.
The LC that I saw gave me two of these Medela Gel Pads and they were a nipple saver! They felt so soothing and helped my nipples heal faster.
I was able to reuse them by sticking them in the fridge then rinsing with cool water (per her suggestion). Unfortunately I didn’t realize I could buy them myself, or I absolutely would have!
Because of a poor latch my left nipple had a gash in it…ouch is an understatement.
It was odd that my right nipple was fine, it probably had to do with the fact that my daughter favored my left (especially in the hospital).
This could have been because I’m right handed and I put her to the left breast more often the first few days or because my left breast produced more milk (as I later found out when I started pumping!).
This is one of the best breastfeeding products money can buy!
3. Nipple Cream
One of my biggest regrets was not using nipple cream sooner. I would recommend starting as soon as the hospital staff thinks it’s okay.
I used both the Medela and Lansinoh brands. I liked them both for different reasons at different times. It wouldn’t hurt to have two small sizes to decide if you or baby prefer one over the other.
Nipple cream also makes amazing chapstick and you will be so incredibly parched it will be nearly impossible for your lips to stay hydrated.
Nipple Cream is an essential breastfeeding produt, at least for those first few weeks!
4. Nursing Tanks
These nursing tanks I found on Amazon were so comfortable I bought a second set of 3. I still wear them at 20 months PP (you can read more about what I still use here).
I had originally bought a different one from Target and the latch required two hands, and it also wasn’t as comfortable.
The nursing tanks from Amazon have a great latch that is easy to use one handed and very sturdy. I also feel they help slim down and smooth my tummy a bit.
The best nursing tanks for breastfeeding!
5. Nursing Pads
Okay, so these drove me nuts. They were fine and would stay put until you go to pull your nursing tank back up and secure the latch.
The disposable nursing pads would unstick and rollup. Grrr!
I had samples, some were gifted to me from friends who had leftovers and I purchased an insane amount of the Lansinoh ones.
Of the disposable ones I preferred these over any of the others as they rolled up less. I only had a few though and it felt wasteful not to use the ones I already had. I think the trick is to find ones that are not creased/folded in the middle.
Next time I want to at least try reusable ones (as well as non-creased disposable ones). Something like these Bamboo Nursing Pads.
All of the reusable ones have complaints of leaking (usually not by first time moms) or developing yeast infections so I would definitely switch them out often and monitor closely.
The best disposable nursing pads for breastfeeding won't have a crease and reusable ones will need to be absorbent and comfortable will need to be changed more regularly!
6. Nursing Cover
Let me just start out by saying I highly respect moms who chose not to use a cover when breastfeeding in public. I think that is 100% their right and no one should have an opinion on that mom’s choice.
I personally felt it was easier to use a nursing cover and I felt more comfortable.
You can definitely use the two shirt method (nursing tank on bottom, shirt over tank, then your stomach is not exposed and a very small amount of your breast is exposed) and I did try that a few times but that ended up being harder than just throwing on a cover and whipping my boob out.
There are some incredibly cute ones that are supremely soft and do double duty as a car seat cover. I had one of these and used it often (I also used it for a blanket while we were out and a burp rag if I was desperate).
Like seriously, how cute are these though? A plant one, a princess one, a floral one, and a celestial one?
There’s one for every style! These are as low as $10.00 or as expensive as $40!
I personally really preferred the aprons style breastfeeding covers. These have a wire at the top that bows out so you can see baby through the opening by just looking down (with the others I had to pull the fabric out a bit).
I’ll admit the designs aren’t nearly as cute, but I really liked being able to peak down and see her whenever I wanted.
In addition it made latching her easier in the beginning when I hadn’t had much practice yet.
The best breastfeeding cover is one that you and baby can see each other!
7. Burp rags
Yup, breastfed babies spit up too.
Now, I highly recommend you take my advice on this one. Forget about the oh-so-cute burp rags and invest in some cloth diaper inserts. They worked so much better than the pretty burp rags or receiving blankets that I had, and I had a lot of different fabrics of those.
The sewn in “pre-fold” diaper inserts were my favorite but I also had the “flat fold” ones as well and I would chose them over the printed burp rags one hundred times over.
These are the best burp rags, promise!
8. A Baby Tracker App Or Notebook/Log/Journal
I tried out a few but I really liked ” Baby Tracker – Newborn Log”.
I was religious about using this to track which breast I was on. I ended up putting my baby on the right side more often to try and increase the supply on the right side. This helped to make sure I wasn’t overdoing that.
I used it to track wet and dirty diapers, sleep, pumping.
There are also options for growth, milestones, joy, temperature, medications and vaccines.
To be honest, I still use this to track sleep. Mostly for naps because I will totally forget what time I put her down.
I didn’t know these apps existed until after labor when I was in the hospital. The hospital staff gave me a paper to track breastfeeding side, duration, how well it went, dirty diapers and wet diapers. So I used that. They had mentioned that they liked that I used the form instead of an app because they could grab the sheet and document it without waking me up if I happened to catch a wink of sleep.
The best app for breastfeeding moms!
9. A Water Bottle
The thirst.
The insurmountable urge to to quench a thirst that is so powerful it’s all-consuming! I know that sounds dramatic, but seriously. You have NEVER been so thirsty in your life.
Mine would hit during my letdown.
I had Yeti styled tumblers at first and to be honest they were quite inconvenient that I had to always be near a flat surface to set them on. I later found these and it was so nice to set it on the couch next to me and not worry about it spilling and they still stay cold for a very long time.
If you’re on the go I like this one because it’s smaller and fits in cup holders.
You will feel SO thirsty when breastfeeding!
What else might you need?
I think a vast majority of breastfeeding mothers also pump at some point during that journey. Two common reasons would include the ability to leave the house for short periods of time without baby in tow, or if they plan on returning to work.
It will definitely be beneficial for baby to be familiar with bottles and willing to take one should, the need arise.
As a reminder, you can read about my pumping product recommendations here:
Breastmilk Pumping Essentials List – A Simple List of What You’ll Want and Need
Were there some items you were unaware of? Something missing you think you’ll need? I would love to hear from you!
