Pumping Essentials

Since my daughter, Ariadne, has been in the NICU since she was born, I have had to exclusively pump. Although it was not the journey I envisioned, it has been amazing to pump because it feels like I am doing something for my daughter.

In three weeks of exclusively pumping, I have had to learn fast what works and what doesn’t. If you’re pregnant, I highly recommend putting these items on your registry. I was lucky enough that most of what I needed was given to me at our baby shower, which made life so much easier.

Lansinoh Soothies Breast Gel Pads: These are great for when you first start pumping (or I imagine breastfeeding) and your nipples are really sore. You can put them in the fridge for added relief.

Elvie Pump: I got the Elive from 1 Natural Way because they were able to use my insurance so that the pump was about half price. In the hospital and NICU I used a regular style hospital pump, so I feel pretty confident in saying that the Elive is really so much more convenient. I will admit that there is a bit of a learning curve to the Elvie and it can be a bit finicky at first to get everything right, but I have learned and now I feel like I rarely have any issues. I love being able to be handsfree while pumping and I am getting great output of 6-8 ounces per session. The biggest reason I wanted this pump though was because I knew I would be going back to work and needing to pump at school. You can wear the Elvie under your clothes and it’s pretty discreet, plus you can pump pretty much anywhere on the go. I feel that it was definitely worth the money.

Haakaa Manual Breast Pump: The Haakkaa is great to catch letdown (the milk that sort of just starts flowing from your breasts). I am sure this will be even more useful once Ariadne comes home and I am hopefully nursing her, but even with pumping I have found use for these. I have two of them and sometimes when I don’t feel like pumping, I just pop these on and I can get several ounces of milk just by the suction. Definitely a great thing to have around. Also, taking a shower causes my letdown to start, so I have been taking these with me and as soon as I get out of the shower, I pop them on and get several ounces of milk while I am getting ready.

Washbasin: You have to wash any pump parts and bottles in a separate washbasin per CDC guidelines because babies have died from bacteria from the sink getting into pump parts. You can also grab a collapsible basin if space is an issue.

Reusable Nursing Pads: After I began my pumping journey, I soon realized that I hate, like really hate, the disposable nursing pads. To be blunt, they leave my nipples raw. I have super sensitive skin, so the soft, reusable pads are so much better for me (and better for the environment too).

Medela Quick Clean Breast Milk Removal Soap: A friend recommended this and I really like it because it works so much better than regular dish soap to clean pump parts. Breastmilk has a lot of fat in it, so this breaks that down super fast and I can do a lot less scrubbing when I use it.

Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter: Listen, your nipples are going to hurt when you pump or breastfeed, but this helps. A lot.

LaVie Lactation Massager: I used this a TON when I first started as my breasts hurt a lot when my milk was coming in. I also use it periodically if I feel like there is pain that might be the beginning of a clog forming. So far it has helped so much and *knocks on wood* prevented any clogs from forming.

Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags: In the pumping group I am in on FB, I have learned that not all bags are created equal as many people have reported that other types of breastmilk storage bags leak. Luckily, I have only ever used these, and I am happy to say that they are great.

Kindred Bravely Nursing Bras: You are going to need good nursing bras. Kindred Bravely has some great ones. I also really like this style for sleeping. All of their bras are very comfy.

Auden Nursing Bras: These bras are also wonderful and you can get them at Target. The sports bra version is nice too.

Baby Brezza One Step Sterilizer and Dryer: I never in a million years thought this would be one of my favorite baby things, but we use it so, so much. Pump parts have to be washed every time you pump, and they need to be dry in time for the next pump. Even with using two sets of parts, it is much easier to just throw the wet parts in here and put them on the dry cycle for 45 minutes to be sure they are ready when I need them. I can only imagine that we will use this thing even more once Ari is home and drinking from bottles (she’s got to get all that pumped milk somehow!).

I won’t call myself an expert after only three weeks of pumping, but this is what has worked for me so far and I hope it helps someone else!

xx,

Camile