Let’s talk about a breastfeeding station and setting up a basket of supplies to make your postpartum life easier. It’s important because you will be breastfeeding a lot and your whole day, for months, will revolve around feeding this baby. So we need to make it as simple and convenient as possible. Here is what you need at your breastfeeding spot…

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Start the Getting Started with Breastfeeding Class: https://lizziebolliger.thrivecart.com/getting-started-with-breastfeeding/

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No Time to Listen? Here’s the Transcript:

Welcome back to the show Moms. Today we’re talking on a postpartum topic, breastfeeding and specifically we’re going to talk about creating a breastfeeding station or basket. And before we get into it, this episode is sponsored by Silverettes, so thank you so very much for your support. And also thank you for creating this wonderful product for moms and supporting moms in having a successful breastfeeding journey and it falls perfectly in line with being unmedicated. Silverettes are small cups crafted out of 925 sterling silver that fit over your nipple and they help protect your nipple while you’re breastfeeding. Silver is naturally antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial and it also contains anti inflammatory agents. So the silver allows you to heal and prevent cuts and wounds and cracks and soreness, raw nipples, infections in the nipple- all without requiring additional medication or using nipple creams or that sort of thing. So Silverettes are essential for anyone who wants to prevent or anyone who’s experiencing some nipple pain, nipple soreness, Silverette cups are super easy to use and really comfortable. And you can use my promo code LIZZIE to get 10% off your order. Go shop for some Silverettes at silveretteusa.com

Alright, let’s jump into the episode. So inside of my Getting Started with Breastfeeding class I share a little bonus episode and it’s all about what to do now to prepare for breastfeeding. So the things that you should do now while you’re pregnant, to prepare for the beginning of your breastfeeding journey. And the first thing on that list is to get educated. Like duh, do you expect anything else coming out of my mouth? Just like with your birth, knowledge is power with your breastfeeding and obviously, if you’re taking my class you’re doing number one on the to do breastfeeding prep list already. So that’s awesome. And that’s exactly why I wanted you to hear that number one tip and today, the breastfeeding station and getting that set up is actually the last tip on that to do list on that bonus lesson inside of Getting Started with Breastfeeding and I’ll be sharing the rest of the preparing tips in an Instagram LIVE this week so if you’re not already following me there, go now, and follow me @fiercelizzie and sign up for notifications. Click the bell on my profile page. It will notify you when I go live. I don’t know what day I don’t know what time yet because that is how life is as a business owning Mom.

If you watch my stories, speaking of Instagram, this is a complete side note. Someone asked in my question box, I usually do like a weekly q&a session on Instagram and someone asked me how I run a business with kids at home and I don’t know. And I answered that question and I just kept saying “I don’t know. It’s hard.” But part of the way I manage that is by not being super rigid with myself and being okay with having to be flexible with changing times, being late to things, postponing things, letting things slip, having a giant pile of unfolded laundry sitting in front of me. True story right now. So yeah, I don’t know how to do it, but this is how it’s happening and I’m just going with it. Alright, um, that was a complete side tangent but back to what I was talking about. I’m going to talk about on my Instagram LIVE about the whole to do list for what you need to do now while you’re pregnant to set yourself up for a good start to your breastfeeding journey and if you want to take action on tip number one, getting educated, I’ll link to my breastfeeding class in the show notes for you. It was a $97 mini course, all my mini courses are $97, but I just wanted the breastfeeding class to be super accessible. And it’s more like you’re talking to your best friend that’s really knowledgeable in breastfeeding, more so than having like a lot of evidence and that sort of thing, although there is a lot of resources in this class for you to click through and get more information on. So I dropped the price to $47, I wanted all moms to be able to access this information and get a leg up on their breastfeeding journey before baby is even born.

Alright, let’s talk about the nursing basket/ nursing station/ nursing cart, whatever kind of mechanism you want to use to house these things. It’s really important to have this breastfeeding spot and these breastfeeding tools set up because you’re going to be breastfeeding a lot and your whole day, for months, will revolve around feeding this baby. So we need to make it as simple and convenient as possible. And the breastfeeding station is especially important in the first few weeks while you’re healing. You don’t want to be getting up and down for everything you want. All the things need to be super accessible. You want to be very comfortable while you’re breastfeeding. And it’s also important if you have a big house especially like an upstairs downstairs situation you’re not going to want to be going upstairs to get items for baby or for breastfeeding. Your breastfeeding station can be a basket, a caddy, a cart, it’s going to be whatever works really well for you and your situation. I personally liked having a caddy and it was actually a diaper caddy and I’ll link to the one that I ordered from Amazon in the show notes. I liked it because it was easy to carry, it had like a purse handle straps, you just grab it and put on your shoulder and you can carry it from room to room. But the cart. like a three tier cart on wheels, is also really nice because you can roll it from room to room and it also is a good option if you don’t have anywhere to set a nursing basket or caddy. If you don’t have a good designated spot to set up next to where you’re sitting, the cart is something already that’s tall, like it’s a little cart and say you have a glider and you want it to be next to your glider, you don’t have a little side table. Or maybe in your living room next to your couch, you don’t have a spot to set your basket that’s convenient then the cart works really well. And the cart also works really well. If you want your pump to be nearby, if you’re planning on, including pumping while you’re breastfeeding and you need access to it often. The three tier cart just has a lot more space than a basket or a caddy. 

The three categories of things we’re going to want at our station is mom stuff, baby stuff and boob stuff or breastfeeding stuff, whatever you want to call it. And the goal of the basket is to not have to get up for anything. It’s going to have everything you need right there for you to access without having to get up from under your sleeping baby or your breastfeeding baby, without you having to go to another room just to change the baby’s diaper that sort of thing, because believe me you will get nap trapped with a breastfeeding baby at some point, possibly very frequently. So let’s dive into the list. This is the part that you might want to take some notes on, and write it down. If you’re inside of my Getting Started with Breastfeeding class I have a printable for you on what to do to get ready for breastfeeding including some of the other tips that I’m going to share my Instagram LIVE.

Mom Stuff

Let’s start with the mom stuff. Now, this is not an all inclusive list. The mom stuff is going to be anything that you want or need to feel comfortable and relaxed. So here are a few ideas for you to include.. snacks and a water bottle. And really I like to get those things before I sit down. But there will be times when maybe you forget, or baby is really fussing and you don’t have time. So having a few things in your basket ready to go for those times is a great idea. Maybe a few pre packaged snacks in there and then maybe just a water bottle that’s not your regular water bottle that you refill all the time but one that can just sit in there in case you need some water. Because I’ve done this before, I have filled up my water and then sat down with the baby and forgot to grab my water and then got nap trapped and was so thirsty. So that’s why I say to have that emergency water bottle in there. A book or a tablet, something that will entertain you is a good thing to have in your basket. A phone charger is a good thing to have in your basket. Either one plugged in always near you where you like to sit and nurse your baby or a portable charger in your basket so you can charge while you’re sitting there. Chapstick is nice to have in there. Lotion is nice to have in there. Again, anything that’s going to make you feel comfortable, anything that you might need. Anything that’s kind of like a little treat for you. One thing that I really like to put in there is floss and I like that because very often at night, newborns like to just be on the boob for the whole night. It’s called the witching hour. They like to cluster feed. It’s totally normal. Expect to be sitting down nursing a baby for a very long extended period of time. And what I do with my babies, they sleep in the bed with me. And so in the evening time when my other kids are asleep and I’m relaxing and watching TV. I’m not going to try to put my newborn baby to bed by themselves because most likely they’re just waking up right away. So I sit there and watch TV and let my baby sleep on me until I’m ready to get up and go to bed. And that’s where the floss comes in. I can sit there and floss. I cannot go to bed without flossing my teeth. I’m kind of weird that way, I can’t go to bed without washing my face. I can’t go to bed without flossing or brushing my teeth. So I keep the floss in there. I floss my teeth while I’m watching my show and the baby’s sleeping on me. And then when I get up to go to bed, I’m just holding the baby and I’ll just brush my teeth while I hold the baby and then get into bed with the baby. It works really well for me. So floss was one of those things you wouldn’t think would be in my nursing station but came in really handy.

Baby Stuff

What are some things that your baby might need? Things that are going to be so convenient for you to have within arm’s reach, of course, diapers and wipes. You’re not going to use those while you’re breastfeeding. But it’s nice to just have them there again. If you have an upstairs downstairs situation or a big house, it’s just nice to have an extra set of changing supplies wherever you’re hanging out for the day. diaper cream included. I like to keep a pair of socks in there. It’s actually better for baby’s development to have no socks because feeling the ground and feeling things on their feet is how they take in their environment. Imagine walking around all day with mittens on your hands. It would just be weird and you don’t get that textile experience. So I prefer my babies to be sock free. But I like to keep a pair of socks in the nursing basket because if it’s cold, if it’s a little colder in the house and they’re sleeping, I like to put little socks on their feet. So extra socks, even an extra onesie in there. I like to keep lotion in there and I already said lotion for mom and I usually keep a baby lotion in there that I like. I use the Shea Moisture, baby lotion and it smells really good. So I like to use it for myself and I’ll use it for the baby. Baby’s skin gets really peely when they’re first born and so when they’re sleeping on me I like to just give them a little lotion to help with the dry, peely skin. I also keep nail clippers in there, baby nail clippers and I will clip the baby’s nails while they’re sleeping, like while they’re sacked out on the boob because it’s easier when they’re not moving around. And then I also would recommend keeping a swaddle or a blanket in there. Muslin swaddles are my favorite because they’re so multipurpose, you can use them as a burp cloth. You can swaddle your baby in them. Although swaddling is another one of those things, that’s not the best for their development. So look into that. And again, it’s just nice to have a blanket, so that’s why I like the muslin swaddles because they are multipurpose, use it as a blanket, you can swaddle, it’s absorbent, you can use it as a burp cloth. They’re great. And they’re thin so you can just \ roll it up and stick it in your basket.

Boob Stuff

And then the third category is the boob stuff. So any supplies that you might need or want for breastfeeding, put that in your basket. A burp cloth is really nice to have in there. Some babies have a little more spit up than others. And protip, any excessive spit up is not normal and is usually a sign that there is some sort of issue so I just want to put that out there because nobody told me. That was my first. My first spit up after every single feeding. And then when I had my second I went and bought so many burp cloths because with my first I had one set and I had to go buy like two more sets. I had all these burp cloths ready for these babies to spit up all over and they didn’t spit up at all. And come to find out once I got educated and became a doula that’s actually normal and the excessive spit up wasn’t normal. Luckily my firstborn outgrew it and it didn’t hurt our breastfeeding relationship at all, but I had no clue. So a burp cloth is nice to have because spit spit does happen. Leaks happen, so it’s just nice to have that easy to access. Silverettes are another great thing to have in your nursing basket and Silverettes work best to use preventatively, to prevent the sore nipples from happening, to prevent the raw nipples from the early breastfeeding days where baby is on the boobs so much and your nipples are are not used to that kind of action. Putting the Silverettes on in between feedings is going to help keep the discomfort away and keep your nipples happy. A hakaa is another good thing to have in your basket or any milk collector. There’s actually several different brands of milk collecting cups. Now, the hakaa was like the original one and it’s probably the most well known but I do want you to know that there’s some other brands out there and some that are a different shape even that are a little easier to wear. I think Legendary Milk has a milk collecting cup that is one you can slip in your bra. And I also just want you to know that not everyone gets a ton of milk from the milk collectors. It’s usually just moms that have more of an oversupply and it’s more when you are still working on establishing your supply- so you maybe have a little bit of engorgement and extra milk, but it is nice to have the milk collectors to catch some of that milk instead of leaking that milk all over your clothes. Speaking of leaking milk, putting a pair of nursing pads in your nursing basket is a good idea also. And then of course if you are going to be pumping have your pump there in your nursing basket with any extra parts or supplies you need for your pump. And then one more things, this is not going to fit in your nursing basket. It might fit on your cart, if you have the cart, but having your nursing pillow, whether that’s a boppy or some other pillow, having that close by ready to use it even if it’s not in your basket. Being comfortable breastfeeding, and I’m not even just talking about like one nursing session being comfortable, but think of you’re breastfeeding for a year and so you really want to be kind to your back and bring your baby to the breast and a nursing pillow is going to help a lot with that.

So those are the three categories. There are some ideas to get you started of things that you should put at your nursing station, in your nursing basket. I hope that was really helpful and I even gave you a few tips and ideas of what to expect. And that was just like a little taste of what I give you in my Getting Started with Breastfeeding class. And I actually have one bonus for you, it is to include in your nursing station or your nursing basket, something for your toddler, if you have a toddler, if this is baby number two. Especially if your other child or other children are very young, you want to include something in the basket for the toddler that only comes out when you’re breastfeeding to help keep them entertained, keep them busy. While you are sitting down with the baby and not really able to be as hands on with them. So a special book, a special toy and you want to rotate that out every few days so that it stays new and it stays exciting and your toddlers attention is kept for longer so you can relax a little bit and focus on your baby.

And then one last tip I kind of said this already, is to always always try to read baby’s cues before baby gets super fussy. So you can kind of prepare to be sitting down for a while. So your breastfeeding basket should be stocked and prepped every morning like ready to go with fresh diapers, water bottle in there, that is going to help tremendously but also make sure you always go to the bathroom before you sit down because there’s nothing worse than a full bladder and your baby is sleeping so peacefully and you don’t want to wake up your baby but you have to the bathroom so bad. So always always try to read baby’s cues before baby is too fussy so that you can have time to go to the bathroom real quick before you sit down. Grab your water. You know so you don’t have to use your emergency water, find the remote for the TV. And you really could put the remote in your nursing station in your nursing basket. But if it’s not there, be sure to grab it before you sit down and you have all the things ready to go. Just in case you’re there for a while.

And a special thank you to Silverettes again for sponsoring this episode. Don’t forget you can use my promo code LIZZIE to get 10% off and if you want more breastfeeding prep don’t forget you can enroll in Getting Started with Breastfeeding. And I made it specifically to help you know what to expect, what to anticipate, what’s normal, how to navigate some of the common issues with breastfeeding at home, and when and how to get more help with breastfeeding.