I have tried every pacifier there is. I have never had a baby not take a pacifier. I have even tried to force him to keep it in his mouth. Nothing. He also will not take a bottle unless absolutely forced. If this is also you, I just want to tell you to just give it up.

Just stop trying to make your baby take a pacifier. It isn’t worth the stress or time. And I know you think that you need it. Babies are supposed to have a pacifier, how will I ever get a break? But really they don’t need it at all. And I worried about those things as a breastfeeding mom. But I am here to say you don’t need it!

I thought that I would not be able to get a break from nursing if I didn’t have that darn pacifier. It worked out fine though, we nursed and it was a very normal amount when comparing to my other children whom I also breastfed.

Plus on top of that, he was able to have his mom and milk if he wanted, whenever he needed it. In the first year, that is what is most important aside from loving on all those little rolls.

If you are still worried about not getting a break from nursing I want to offer this advice. You are living in your head. Get out of there! Stop stressing about the future and the possibilities that you are imagining. That is where the stress is, not in your reality. Even day to day, if you have a couple rough days it doesn’t mean that you will always struggle. Remember that nothing is permanent. It is ALL temporary. Stop worrying about that which is not happening and is not important and BE WITH YOUR BABY.

I am the first one to say how hard this all is but this is my best advice. Your baby doesn’t need a pacifier, he just needs you.

Keep doing what you do best mama!

Did all your kids take a paci? Did you struggle with worrying about things like this?

There is so much information out there about the benefits of breastfeeding and the beautiful bond you will create. I knew all about that when I first became a mother. I was seventeen but I read everything I could about ALL THINGS BABY. Here are four things I really wish someone would have explained to me in depth about breastfeeding, as a teenage mom or any age, new mother.

To be clear, I think some people tried. There was of course some teenage “know-it-all” attitude left in me. However, I really wanted to breastfeed and this information was not readily available.

Breastfeeding Hurts

It is not a joke or for the faint of heart. Everything that I have ever read says that nursing your baby should not hurt. And sure your latch ultimately should not hurt after the first two weeks. But therein lies the problem. The first two weeks where you are learning to latch and constantly feeding a baby with nipples that are definitely not ready for the use they are getting – ARE SO PAINFUL. I don’t want to sugar coat it because if you don’t know what to expect it isn’t fair. Every time that baby grabs on with their incredibly strong little mouth, you will sprout tears and possibly see blood. In fact, you most likely will see blood. Although there are plenty of people out there saying that they have the cure for sore cracked nipples, there truly isn’t anything that will help when your baby latches. You can put creams on in between for sure. That definitely helps them feel better but the easiest way to the other side is straight on through. After two weeks of trying to get that great latch and nursing on demand, your nipples will be hardened like soldiers in the fight! They will be ready to do battle and it should no longer hurt. I know two weeks is a LONG time when you are nursing constantly. I promise you though you can get through it and it will get better and better. THEN, I can say it will not hurt.

Please do not read all this information out there and think that because you are in excessive pain that you are not doing it right or that it isn’t working. You are right where you should be, mama. Keep perfecting that latch and feeding your baby. The pain will pass.

You Have To Eat

You have to eat healthy and enough to make breast milk. Chips and soda and candy will still make milk but if you aren’t eating enough good food, you will not keep your milk supply. When you aren’t fueling yourself, milk will be made from your body’s stores of nutrients. That’s great but now you are depleted and this can’t go on forever. I was extremely poor with my first baby and ate like a bird. I was working and making money but money management was also poor and I was constantly behind on bills. Groceries were always cheap and easy things. My milk lasted about two months. It is a process that needs calories and nutrients. Do yourself a favor and make sure you are providing those things to your body.

Now when I first begin nursing, I allow myself to eat whatever I want, cravings and all. I just try to match my cravings for sweets or bread with veggies and protein. You can easily get a lot of nutrition by making sure that your plate is half full of veggies each time you eat.

This story is a happy one though. I became a milk super producer. I have a post of breastfeeding super foods that I love here.

You Must Express

You have to feed your baby or pump properly to keep your breast milk coming. Your body is a natural amazing machine. It knows what to do when you empty your breast by either pumping or nursing. That sends a signal to say hey we need more milk down here! And on the other hand, if you don’t and on a regular basis, empty your breasts, your body will say hey we don’t need that much milk down here! In my experience it is a difficult process to get milk back if lost.

My first choice is to always empty regularly. This is especially important when you are building your supply. After you have established your supply and a routine, then if you miss because something came up, it is not as detrimental to regaining it.

So get into a routine of feeding on demand (my personal opinion) and empty your breasts each time or every other if you prefer. However, if you pump one side and or use a Haakaa Wearable while you nurse the other, it helps establish both sides. Edit: I previously thought that having a freezer stash of milk was a great thing however, I have now learned that it is not truly a great thing to have. It means that you are over- producing and while some may think that is great it can be detrimental for your body. I have also seen new information about Haakaa creating nipple soreness and oversupply. Also there is a chance that your freezer stash could end up tasting soapy because the breakdown of lipase in the milk. Some babies will not take it. Please do your own research!

Drink Water

You have to drink water to make breast milk. I just don’t know how else to tell anyone more simply. You need water and a lot of it, if you want to make breast milk. Breast milk supplies your baby with all of the nutrients he needs but also the hydration he needs. Babies don’t need to drink water separately until at least 6 months old! Not even when it is hot out. Breast milk has all the water that a baby needs and that water comes from you. When I was a teenage mom, I wish someone would have explained that to me. I did not really drink water at all. I am not sure how I thought I would be able to keep up my milk.

Your body needs its own large supply of water, add to that healing when you have just had a baby and then nursing. You need TONS of water. In general, I try to get at least 128 ounces of water a day. Now that my youngest little guy is almost a year, I can do 96 and be ok. If I were trying to build up my supply though, I would increase that amount. I know that is a lot, it truly is but it can be easy to attain, if you aren’t drinking other stuff. Drop the pop, juice, excessive coffee and just drink water. I do have a cup of coffee each day and I can still get y water in.

Water is also a huge component if you are trying to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. I would never tell anyone to try to do that because I think it is silly and most of the time a really harmful standard. Your body was made for this and you can worry about how it looks but it is beautiful just the way it is. Every change and difference means that it was doing something incredible.

I do understand those changes can make people uncomfortable though and I just want to highlight that if you are wanting to start making changes to become more like you were before your baby, as far as looks, water intake is a healthy way to begin that process. Perhaps it is the only minor change you need to take on until your baby is older.

Those are 4 things I wish someone would have told me or explained to me about breastfeeding. I hope that this helps you if you needed it!

Is there anything that you would add from your breastfeeding experience? Or has this helped you?

Do you truly know what you need for a baby before they are here?

Now that my final baby is almost here, I am starting to think of what I might need again. I thought my last baby, was my last baby (cue surprise) and got rid of a lot of things. I was still nursing him at the time but had started to donate a lot of things he was too old for.

It truly is amazing how quickly we forget what it was like to have a little one even when the youngest now for me, is only two. I find myself struggling to remember what worked well for me and scouring Pinterest for help. Somehow though it has helped this aging mother and I have gathered a few things I truly loved and will love again for my nursing journey.

Get a good pump

I know- a pump for breastfeeding? Yes! No matter what you do for feeding aside from formula fed only, you should have a pump. A pump seriously helped me when I had too much milk for my tiny baby and it helped me keep exclusively breastfeeding when I went back to work. It also helped keep my supply up. There is tons of information on the web for different ways to do it. You will need to figure out what works for you so take all the information but make sure you are not just following someone else blindly.

I used Medela for 3 babies and it was fine. It worked and it came with a bag, was covered by my insurance but seemed to wear out fast. My last baby I went and got a Spectra. It didn’t come with all the things like Medela without a pretty hefty price tag but I got the pump and parts. This thing was awesome. It has a light in case you pump at night near baby, it was so much quieter than the Medela and the battery was chargeable so I didn’t have to be tethered to an outlet. I could strap it on me and move about! It is still going strong. I don’t think I will need a new one for this new baby! Make sure you check with state programs to see if your insurance will pay for your pump! You can search information online.

Heating pads- for your boobs

There is a lot of information that says taking a hot shower and letting the water hit your back can help your milk come down. And it is true! The same goes for warm packs on your boobs. You can place these in your bra after warming them up and it will help get your milk moving. I was gifted these Lansinoh ones from a friend. They feel fantastic like a warm hug. In the beginning especially because you are sore while you are getting used to your milk supply and your boobs are changing. I would use these ten minutes before I pumped, nursed or just when I felt sore. Bonus you can use them cold too!

Haakaa

This little gadget is soooo nice. It suctions onto the breast your are not nursing from and collects the milk that lets down on that side. Instead of all that milk going onto a breast pad to be wasted or worse getting you all wet, you can keep it and put it in a bottle! Perhaps you can make it into the bottle that dad feeds the baby while you get some rest! Either way it is really great to collect that liquid gold. I think this time around I will try to give that milk to my toddler.

Lansinoh Nursing Pads

These pads are lifesavers for people like me who produce a lot of milk. My boobs would leak at the sound of a baby cooing. I couldn’t stop it. If a baby cried, I was done. It didn’t even have to be my baby! These pads kept it all in and no one was the wiser which is great when you are at Target and can’t nurse that very moment. I never had them leak out even if they were pretty full of milk!

Check out my quick tips for beginning breastfeeding here.

Supplements

A few of my favorite types of supplements for nursing can help you so much when you are just beginning your nursing journey. Especially because you can use a few of them to make treats. That is always a bonus because you are generally starving when nursing. Making some little protein balls ahead of time and keeping them in the freezer is a snack prep you will be happy you have.

I love brewers yeast this, as well as flax meal. Both of these are known to be galactagogues which support milk production. When you combine them with oats, peanut butter and chocolate chips and honey….well they make me happy. It is a tasty treat and it helps get that milk going. There are a ton recipes you can find online. Some even make them like a monster cookie! What nursing mother doesn’t need that?! I will admit though they are not the best to overeat if you are trying to watch your calories. But honestly I don’t think you should be too concerned with that while trying to heal and nurse a baby.

I also love a great protein powder. I have one right now that I really like. It is BOOBIE BODY and I really like it because it is plant based protein and still tastes decent. It has a flavor you kind of have to get used to but overall is good. It is said to support nursing and weight loss. I love that but also love how quick I can make it up when I am hangry. And I get hangry easily while nursing.

Burp rags

Whatever you like here will do. I just put them over my arm for the inevitable overflow of milk out of my babe’s mouth. And of course, for spit up. But when you have a strong let down, it is often too much for baby to take. They say baby should be able to learn how to pause the flow but none of mine have ever done that. I can’t hold them on my boob and watch them sputter to try to get that figured out. What I can and will do, is have the burp rag there to allow some of it out before latching baby back on when it slows.

I also use burp rags on my bed when I am nursing there. If I am laying down and nursing baby it catches the milk that would have made my bed all wet.

Huge Water Bottle

I mention this in another post or maybe two, but in order to be successful at breastfeeding, you need water. Now right after baby is born it is easy to drink a lot. Your body wants it. But once you get into the swing of things, it slows. Do not slow your water intake! It is said that you need half your weight in ounces of water a day without being pregnant or nursing. In order to produce the milk you want to feed your baby, you need to increase that amount. Now I am not an expert but you want A LOT more. Keep water bottles all over OR get a really huge one like this Hydrojug. I am not as big a fan of this one because it is plastic but I love the cute styles and carrying case. They now have steel ones!

I prefer my stainless steel cup but it doesn’t hold as much, but it is still a substantial amount. Bonus this one keeps water cold or hot. I prefer cold water a lot when pregnant and nursing. It comes with straws but I use silicone most the time because of my little people. I actually have two of these cups because I have one full at all times. If you will be in a certain room immediately after you come home from the hospital to rest and recover, you may want to have them both full of ice and just get some gallons of water to refill! And of course that is something easy for your support people to help you with.

These are honestly all things that I used and will use again for my nursing journey. There is always room for improvement and I would love to hear things that worked for you!

Do you have any products you couldn’t live without while nursing?