Preparing for a newborn - Feeding.

A list of items for a newborn in regards to their feeding:

Lansinoh

If you are going to breast feed you will need Lansinoh or something equivalent. It is used to soothe, heal and protect sore cracked nipples and is safe for babies who breast feed. I recommend buying a tube before you go to hospital. You only use a very small amount each time so a small tube is fine. You can find Lansinoh at chemists in the baby items section.

Breast feeding pillow

There are special breast feeding pillows, which I can't comment on because I have never used one. I was given a triangular pillow as a gift and I was very happy with it. What I liked about it is that I could buy spare covers for it. I have 3 covers for the pillow. I don't know if you can buy spare covers for the special breastfeeding pillows or not. I found having the covers was very useful when there were leakages whilst feeding. I could simply whip off the cover, throw it in the wash and replace it with a clean cover.


Flat Cloth Terry Towel Nappies

I bought three packs of flat cloth terry towel nappies.  They were so useful, such as:

1. Between baby and pillow whilst feeding (or use cotton wraps) to catch leakages;
2. To wipe up leakages;
3. Carried in nappy bag to put over change tables whilst out; and
   
4. On change table between baby and change mat at home.

Maternity Bras and Singlets

You need to go to a bra store to be properly fitted for maternity bras.  As for maternity singlets I loved Bonds Bumps Maternity Singlets. I also bought a few cheap singlets in a slightly bigger size and wore them with maternity bras under and a T-shirt over the top, so that the singlets could be pulled down over the bra for feeding and hide my stomach.


Breast Pads

I recommend buying reusable breast pads.  They cost more than disposables but overall they will save you money.  Plus they feel nicer than disposables and are better for the environment.  I love Swaddlebees Organic Velour Breast Pads because they are the biggest ones I could find, so provide better coverage.  They also felt the nicest.  If using disposables I liked Johnson & Johnson breast pads.

 

Breast Pump

At first I used a manual breast pump, which worked well for me but once my flow settled down it was very hard to get any milk out.  Eventually I got an electric breast pump and found I could get a lot more milk with no effort on my part.  An electric pump is a lot more expensive, so you might want to start with a manual first.  However, an electric is a lot easier to use and I do recommend it over a manual pump.

Bottles 

If you do breast feed you might still want bottles so that your baby can be fed expressed milk while you go out.  At one stage Em wouldn't take a bottle at all and I tried Tommy Tippee Closer to Nature and that worked.  Probably because it's shaped more like a breast.  You will also need a bottle brush & steriliser.

Bibs

Having some small bibs was very useful for burping (vomiting). I used to put bibs on Em when driving too because she would often vomit in the car.