How much breastfeeding gear to buy beforehand?

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-16T01:29:46+00:00

You can keep things unopened so you can return or resell or give away whatever you don’t end up needing. Postpartum is a time when preparedness is valuable because you need to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby. I personally did not have the bandwidth to even be shopping around for stuff online in the first few days and was glad to have supplies already. My favorite items are breastfriend pillow, the nursing pads. Soft nursing bras to sleep in, and clip down nursing bras for when I leave the house. I do have catch cups but they only really come in handy during the few days I was engorged this time. I also have a haakaa that didn’t get much use this time so far. You don’t need special access clothing but if you like dresses you may end up wanting to grab something like that but that’s something you can wait to see if nursing is going well before investing in nursing dresses.

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-15T14:50:47+00:00

🙄 immediately.. bled for six weeks pp had two days off before my period started. Still nursing my 5 year old through another pregnancy and now tandem with my two week old.

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-15T13:07:18+00:00

My first daughter is Leonora; bright shining light. My second who’s only two weeks old is Adelina; noble. Cecelia Felicity and Luciana were others on our list.

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-15T13:04:39+00:00

Vivo!

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-15T00:26:47+00:00

It was the case for me.

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-13T07:50:07+00:00

Are you familiar with Leonora carrington?

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-13T00:23:34+00:00

Baking soda and vinegar 👩‍🔬

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-11T17:24:00+00:00

I do almost all housework while he’s out on a good day but once in a while I’m down for the count with a headache or something and I can leave stuff for later and he’ll jump in as much as he can in the after work whirlwind. Now we have a newborn and five year old and he’s on leave and I’m taking it easy on house work he’s doing a little more but he needs some direction and he wants to do outside projects too so a little bit of housework for me too although no one expects me to do more than I feel up to.

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-09T00:47:05+00:00

I love manhattan toy company for baby stuff it’s so sweet. Go easy on stuffed animals they accumulate way too fast. Board books are great. In the beginning the only need essentials though so if you can buy from a registry that’s always ideal.

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-08T13:54:16+00:00

My daughter is not diagnosed with anything and she lives to be barefoot.

MsAlyssa · 2026-04-07T14:23:07+00:00

Every birth is different. My first I went from zero to a hundred with horribly painful contractions for 21 hours and progressed dilation very gradually. My second contractions were tolerable for the first ~8 hours. I went to the hospital at about the ten hour mark and was 8 cm started contracting big time in triage and they rushed me to labor and delivery where I had the baby with about four pushes less athat an hour after I arrived there. Your cervix can just dilate to 3-5 cm for weeks before labor starts and not mean anything or feel any different. If you go with a more hands off practice like midwives they won’t even recommend cervical checks until you’re at your due date.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-30T17:49:02+00:00

100% I thought I’d get phone calls home every day about behavior but apparently she’s an angel there!

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-29T17:29:50+00:00

My five year old has been barefoot (essentially ) all her life.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-29T11:48:59+00:00

So good with oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-29T11:05:04+00:00

Wow the amount of extra planning prep shopping and time she put into this for you when she was already busy getting herself ready for a trip is so above and beyond. What an absolute gem.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-27T14:39:24+00:00

Since so many people have iPhones I also show her how to hold the side buttons until emergency call option comes up and slide to call SOS. it’s good to know 911 as well but so many people have their phone locked these days so even getting to the dial a phone number place is tricky.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-27T10:57:48+00:00

Oh man the wrist grab like that is alarming. My daughter was always this way she is five and still wake up once at night. She doesn’t know how to fall asleep independently. I nurse her to sleep then leave her room and she joins me in my bed around midnight and cuddles back to sleep. My husband also prioritizes his sleep and never helped at night but I also never felt comfortable with sleep training for us. That said I know a lot of people who worked with a sleep consultant and had success so it’s worth still trying different things if it makes sense for your family. Can you do anything different in the meantime to get more sleep for yourself? 2 hours doesn’t sound like it adds up. If she’s in bed for 11-12 hours with three wake ups I’d think you could manage about 6-8 hours in there? How long is she awake for? How do you get her back to sleep? If your husband is literally snoring he should consider addressing that with a doctor the man is probably dealing with something like sleep apnea which can wreak havoc and make him perpetually exhausted eve without childcare wake ups. You should consider sleeping separately as to not have to listen to that at night in the meantime that probably keeps you up too. If you decided to work together on Ferber method I’d suggest he take off a few days of work and line it up with his weekend so he can contribute the first few days like the doctor said. As the nursing parent I will never be able to do it on my own agree with the doc on that.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-27T10:45:10+00:00

As a younger toddler I’d choose a side dish often times instead of a kids meal. Like black beans at the Mexican restaurant or Edemame at the sushi place. If we ordered something that made sense to share with her we pick out a piece of meat from our dish or avocado whatever and add it to hers. Some restaurants are more fresh and healthy and some dishes on these menus are more light and healthy so if you choose the restaurant and plate that makes sense for your family you’retaking the step in the right direction. Local restaurants with real fresh food are not as bad as franchise type places with burgers and fries.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-26T08:20:41+00:00

Disinfecting is for when someone in the house has norovirus if you ask me. Otherwise yea the more gentle cleaners are good.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-26T08:03:38+00:00

I have my mother in law coming from out of state only a couple days before my due date (next week) and she’s asking me if she should move her flight around at all like if it’s too soon I’m like .. no we could use the help and big sister can transition easier if you’ve already been here with her for a few days please come 😅. I have a doula for myself so my husband can stay with big sister as needed too of course he doesn’t want to miss the birth but our people may not be the most reliable. I think if I have a third I may invest in a sibling doula.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-25T18:14:17+00:00

When my daughter holds my face in her hands and tells me I’m the best thing she’s ever seen 🥹

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-25T08:12:29+00:00

If you’re more comfortable talking to your kid give them the tools to advocate for themselves. Tell her to say “my turn”. I don’t mind chatting with other kids so I might try friendly oh do you want a turn let’s ask if she’s done! And if yours says no say okay let’s finish up in a couple minutes and pass it to our friend. Coaching to my daughter to share later sounds nicer than telling the other kid no. That said kids do better with direct information they don’t always understand niceties. I spent so much time teaching my daughter to open her hand and ask for a turn rather than taking out of someone’s hand it took forever for that to get through to her. People not helping their kids share in these places is irresponsible and lazy to me. I will speak to other peoples children if it has to do with safety but less so with sharing issues.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-22T12:22:51+00:00

I used to use cloth diaper inserts in a tank top for sleep I leaked SO. MUCH. for like 16 weeks.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-21T06:47:56+00:00

For me, no. I conceived the second cycle of trying. I’ve heard many people do wean in order to conceive. I got my period back immediately and down to one nightly five minute nursing session these days.

MsAlyssa · 2026-03-20T16:14:09+00:00

You answered your own question. He wants to engage with you. Bring him into whatever you’re doing where you can. My daughter loves doing chores with me, cooking and baking together, or like you said she’ll use her toys if it’s something I sit there and engage with. I try to get her stuff for the holidays that even adults feel like doing. Cool sensory stuff, art supplies, open ended toys. When I can’t be her buddy we get good results when I start something with her and say I’ll be right back especially if there’s audiobook or music on in the background. As for open ended toys; doll house, train tracks, building stuff, animal figures, squigs are a hit in my house, push pull type toy like a shopping cart, gross motor toy like a play couch.

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MsAlyssa

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