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Get ideas for breastfeeding station essentials

 If you are bringing a new baby home be prepared for a lot of Eat, Poop, Sleep, Repeat! Especially the EAT part! Newborn babies nurse anywhere from 8-12 times a day and each session lasts about 20-45 minutes. That means you will be spending anywhere between 160-540 minutes breastfeeding every 24 hours! Yikes, that is a lot of time! You want to be prepared with all the breastfeeding station essentials so that you can enjoy that time with your little one. Here are the 9 items that are essential for an epic breastfeeding station.

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My Breastfeeding Station Essentials

Glider

Whether you buy a brand new glider or repurpose an old one like I did, you are going to want an extremely comfortable place to sit. This is a place that you are going to spend a lot of time cuddled up with your little one! Make sure the glider you pick (or repurpose) has good back support and a comfortable seat. Rocking or gliding is optional of course but is there anything sweeter than rocking a baby??

My friend has this glider and I always love nursing in it because it has a kick out footrest! So awesome! It leans almost all the way back which is also super clutch. If we end up replacing our old rocker when we decide to have another baby I would definitely consider purchasing it!

Cozy Blanket

A blanket is, of course, optional depending on climate and time of year. But a blanket thrown across the back of a rocker really has a way of pulling the room together. I got this waffle weave blanket to throw over the back of the rocker in my daughter’s room. I love it because it is lightweight so I don’t feel overheated snuggling with my little one. I bought it in twin size so that it would be big enough to cover my daughter and I and also fall all the way to the floor to cover my cold feet at night.

Receiving Blankets/ Burp Cloths

Burp clothes are an absolute necessity! They clean up spit up, protect your clothes, and can even be shoved into your bra if you forgot a nursing pad. (See my reoccurring problem below). I use cloth diapers because they are so incredibly absorbent! Cloth diapers can catch and soak up overspray (if you have a really forceful let down like I do).  I also like to use receiving blankets because, um hello, they are super cute! They are also bigger and cover more of your clothing than the cloth diapers do. The best thing is receiving blankets come in so many colors and prints that you will easily be able to find some to suit your style!

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Nursing Pads

Nursing pads are a major necessity! They keep those leaky boobs from dirtying up your clean bra and semi-clean clothes (you do have a new baby after all.)

If you are wondering which nursing pads I prefer… I really like the idea of the washable ones because I dislike the ecological impact of using lots of disposable nursing pads so I tried to use these as much as possible. But I also really like the disposable ones for work and overnight because they are SUPER absorbent and I don’t have to worry about it for a few hours.

Here’s some embarrassing honesty for you… For 6 months I kept my nursing pads in the hall closet, down the hall from the nursery! Why did I do this? I have no idea. Because I inevitably forgot to put in nursing pads I always had leaking boobs and a wet bra for months before I wised up and put the nursing pads in the nightstand drawer of the nursing station. Things are much better now. I am going to blame my stupidity on sleep deprivation. Learn from my mistakes. Please.

Small Lamp

You are going to want to get a little lamp for the top of your breastfeeding station. This lamp will be a lifesaver for evening feedings. Early on I started a bedtime routine with my daughter that included reading books right before her last feed of the night. Reading in our rocker with a cozy lamp on really helped set the tone for a quiet evening! Read about my sleep training night routine here!

Nothing will make you thirstier than nursing! Nursing requires a lot of water. According to KellyMom.com lactating mothers should be drinking an average of 13 cups or about 100 oz of water a day. That’s a lot! Make sure you are drinking adequate water by sipping on some cold water anytime your baby nurses!

I absolutely love my Beast Stainless Steel Tumbler. It keeps water cold for so long! I also love that it comes with the stainless steel straws. In my opinion drinking from a straw is so much easier when you are nursing. It’s dishwasher safe and it even comes with a straw cleaner! I can’t recommend it enough!

Snacks!

No nursing station would be complete without a small stash of snacks! Keep on hand granola bars, lactation cookies, or trail mix. Nursing Mamas need extra HEALTHY calories to nourish their little ones! Plan ahead by stashing the goodies away in one of the drawers of your nightstand!

Nightstand

While you could get by with a regular table upgrading to a nightstand with storage is a must! I found a little nightstand with wicker baskets for my daughter’s nursery at our local Ross after I got tired of knocking things off the top of the little tv stand I was using. I absolutely love it because it stores all the things I like to keep on hand for a nursing session.

Bonus Idea: Set up a Portable Nursing and Diaper Changing Station!

My friend had the genius idea of using this rolling cart and stocking it full of diapers, wipes, and all of my nursing station essentials. She was able to take it from room to room as needed! What a smart idea!

Bonus: Reading material/ Cell Phone

Yes, while you will spend lots of time looking down at your little one and marveling at the level of preciousness you created, you will probably also want to spend some time otherwise occupied. Keep a book on hand. Have you read Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child? I attribute my daughter’s excellent sleep habits to this book. It was recommended to me by 3 different people while I was pregnant! I pretty much followed Dr. Weissbluth’s instruction down to the letter. My daughter is now an excellent sleeper!

If reading is not your thing you can always have your cell phone on hand to catch up on Instagram or Facebook!

 

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