A Nursing Mama's 2014 Holiday Gift Guide

Well, it's that time again! Everyone asks what you want and you just kind of stare blankly at them. Not because you don't have a wish list, of course, but because you haven't slept in so long that it takes a few minutes for the wheels to start turning....

Never fear! We're here with a list of our favorite necessary items and little luxuries that will make a nursing mama's life a bit easier and sweeter. Feel free to share it with your clueless spouse or well-meaning in-laws, or maybe use it to discover ideas for another nursing or expectant mother in your life.

Soothing Gels - $7.97

If you have not tried these amazing, magical, wonderful things yet, you are really missing out. The ultimate treatment for sore nipples, gels are a must-have for all those brave mamas who are still in the first six-week window.

Lactation Tea - $8.50

Supply-boosting teas, while effective, taste notoriously gross. Having tested many of the most popular brands, I have to say that David's Tea's "Tea My Baby" breaks that mold. It's DELICIOUS. The addition of cinnamon and cocoa seem to be what really make it sing!

Reusable Nursing Pads - $10.00

Like cloth diapers, reusable nursing pads have many benefits like money saved in buying a million disposables, a more environment-friendly product, and the availability of cute designs! I love all the adorable, customizable options this seller has for a pretty great price!

Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies - $15.82

These made an appearance on last year's gift guide, but they are really THAT AWESOME that we had to bring them back this year. While not technically lactation cookies (no brewer's yeast), they do have oatmeal and protein, and are utterly decadent treats.

Nursing Infinity Scarf - $20.00

While we don't insist that nursing mamas cover up, some simply feel more comfortable with a light cover. If this is you, then check out this fantastic scarf: it's beautiful, lightweight, and easy to use when your little one wants a quick sip while you're out and about!

Nursing Necklace - $29.00

This seller has lots of lovely nursing necklaces to choose from, but the animation geek in me went "SQUEE!" when I saw this adorable My Neighbor Totoro necklace! A great toy for your baby to play with while he nurses (instead of pulling your hair like he usually does....).

Sexy Nursing Bra - $34.00

Do you live in cheap nursing tanks and stained old nursing bras? Well, turns out you can add a little allure back into your wardrobe while still keeping the girls available for that hungry baby. Nursing bras come in some gorgeous styles and for all different body types, so don't be shy: try one!

Henley + Flannel Pajamas - $39.50

Sure, that sexy bra will be great now and then, but after a while, you know you're going to go back to your comfort clothes. A soft, pretty pair of PJs is indispensable when you're going to be up at all hours nursing, so check out all the beautiful options that Victoria's Secret has!

Apparel Gift Card - Your Choice

Not only has nursing wear improved in recent years, but there are a lot of non-nursing styles out there that can still work great for a breastfeeding mom. My personal favorite is a knit dress with a surplice or wrap neckline, allowing easy access for baby and a stylish look. Money for clothes is nearly always a win!

Kindle Fire HD6 - $99.00

If you're still in the early days when each nursing session is at least a half-hour and you seriously need some entertainment, or if you have a busy toddler who needs to be distracted while you nurse his sibling, a tablet can be a great tool for you! For the price, this one has terrific value! There are also older generations that are even cheaper, if you prefer.

And there you have it! Breastfeeding mama gifts to fit every budget this season!

What's on your wish list this year?

Maxi Dress Nursing Look

Maxi Dress Nursing Look by missy-roode featuring a ruched dress

I don't know about you, but I LOVE Fall, and especially Fall fashions! Even better is this brief time between Summer and Fall, when it's still warm enough to wear your lightweight staples, but you can have fun with layering and darker colors.

This would be my ideal nursing look for right now: The maxi dress is simple and flattering, with boho crochet detailing and a surplice neckline that makes quick and inconspicuous nursing a breeze! Cover up with a chambray shirt, either left open or tied at the waist, and add details in cobalt, cognac, and leopard. And remember, comfort is key!

What are some of your favorite current fashions? Any tips for a cute and functional nursing look? Share your ideas in the comments, and let us know what you think of this outfit!

The Other Breastfeeding Essentials

Today we have a guest post from blogger Kary of Always Painted Usually Chipped, with her recommendations for products that helped her along her breastfeeding journey.

My breastfeeding journey was a long but good 14 months. It started with an extremely anxious pregnant woman and ended with a happy & healthy toddler (and mama!) I’d love to come back to share more details with you, but today I want to share with you my non-traditional list of breastfeeding essentials. Sure, you need your Boppy (LOVE that thing), some burp cloths and of course an iphone to pass the time, but these were my other go to items for the past year (plus!).

1 – Forever 21 $10.81 Jeans – These jeans saved me from a mini breakdown in the mall. After giving birth to my son I was elated to fit back in my prepregnancy jeans pretty quickly. It was so awesome…for about a week. Then I just kept losing more and more and more weight. My body could not keep up with the milk production. I didn’t want to buy all new clothes, but I HAVE to have jeans in my wardrobe. For a self-proclaimed jeans snob, I was shocked when these F21 jeans saved me. They are dirt cheap and fit perfectly. I am just about to outgrow them and get back to my regular jeans, thank goodness, but they were the perfect temporary jeans.

2 - Snacks!! -  In addition to new jeans I also had to buy and eat a TON of food. I like snacks, but the amount I had to eat to keep up with my son eating every two hours was ridiculous. I ate more while breastfeeding than while pregnant, times three. I went through bags of nuts and boxes of these Special K sandwiches, in addition to a ton of oatmeal, guacamole, hummus, string cheese, etc. I felt like I weaned off the snacks as I weaned my son off the breast.

3 – Button-Up Shirts – My personal favorite are from JCrew and JCrew Factory. They are just thick enough so you don’t have to worry about nipple coverage if you just slip on a nursing tank and just thin enough so that you are not sweating (because postpartum hot flashes are no joke!).

4 – Coobie Bras – I wore these bras while pregnant and for a solid year after giving birth. I just put on a real bra for the first time and I feel like a pre-teen with the itch factor going on. These bras fit me from my size A to my full C milk boobs, and back to my size A after breastfeeding. I never found a nursing tank that I LOVED. Sure, there were some that I liked, but I didn’t love any of them like I loved these bras.

5 – Perry Mackin Diaper Bag – I tried quite a few diaper bags. If I’m telling the truth, I tried three. Okay, okay, six. I tried six. After all my trials though I can honestly say that this is the bag for me. I love it and haven’t been inclined to switch since I got it.  You may not think of a diaper bag as a breastfeeding essential, but my son nursed every 2 hours until he was about 8 months old and refused a bottle. If I wanted to leave the house, he was coming with me and that meant bringing diapers, a blanket for a cover, an outfit change, snacks and water for me, etc. Definitely an essential in my book.

6 – Gel Pads – I keep wanting to remove these from my list because I really only used them for the first month, but I can still feel the love I had for these gel pads deep in my heart. The relief of getting one out and putting it on during that first, stress-inducing, nipple-hurting, “can I really do this?" month of breastfeeding keeps them on my list. To be fair, these are not the exact ones that I used since our hospital gave us some, but these seem to be the closest.

Kary is a stay at home mom to an energetic toddler and two cats. She is a military wife to an amazing man and she appreciates him very much for doing the cooking! You can find her over at Always Painted, Usually Chipped.

Thanks, Kary!

For more breastfeeding essentials, check out Christa's post, 5 Things You Really Need to Breastfeed.

Nursing Wear for the Mama on the Go

With NYC fashion week in full swing, I can't help but want to spruce up my own wardrobe.  I suddenly find getting dressed in the mornings so much harder.  I don't want to show my stomach when I nurse in public, so I often wear nursing tanks under my clothes.  I've compiled a few of my go-to looks that not only look great, but make nursing easy.

jacket // nursing top // jeans // shoes

I wore a bit of H&M Maternity while pregnant and was excited to see they made nursing tanks, bras and shirts as well.  This double layer nursing top is a great place to start an outfit for a day around town with baby.

 

jacket // top // skirt // booties

Let's be honest, date night has taken on a new meaning.  For me it's always rushing through dinner because the baby is fussy, or trying to get home in time for a bedtime nursing session (if we were lucky enough to get a baby sitter)!  I've found that the dresses in my closet have stayed in my closet, and I've been favoring skirts and blouses instead.  There's no easy way to nurse in a dress unless it has a low neckline.  This blouse is perfect for nursing- the buttons go low enough that you could unbutton it to nurse, or simply lift it up.

 necklace // pants // top // heels

Work seems like the only place I can break out my statement necklaces these days for fear of having them tugged and broken by my little one.  I often choose blouses like this one over a button down because it's much easier to pull over my head for a pumping session.  Add in some great shoes and necklace and no one will ever know you were up all night with a teething baby!

What are some of your staple pieces for nursing your little one?  Tell me about it!

Nursing Necklace Roundup

Last year at this time, I thought a lot about what my holiday would be like with an almost 10 month old baby.  To me, 10 months old seemed so far out.  I couldn't have even predicted how much different Christmas would be with an on the move baby.  Nor would I have realized the struggles involved in nursing a curious, distracted little one during the holidays.  I hear mothers say all the time that their nursling pulls off and squirms while nursing and they need to know how to fix it.  I have found a super simple solution...nursing necklaces.  You may not think that a necklace would interest your baby but really it can distract my little one from almost anything.  Here is my round up of my favorite breastfeeding accessories.

Teething Bling:

This was my very first nursing necklace that I got when Jad was 5 months old.  He was just starting to get really distracted and I needed something to tame him.  These are simple pendant necklaces that come in a wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes.  They are silicone and safe to chew on.  With the minimal design, they are easy to keep clean as well.  They are having a sale which takes their necklaces down as low as $9.99.

Alphabet Soup Busy Beads:

These were my first wooden beads I tried.  This is a nursing necklace that is made of different size wood beads and different textures to occupy the baby.  They go really well with most of my wardrobe and are virtually undetected as anything other than a normal accessory.  Alphabet Soup Busy Beads retail for $19.99.

Jelly Strands:

This is definitely my favorite silicone necklace.  Instead of just one pendant, this is a strand of silicone beads.  You can get them in all sorts of style and colors and they can be worn everyday.  I love to strap this one in my purse loop on my Boba and throw it back to occupy Jad while going about my day.

Boubeads:

This was my latest addition to my nursing necklace obsession.  Boubeads will actually custom make your beads.  This was my recent custom I had made for my birthday.

You give them colors and combinations and they create a super cute and fashionable option that is safe and super fun for baby.  Custom strands are about $43.00, ready to purchase run about $24.00. Jad gives them a thumbs up.

Follow My Jordanian Nugget's board Nursing Necklaces on Pinterest.

How to you keep your nursling on task?

From Bump...to Baby...to Boobs: Making Your Wardrobe Transition

There is always a ton of talk about all the things you buy for your baby that you probably do not need.  On the opposite end of that, there were a bunch of things we did not have that we definitely needed.  One of the biggest was clothes that made it easy to breastfeed.  No one really mentioned to me to invest in a wardrobe that was nursing friendly.  When I came home from the birth center, my nursing arsenal consisted of two sleep bras and two nursing tanks...that was it.  I remember wanting to go out of the house and all I had was this flimsy sleep bra and huge porn star boobs, I then proceeded to do what any hormonal new mom would...cry because I needed more bras.  Along with bras, I needed to figured out how I was going to dress my ever changing postpartum bod to facilitate feeding my little nugget.

The first couple of weeks:

When you bring your new baby home, you will be in maternity clothes still. If you are like me, you will be 9 months postpartum and your husband is folding a pair of super elastic preggo pants telling you how you look so sexy in them.  You will still be wearing your maternity shirts, too.  In fact, you will look about 6 months pregnant and will probably be asked as such if you do not have a newborn strapped to you.  There was always this whole line of maternity clothes that doubled as nursing wear and I never understood how so many women could be pregnant and nursing at the same time.  That isn't the case.  It is that so many women look like they are pregnant while they are nursing their newborn.


So what does a woman wear?  First, I suggest black.  You supply hasn't yet regulated so when your baby unlatches your tatas will still be spraying milk.  If you don't have on dark colors and your shirt does end up soaking wet, no one will look twice because they will assume your life is in a disarray with a newborn. You probably have a black v-neck tee laying around, my favorite were my American Apparel tees from my college days.  They were stretched out and soft.  I wore them under everything.  This would allow me to pull up my maternity shirt and pull down the v neck.  V-necks are your friend.  You will soon be shopping for only v-necks.  By having two shirts, you will also be covering up much of your tatas, this is nice in the beginning when you are pretty unsure of yourself and still trying to position your baby while not flashing innocent bystanders.

You made it a month:

So you are finally getting into the groove of things.  Breastfeeding is probably easier and you may have been able to successfully complete the big NIP (nursing in public).  Buy yourself a new scarf!  What random advice, right?  You have probably bought the most random items for your baby during your late night nursing sessions ($30 baby nail file...definitely need that), now is time to treat your self to something... that is actually still for the baby.  I like to add a scarf with my outfit because 1. They are fun and add color and 2. You are able to cover your top boob while nursing and they act as a deterrent for when your little octopus starts nipple lashing you.  My favorites are my American Apparel circle scarves...yep, I love American Apparel.  A circle scarf can easily be turned into nursing cover and who doesn't love a multi-purpose item.

Nursing tanks are super expensive so I found the stretchiest tank I had and just pull it down over my boobs.  It covers my stomach and it was free because I already had it!  Another favorite piece of clothing for this time frame is cardigans. They hide the side boob and act as a shield while out.  It gives you the option to layer without bulk as well.

You are heading back to work:

So, you cuddled, you napped and you recovered.  Maternity leave is over and you are heading back to work.  Think this means that you will be able to wear your fancy schmancy wardrobe again?  Not a chance.  I still had about 20-30 pounds making the commute with me each day so although I wasn't breastfeeding during the day, none of my clothes fit to make me look cute.

I had to go buy myself some acceptable pants that were not leggings to get me back in the office.  Add a blazer and some cute heels and you will look like new.  I find that it is easiest to stick to stretchy fabrics and minimal layers while working.  You still need to pump, which means you still need to have access to the boobs.  Make sure you phone is charged to occupy yourself during pump breaks and get a great bag to carry your pump in because pumping sucks and cute bags make it a tad bit better.

You have become a breastfeeding goddess:

The snap of your nursing bra triggers your baby to immediately latch on in Pavlov's dog fashion, your have compared NIP to a Victoria's Secret Ad, you have come to terms with your dwindling wardrobe and may have even nursed in front of your father-in-law.  You can practically do it all.

You know what clothes work for you and you may have even added some of those high-price nursing shirts to your wardrobe.  Your clothes are no longer frumpy and sloppy but fitted and fabulous and still functional for your baby.  It will only get better and easier from here and you know now to buy to those maternity/nursing shirts from the start.  Strand up some Busy Beads for your toddler and let the liquid gold flow.

The Must-Haves:
Your pre-pregnancy and maternity wardrobes are able to be altered to make breastfeeding easier, there is no questions there.  I still suggest two things that need to be added to make you comfortable: Great nursing bras and a hands free pumping bra.  A regular bra just doesn't cut it, you need to be able to snap down the cup to feed.  Your pre-pregnancy bras are probably no where close to fitting.  Get measured and stay tuned for my next post on how to choose the best nursing bra.  If you are working, or pumping exclusively, you need a hands-free bra.  If not only so you can Facebook while you pump to kill time

So tell me, did you buy a whole new wardrobe to nurse in or just figure out how to make your current one work?