A Breastfeeding Stool. No, not that kind of stool. ;)

Ok, World Breastfeeding Week may be over, but I have another quick review of another nursing accessory. I bought the Medela nursing stool on a whim. Ya know, the kind of whim where you have one of those $5 off a $25 purchase at BabiesRUs, but can't figure out what you need? Well, this was while I was still pregnant and I thought it seemed like a good idea, and if I didn't actually use it for nursing, I have short legs... it might make TV watching on my couch more comfy.

I have to say, while it totally not a necessity, it DOES make nursing and even just sitting in the rocking chair or on the couch a whole lot more comfy! This could have something to do with my smaller stature (my feet don't touch the ground when I sit all the way back on the couch) but there IS something to this whole stool thing... A couple of weeks ago when I was having my hair cut and colored, I was offered a stool to prop my feet up on as I sat in the heat chair. I said, "Absolutely!" I looked at everyone else in the room sans-stool with pity. If they only knew!

For breastfeeding, I think it really helps your posture as it lifts your legs up a bit and allows you to have the baby lifted up more without having to lean towards your baby and killing your back. If I don't have the nursing stool handy, I have to sit on the couch or bed cross-legged to get myself in position that doesn't kill my back. Of course, you also don't have to buy the specific slanted nursing stool that Medela and others make, you could just purchase a small step stool that can later be put to use in the bathroom for your little kiddo to reach the sink. I love things with multiple uses and that certainly would be put to good use in the future, but I think there just may be something to the angle of the Medela stool- I am sure it is a little more natural. Skeptical? Read all of the rave reviews on amazon.com.

For all you breastfeeding moms out there- what are your thoughts on nursing stools-Did you use one?

Bebe au Lait nursing cover GIVEAWAY!

I think one of the most convenient aspects of nursing is that you always have food with you, ready to go, at the right temperature, and in the most perfect delivery system with no mess. While some women are totally fine with nursing in public without a cover or blanket, I am not that comfortable doing so. Call me modest, but I prefer to use something to cover up while nursing in public as I am rather well-endowed and find it quite hard to nurse discreetly. An added bonus of using a nursing cover is that my easily-distracted little E can focus on the task at hand without the distractions of people walking by!

My choice of nursing covers is the Bebe Au Lait/Hooter Hider nursing cover. Sure, you could throw a blanket over you and the baby, but that isn't nearly as attractive or functional as the Bebe au Lait nursing covers! They come in the hippest, most fashionable fabrics- I can not tell you how many times I get complimented on my covers! I have the Yoko and Kimono (sadly, I think this one has been retired) patterns. If funky patterns aren't your thing, Bebe au Lait has added an organic line of nursing covers in sweet pastel tones most recently. The covers also offer a unique ribbing inside the top - so that the top curves out, allowing you to have eye-to-eye contact with your babe while he is eating; this also allows for more ventilation than just using a blanket. The cover wraps around your neck with a soft, fabric, adjustable strap, so this puppy isn't going anywhere unlike a blanket just tossed on your shoulder.

The size of the cover is very generous- larger than other brands, so it offers you the most coverage. That's something important to me, as I don't wear nursing shirts and don't like my post-baby belly hanging out for all to see! One corner of the Bebe au Lait is a small pocket covered in terry cloth - for quick clean ups and to store things like a paci or nursing pads. My Bebe au Lait is something that is ALWAYS in the diaper bag. They sure don't take up much space and double as a lightweight blanket, diaper changing pad, sun-shade on top of the infant carrier, and something for E to play peek-a-boo with in a pinch.

If you're confused as to the two different names, the company originally called the covers Hooter Hiders, then changed the name to Bebe au Lait. Fans of the Hooter Hider name were upset! So, the company makes nursing covers under both names... but the actual nursing cover is the same- the tag is the only difference! Aside from offering organic fabric choices, I wanted to mention that the Bebe au Lait company has taken additional steps in becoming more green by packaging all products in recycled and recyclable materials. Check out even more of their green efforts on their website!

Bebe au Lait has generously offered to sponsor a contest via the Gaga Greenies blog- we couldn't be more excited! To enter to win a Bebe au Lait nursing cover of your choice (that's right- you'll get to pick! Organic or a cool print- it's up to you!), please visit their website and peruse their goods. In a comment, tell us which cover you would choose if you won. Be sure to check out their other products too- gorgeous hooded towels, bibs, and burp cloths.

For additional entries do any or all of the following. Please note: to get your extra entries you must leave a separate comment on this blog post for each additional entry. Confused? Let us know if this doesn't make sense.

1. Follow us on Twitter - link to the right (or if you already follow) and leave a comment HERE on the blog letting us know, along with your Twitter username.

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3. Become a fan of Bebe au Lait on Facebook (or if you are already a fan)- and leave a comment HERE on this blog post letting us know your Facebook name.

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Contest will run until August 13th at midnight MST. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, August 14th. Please include your email address in your comment for notification or check back on August 14th to see if you were the lucky winner! Good Luck!

Breast Milk Storage Bags

As a first time mom I took every parenting class my O.B. office offered. In each and every class the nurse discussed the benefits of breastfeeding. I had every intention of giving breastfeeding a try but I didn't know many people who had tried and maintained exclusive breastfeeding. Most people I had spoken with said they had given breastfeeding a shot BUT; their milk didn't come in, they didn't have enough milk, the baby was too hungry, they didn't have the time, it hurt, etc, and so they supplemented with formula or they stopped nursing all together. I honestly thought that the majority of new moms tried nursing but eventually turned to formula. I would say that my dedication to breastfeeding didn't truly start until my milk came in. Not that I wasn't committed when T and I were still in the hospital but at that point it still didn't seem real to me. It wasn't until the morning that I woke up with gigantic rock hard boobs that I knew this was the most natural experience for T and I.

Let me tell you, breastfeeding didn't come naturally for me, and the emergency c-section didn't make it any easier immediately following T's birth. I remember reading in books and being told that a proper latch was not supposed to hurt. So why did my toes curl and my body wrench in pain every time T latched on for the first week or so? According to the nurses and lactation consultants I was doing everything right I just needed to give it a little time. It did get better, much better, and once I got the knack of breastfeeding I was determined to provide T with breastmilk for his first year of life. In my mind this meant stockpiling as much frozen milk as possible! When I reached over 200 ounces my husband and I purchased a deep freezer so the milk could remain frozen for a year if needed. I would need lots of milk storage bags to store all the milk I envisioned I would be able to collect. I was fortunate enough to be able to take a 5 month leave from work so during that time I pumped like crazy (in addition to nursing T). I set collection goals for myself (200 ounces, 400 ounces, etc). I felt a huge sense of accomplishment each time I added to my stash. So, through this process I tried out a variety of milk storage bags. While the 'greener' storage solution would be to use reusable breastmilk storage bottles or containers that wasn't an option for me with the quantity that I was looking to store.

The first bags I tried were the Medela Pump and Save breastmilk bags. These bags are BPA free, feature a zipper top, no-spill bottom, and exclusive self-stick strap that attaches to breastpump. The bags also have a special double-walled plastic which retains the beneficial properties of breastmilk. These bags are pre-sterilized, disposable, long-term freezing bags, and are compatible with all Medela breastpumps for pumping directly into the bag. I never pumped directly into the bags so I can't comment on the that feature. These bags hold 5 ounces of expressed breastmilk and feature a tab that allows you to record your name, amount stored, and the date. In general I loved these bags but I wish that they would hold just one more ounce! These bags will cost around $18.99 for a 50 count. These are definitely the priciest of the 4 mentioned here but they do seem to be the best quality.

The Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags became my go to bag. The main features I liked about this bag were that it is BPA free, has a double zipper feature, and it can hold 6 ounces. I felt that the more milk I could store in a bag the more room I may be able to save in my freezer. This bag also features a pretty large tab to write pertinent information on. I loved how flat these bags froze when placed flat in the freezer. They froze in super thin sheets and saved me a ton of room. However, these bags are thiner than the Medela bags which I didn't think was a problem until I started to defrost my frozen milk. There were a number of times when I would defrost the milk in a container of warm water and the bag would begin to leak. Can you imagine my horror! It seems like these bags tear or ding easily. I had to resort to defrosting all my Lansinoh bags inside another plastic zip lock bag so I could save any milk that could possibly leak out of a tiny tear or hole. I never had any problems with my Medela bags leaking. However, after my experience with leaking bags I will ALWAYS defrost the storage bags inside a zip lock bag, no matter what the brand of storage bag I used. The Lansinoh bags will cost about $11.99 for a 50 count. These seem to be the best value out there.

I also tried out The First Years Easy Pour Milk Storage bags. These were my least favorite of the milk storage bags I tried. Honestly, I hated them. In my opinion they were bulky, I hated the easy pour handle, and the easy pour spout was by no means easy. These bags also held 6 ounces which was the only aspect that I liked. Another downfall of these bags is that they do not have a tab to write the date and ounces stored. The space to write the information is right on the center of the bag. Call me crazy or paranoid, but I didn't want my milk laying against marker ink. I imagined the ink seeping through the plastic and tainting my precious milk. I also felt that these bags were pretty thin and I thought the 'zipper' was difficult to close. I would use these bags again if I was in a pinch and had nothing else available, but that is about the only circumstance. The First Years milk storage bags will set you back about $7.00 for a package of 25. (I could not locate info on if these bags are BPA free)

A friend of mine uses the Gerber Seal N Go storage bags and loves them. I have not been impressed with any Gerber product that I've tried so I didn't even bother to try these bags out. The Gerber bags will cost around $12.99 for a 45 bags. (I could not locate info on if these bags are BPA free)

The Lansinoh bags were the primary bags I used and they met my needs. I will definitely use these bags again with future babies, BUT will always defrost them inside another zip lock bag. Without these milk storage bags I would not have been able to store upwards of 800 ounces of breastmilk for my little T. (800 ounces may sound like a lot, but if your little one is drinking 20 ounces of breastmilk a day those 800 ounces will only last 40 days!) In the end, I did meet my goal of providing T exclusively with breastmilk for his first year of life. Wahoo, what a great sense of accomplishment and what a wonderful give for my little guy!

The infamous boppy

OK, ok... I know it's on the top registry item list at Babies R Us and pretty much everyone has them.... But I just have to sing the praises of the Boppy nursing pillow. I am utterly lost without mine. I know plenty of women for centuries have nursed without the assistance of a Boppy pillow, but I just can't imagine they were as comfortable as I am when I am nursing! When I first began nursing my son at the hospital, I was swallowed up by a dozen (worthless) pillows propping us up on my hospital bed in an effort to make those first nursing sessions as comfortable as possible. Why didn't I bring that darn Boppy to the hospital?? Lord knows I packed EVERYTHING else imagineable (my husband will tell you stories about the bottles of SmartWater that I made him lug in to the hospital because I thought I wouldn't like the hospital water... he then lugged the bottles out when we were discharged. Ooops!) I digress. Upon my arrival to the comforts of my abode, I busted out that Boppy for my first nursing session at home and I felt the tension release from my back, shoulders, and arms for the first time in, well, two days. ;)

I love how the Boppy positions my son, E, for nursing so I can be hands-free, if needed. I work full-time from home and with E propped on the Boppy nursing, I can easily work on my laptop with both hands! It also has worked through the months (he is 12.5 months now), at many baby sizes (in my experience: from 6ish lbs at birth to now almost 18lbs), and through many stages (from the limp newborn to the wriggly toddler). It explicitly states to NOT do this on the tag, but it also cuddled little E while he slept propped up in it next to me on the floor. The Boppy can also be used as a tummy time pillow. Although it is a lot bigger than the tummy-time specific mats/pillows, it works just as well and if baby really hates tummy time (as E did), they might enjoy it a little more on the bigger boppy because they'll be assisted a little more and cuddled all the while. That's E pictured above using the Boppy for some tummy time at two months old.

E and I are not the only ones to use the Boppy, though. My husband and mom used it a lot in the early days when holding E because it kind of is like an arm rest. It allows you to hold baby for hours without wearing out those biceps! And we've all been known to use it as a regular old pillow - even our cat, Lola, has curled up inside it.

But of course, the workhorse of the Boppy is for nursing in this household. After less than a week of nursing, I decided I wanted an extra- to keep in the car for on-the-go nursing while I was still figuring things out. (I do nurse out of the house without my boppy now... I just don't like it! I figure dragging a Boppy into a restaurant or stuffing it in the stroller basket is a BIT ridiculous.) When traveling for any length of time, if we're going by car, the Boppy is coming with, but when we travel via air, I sadly have to leave it at home. I really, really, really think Boppy should come out with an inflatable version to travel with. I would pick that up in a heartbeat! Nowadays, the extra Boppy has been moved into the house, so I have one upstairs in my bedroom and another in our family room.

Boppy has lots of options to customize your pillow with fun patterned and textured covers and even an organic cover. I have 4 covers for my Boppies; my favorite two are the Organic Sweet Pea (super soft and attractive) and the Soft Boa Blue Green (Like a velour fabric- really soft and cozy). I think the only thing that could make Boppy better is if they offered an organic Bare Naked pillow.

To put it simply, I think the Boppy RULES. It is my favorite nursing accessory... and I feel lost without it! My Boppies have logged many, many hours of usage and I look forward to using it for many more hours!

Reusable Nursing Pads

I honestly had no idea what to expect once my milk came in. I had heard horror stories about women finding themselves in public with huge wet circles on their chest. However, I never truly believed these stories. That all changed one morning when T was a few days old and I awoke with gigantic rock hard boobs and in a pool of wetness! When my milk came in boy did it come in! I had what is referred to as over supply and my body didn't correct itself for many months. So yes, I did end up leaking quite a bit.

On the top of my list of necessary breastfeeding items is investing in some quality reusable nursing pads. I tried disposable nursing pads and hated them. I thought they: were horribly uncomfortable, smelled to high heaven when they were 'full' and sitting in the trash can, never stayed in place, and I always felt guilty throwing a set into the trash. I invested in a few different types of reusable pads.

On the top of my don't waste your money list are the Gerber reusable pads. In my experience they were small, uncomfortable, and didn't absorb anything! I guess these could be okay if you don't really leak and just want the reassurance of coverage if needed. I needed pads that were super absorbent, which the Gerber pads were not. I did find success with the Medela reusable nursing pads. I found that almost all the nursing pads I tried, both reusable and disposable, are not 100% discrete. I felt that the Medela reusable pads became more discrete while I was wearing them. It seemed like they needed to mold to my body. Other brands that I tried never seemed to take my shape. The Medela reusable pads didn't seem to get very good reviews and the biggest complaint was leaking. I never had a issue with leaking when I wore these pads. Recently, when I was browsing the aisles at a local baby superstore I found that they now carry organic reusable nursing pads in the store. SWEET!

Nursing pads are not meant to be worn all day, just as disposables they will need to be changed. In many ways nursing pads are similar to diapers. Nursing pad are designed to wick away the moisture just like diapers. However, many disposable pads are made with poly-acralite, the same chemical found in disposable diapers. The beauty of reusable pads is that they also wick away moisture but with natural fibers. Both types of pads need to be changed just as you change a diaper on your child. If you are a cloth diapering mama who likes the natural aspect of cloth and don't want the chemicals in disposable diapers on your babies heiney why put those same properties on your breasts? If you are a disposable diapering mama why not make your breastfeeding experience a little greener? (Plus, do you really want those chemicals laying against your little one's primary food source)?

A nursing pad that I stumbled upon today when browsing the internet is the super stylish and organic bamboo posh pads (pictured above). I am now in LOVE with these reusable pads and wish I could justify stocking up. I guess I'll have to wait until my next pregnancy. These pads are organic, fashionable, economical, and eco friendly. The absorbent material is made from organic bamboo and the stylish outer fabric is made from organic cotton. Bamboo is a fiber that is naturally antibacterial and is one of the most sustainable resources around. Bamboo is also hypoallergenic, deodorizing, does not retain odors, and is biodegradable. I don't think it's possible to get any more eco friendly with your nursing pads than with these posh pads!

"Our POSH Pads are extremely absorbent, but not bulky. They mold to your breasts, unlike contoured pads that may or may not fit you. Our standard size is 4.5 to 5 inches in diameter, but we welcome custom fits as well. Beautiful and so soft, POSH Pads shout comfort! Your doing the best for your baby, now you can do the best for your breasts".

These pads are slightly more expensive at around $45 for a pack of 6 sets or $8.95 for 1 set. With that said, I still think they are worth it. What new mom doesn't deserve to pamper herself with a little style in her breastfeeding accessories? When giving your baby the wonderful gift of breastfeeding why not treat yourself to a little gift too? In honor of World Breastfeeding Week the owners (Robyn and Jessica) of posh pads will be donating a percentage of their sales to www.wellstart.org.

Reusable nursing pads can be just as convenient as disposable pads. The only difference, you throw them in the wash. Reusable pads won't add to your laundry load as they are relatively small. Reusable pads are environmentally friendly as well as budget friendly. Keep in mind that each breastfeeding experience is different. Some people leak very little if at all and may not need nursing pads. Others, like myself, are geysers once our milk comes in!

Tip for leaking when nursing at home: When I first started breastfeeding I hated to watch myself leak from one boob when T was nursing on the opposite side. I was watching my, 'liquid gold' get collected in a nursing pad that would get tossed in the wash. This all changed with a tip from my good friend, A. She suggested that when I nurse T on one boob I hold a pump bottle with the breastshield attached under the other boob. The shield would act as a funnel and would collect what I leaked. I was amazed! At times I would be able to collect upwards of 4 ounces off one side! I am so grateful that she gave me that tip and I was able to save some valuable breastmilk. THANKS A!

Note from Jackie: I just wanted to share my 'leaking' experience since all moms are different. I actually only leaked once or twice once my milk came in, so I never had a need for nursing pads. That said, I was prepared for fountains of milk with a box of unopened disposable pads at home... I just kept the receipt and ended up returning them when I discovered I wouldn't need them. I think it is a good idea to have some ready to go so you're not running to the store trying to find them (or sending your husband to find them- good luck!)- just keep the receipt and make sure you can return them in case you don't need them.