| Sheri's Labour of Love List |
| Here's my list of things that I think every expectant mother needs to have. |
| Your Pregnancy week by week by Glade B. Curtis, M.D., OB/GYN and Judith Schuler, M.S. My copy is the 4th edition. I loved this book! It has excellent information regarding pregnancy and delivery; and also has great pictures of the developing baby. Kevin liked reading the 'Dad Tips". |
| A good breast pump. We purchased a Medela Manualectric Breastpump System #27100 which can be used manually as well as with an electric rental unit. We paid $36.19 Cdn for the pump and rented the electric component from Safeway for the first week. The rental was well worth it. I think that unless your milk comes in while you're in the hospital, it's worth having an electric rental and breast pump waiting for you when you get home. The brand of pump does matter - I tried to use two different pumps (one a hand pump- the other an electric) from a well known store (I think that one was a Gerber and the other was an Evenflo) and I got more milk out by hand expressing! We spent less money on the Medela and got a far superior product. I think that the best thing to do is to call your local health centre and talk to one of the nurses. We went with the suggestion of one of our amazing home/health care nurses. Or you can call the hospital's Breastfeeding Clinic and ask a Lactation consultant for their opinion. |
| Nipple cream. I use Medela's 'PureLan 100" which costs about $7.00 (Cdn)for 1.3oz. I used this product after every feeding for the first four months or so. I am still using it every night before I go to bed - and Caleb is 8 months old! I have not experienced any cracks or bleeding. I did gradually diminish my use of it - every other feeding and such, until I was down to this once a day application. |
| Hopefully your doctor will tell you if you have flat or inverted nipples. If you discover this after your delivery, you can purchase a nipple shield for around $10 Cdn.. Caleb and I struggled with latching on properly - and used a nipple shield with pretty good results. By 3 weeks old, Caleb was feeding without any suppliments and without using the shield. Perseverance is key! You can do it and it will get better! Remember that! |
| Iron enriched Formula. I was determined to breastfeed but we struggled at the beginning. It's worth it to have some formula in your cupboard for that first week. Even if your milk comes in right away and you don't need it, you can always use it later (as long as you haven't opened it already) for mixing with their cereal. |
| Nursing Nightgown. If you can only afford one article of nursing clothing - make this one your choice. It is so nice to be able to feed Caleb comfortably in the middle of the night! It also made things much easier in the hospital. |
| A nursing bra instead of a maternity bra. Credit for this goes to my Aunt Carol. I found that maternity bras were too flimsy for support. The maternity bras are designed to support you and to grow with you. If you are going to nurse, you're going to need one anyway. I found that I did have to get a larger size closer to the end of my pregnancy - but I've managed with two for the past 17 months!! |
| More to come....... |
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| A mom or sister or good friend to come and stay with you for the first couple of days. This will only work well if you and your husband want someone to come and help out. We were really gratefull for our mother's help after my unexpected c-section. I found that just having my mom there to encourage me in the late night feedings was a huge help. She also cooked our meals and made sure that I was drinking enough fluids. Kevin's mom brought meals to us and did our laundry. We were greatly blessed! |