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Admit it. Most nursing bras are kind of industrial-looking. At least that is what I thought when I was shopping around for a nursing bra. I also found that while breastfeeding is natural and wonderful, it is also difficult and complex and sometimes it really hurts! The best advice I could find was to use warm compresses before nursing and cold compresses afterwards. But nobody could give me any tips for how to make the whole compress thing practical or COMFORTABLE! So, my design was patented and Nizo Wear was born. I firgured while I was at it I should make them pretty as well. Nizo Wear makes nursing bras that are de both functional and pretty. Lace and rhinestones, playful prints, shapely lines, all designed to help you feel stylish and good again.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Top 7 must-haves in your postpartum kit

I was recently asked what I would have in my postpartum kit. That is one thing I wish I knew before I had my son so I thought I would share my insight. If you have a different item we'd love to hear it! Please share...

What would be in my postpartum kit?
*2-3 quality nursing bras: A quality bra is essential to maintain breast health. You should typically have one sleep bra and one soft cup to start with. Why 2-3? Because darn it, you will probably not be as on top of the laundry as you would like to be.
*reusable hot/cold packs: heat to help encourage your let down when you first start nursing(don’t worry, this will happen on its own once you become established. You will become so good at this that your boobs may respond to any crying baby, which is why you want the next item on my list) and for the cool relief on your tender nipples who are wondering what the heck is going on.
*soft, absorbent, reusable nursing pads-the key here is SOFT and ABSORBENT! The last thing you are going to want to place on your sore nipples is a scratchy nursing pad. Super absorbency is essential to prevent bacteria from forming on your breasts from a moist environment. I was not much of a leaker, but I liked to have the pad for the softness and the barrier for the cream so my nursing bras did not get gunked up. (softest I've seen is made by Willow Sprouts).
*nipple cream-make sure it is all natural and safe because inevitably baby will be coming in contact with it. This can rapidly improve healing if you should need that. (I like Mother Love nipple cream).
*phone number of a knowledgeable support person who makes house calls- because more than likely it is a factor of when you need her, not if you need her. I thought I was prepared since I had the phone number of the hospital lactation consultant, but really, this breastfeeding thing will be a piece of cake right? Boy was I wrong! Sure it is a simple process but it can be complex and sometimes painful. Having your support person come to you can be the single reason you decide to stick it out through the discomfort (and figure out what the real problem is) or quit. My breastfeeding support angel had helped hundreds of women and she took one look at my nipple (yes, there is no more dignity at this point) and gave me a nipple shield and instructions on how to prevent my son from continuing to cause me to crack and bleed (the tip of his tongue was flicking my nipple. from the outside, he looked like he had the perfect latch).
*reusable water bottle-and keep it filled because the minute you sit down you will think, darn I am SO thirsty! And believe me, the last thing you are going to think of when your baby is screaming to be fed is, “oh, hang on honey…mommy’s going to need some water”
*perineum bottle-no explanation needed here.
*good book on tape-this worked wonders to keep me awake for those middle of the night feedings. I learned early on that turning on a light to read an actual book was confusing my son to think that it was time to wake up! Bad.

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