We spend so much time preparing for the baby’s needs that sometimes mama gets lost in the crossfire.  Here are a few essentials that your body will thank you for in those bleary eyed first few weeks:

Your breasts will soon be working girls and they need to be well tended to. Even if you and your lil one jump right into nursing without a hitch, you’re still going to get pretty dry on some of your more tender bits.  Make sure you have this on hand from the get go:

Don’t worry, there are no chemicals or pesticides used in the production of Lansinoh and it won’t hurt your baby a bit.  Though it seems that nursing should be the most natural and simple thing in the world (it eventually is) don’t be scared if it takes your little nursing team a while to get it down.  Keep trying, keep talking, get help.  You should be able to find an active La Leche League group in your area and lactation consultants are a godsend.

If it helps you get through some tough times, just remember that it took my son and me eight weeks to get it down.  Don’t give up.  Ask for help wherever you can find it.  Any little tip can be the breakthrough that you’ve been looking for.

Of course you will need some nursing bras–I recommend four.  Get a couple of cheap ones that are enormous before the baby is born and then shell out for some well fitting, quality bras once your milk is established (3-4 weeks).  You’re going to be wearing this contraption for a year so make sure you’re happy with it.

These are also super nice:

Nursing tank tops are indispensable–the optional tiger print is of course up to you.  These are great to sleep in too.

This style actually features a detachable bra, which will come in very handy when your milk leaks all over and you need to change your shirt.

And speaking of leaking, these are a must have for when you actually venture out into public:

These are organic wool nursing pads which you can find at an incredibly reasonable price here. Wool is the way to go–absorbant, a natural fiber, anti-microbial, and it will let your skin breathe.  Never, never use nursing pads with a plastic backing because it can cause infections from the lack of air circulation.  Two or three pairs of re-usable nursing pads should suffice.

On that note, you might want to pick up a pack of these:

Those first few days aren’t really your prettiest time in life.  Lansinoh is pretty greasy, there will be milk leaking from you all the time, your belly is going to be suffering from aftershocks, you get the picture.  Having some “disposable” t-shirts around is a good thing.  You can always use them for rags once everything settles down.

And on the topic of rags, I will not make the mistake of going without these again:

It takes six weeks for your body to heal from birth.  Six weeks, folks, six weeks.  Using disposable pads becomes very unpleasant after about two weeks so take advantage of reusable cloth menstrual pads.   Here is a twelve pack if you’re not up to sewing some up, or else here are some great links with instructions on how to make ‘em yourself.

Happy baby growing and don’t forget to take care of yourself!

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2. mama finds, part two
3. mama finds: part 3
4. Polyester Finally Finds Its Modern Day Home
5. From the Studio: Nursing Clothes for the Rest of Us