New mummy essentials

I can't believe the last time I was here, I wrote about my graduation, and now I am writing about mummy essentials!

I am now a junior doctor and a mother to a gorgeous 8 month old baby girl. Currently taking nine months off work to spend time with my baby and my loved ones and it has been absolutely wonderful! 

Quite a lot of my friends are also new or expecting mums and it has been so lovely having people to share knowledge and experience with. So without further ado! Since my list of "newborn essentials" is quite extensive, I have divided it up to mummy's and baby's. 

(Also, I am a fully breastfeeding mummy so a lot of these items will not apply to you if you are not planning to breastfeed)

1. Nursing pillow

You will spend an incredible amount of time breastfeeding, especially in the early days. Find one that's firm so your baby is well-supported. 

I got a simple U shaped pillow with a removable cover - it gets covered in spit up in no time lol. We also used the pillow to prop her up for tummy time, or like this:

Which gave us longer use from it as I no longer needed it for nursing after she could support herself. 

2. Waterproof lactation massager

I'm gonna be honest, the first few weeks of breastfeeding is horrendous. There will be swelling, blockage and for the unlucky ones (me), infections... 

Manually massaging with your hands is fine too, but so so painful. A lactation massager uses vibrations to break up the clog. A waterproof one is a bonus because you can use it in the shower. 

Hot shower + massager = clog buster!

This is the one that I used.

3. Lansinoh breast therapy

Soooooo useful. I have one in the freezer and one available to be heat up in the microwave. Can be used for engorgement (cold) and clogged ducts (hot). 

This is not specific to this brand, it was just the one I used. I'm sure there are lots of other brands out there too!

4. Medela breast pump

Now this is specific to this brand. I currently use the Medela Swing, not the latest model but still does an excellent job! It's not the most portable breast pump, but it makes up for it with the painless suction. Since I am fully breastfeeding, I opted for the single pump (hey, they're pricey!!). You can also easily find cheap storage bottles that are compatible with the pump. 

5. 1ml Luer slip syringes/ colostrum collectors

This is VERY specific. 

If you are planning to exclusively breastfeed, I would highly advise to harvest your colostrum (the early milk you make before making actual breastmilk). Actual breastmilk will only come around day 3 for most people and this is a huge anxiety for new mums. Please get in touch if you are interested to know more! 

Colostrum can be harvested from 36 weeks onwards into these little syringes. These can be frozen for up to six months. 

I had GDM during pregnancy, and was advised to harvest my colostrum. Babies born to GDM mothers have a higher risk of being hypoglycaemic (low blood sugar) after birth and are more likely to be jaundiced. I managed to harvest 21 syringes by the time I went into labour. We used them all up in the 3-4 days that it took for my milk to come in. Alhamdulillah, Aisyah's blood sugars were stable and she didn't get jaundice! 

Those are the top 5 things that I found really useful as a new mum. They might not be the same for everyone though!