B is for Boob Cart: A Kitchen Cart for All Your Nursing Needs
- Alicia
- Jan 29, 2018
- 5 min read
Breastmilk is magic. The components of breastmilk are miraculous, how the content changes as your baby grows, and even through the hours of the day! I feel very fortunate that I was able to breastfeed my baby; I love our nursing sessions when I get to cuddle up with him.
However, this was not always the case. My darling son had a tongue tie which caused me unbearable pain, (fortunately not the worst of my life because that box was checked by an "unmedicated" labor with added hours with pitocin.) Breast is best, but that does not mean it is easy.
When my baby first latched on after they cut it him out of my stomach, I was in awe that he knew exactly what to do. And boy, did that boy eat. He ate in the OR, he ate in the post-surgery room, he ate when we got to our hospital room. But I called a nurse nearly every time he ate during our five day hospital stay because it was tricky aligning him.
It is supposed to be the most natural thing in the world, but to when it comes down to it, I had never done it before and neither had my baby. We were both trying to teach each other, while not knowing what we were doing.
For the first few weeks at home, I had to build a pillow fort everytime I would feed him. I have THREE different breastfeeding pillows but still needed alternate pillow support to align my big headed, heavy baby with my watermelon-sized but nearly heavier boobs. I would get out of bed and feed him in the nursing chair because I just couldn’t sit up and hold him in bed.
I recently got my nails done and two moms across from me were getting pedicures while their babies sat on their laps. When one got fussy, the mom nursed him. No pillow fortress, just like, held him in her arms, his head in the crook of her elbow, her shirt pulled up but you couldn’t see anything.
I have been nursing my son nearly a year and I still do not know how to do it without flashing the world. My son pulls desperately at the nursing cover I use in public like he’s afraid he is going to miss something in the outside world.
On the rare occasions when I ventured away from the house (until very recently), I brought my Boppy and nursed him in the car. Maybe practice would have made perfect, but I never got the hang of nursing without a pillow in public.
And then there is the pain.
“It will be uncomfortable in the beginning, until your breasts get used to it,” they say.
When you call the nurse hotline in wild pain, they say the same thing.
Why don’t they say, “Hey breast is best, but it may hurt like a m-f-er.”
When I first started nursing, I needed a lot of help. My mom and sister bought everything at Target that had anything to do with nursing boobs. I bought everything that showed up on my Amazon searches in the middle of the night. With all the goodies, my mom made me a bin, with little pockets and holders for everything. (Have you ever tried to find a nipple shield in bed in the black of night?!?! A clear nipple shield?!?! Why don’t they make these things RED or glow in the dark?!?) Add in my hospital pump and all the bottles and parts it comes with, and you have . . .
THE BOOB CART
A whole kitchen cart devoted to your breasts. And girl, you need it. On a kitchen cart I could wheel the pump into the nursery if someone came to visit and I didn’t feel like continuing in the living room like a cow on display at the tour of your local dairy.
At night, I could wheel the cart into our bedroom and have all my creams and shields and sleeptime nursing bras at arms reach.
In the morning, I would wheel it back out with me to my armchair in the living room, where I spent most of my days.
These days I am not pumping after every feeding to keep my supply up. After Zane had his tongue tie clipped, my clogged duct issues nearly disappeared. My breasts are a lot more low maintenance than they were in the early days of nursing, but I am still a bit traumatized by the pain and heartache, and have not yet dismantled my breasts’ entourage.
I am hoping you, dear friend, will not need all this stuff, but better safe than sorry. When a 24 hour delivery from Amazon sounds light years away, you will be happy you stocked up.
What you need:
A rolling kitchen cart
I recommend Ikea's carts. I had a few in my classroom, one in my closet, one in the living room for games, and I think a few more hidden in corners of my house. "Kitchen carts" are surprisingly expensive, but Ikea wins again.
Pumping Bin
- Breast milk storage bags
- Sharpie
- Breast hot compress (to heat up before you pump or when engorged) *Recommended: TheraPearl Breast Therapy Packs
- Pumping bra for hands free pumping
Comfort bin
- Breast pads (for leaking) - I love Bamboobies, they are soft, machine washable, and don't bunch up in your bra
- Nipple balm or butter, anything really - I had like five and would recommend any of them
- More heating pads made for breasts because you and your family bought them all after that first mastitis scare
- Breast shield
- MUST HAVE: Breastfeeding Gel Pads - like Medela Tender Care Hydrogel Pads, keep some in the refrigerator for right after you nurse or pump
Nipple Shield Box
If your lactation nurse recommended a nipple shield for nursing you will need a special neon glow-in-the-dark compartment for that thing. Imagine nursing in the middle of the night and the CLEAR thin nipple shield slips out of the CLEAR tiny box, into the bedspread or your nursing chair while you try your very best to dig around, quietly cursing, either while your baby looses their mind because they are starving and awake or while you attempt not to wake the crazy milk starved fiend. That nipple shield will blend into everything. Imagine if you let a tween girl decorate something for you: glitter, neon, a light up unicorn, definitely bedazzled. This is what you need to keep your nipple shield in.
Other accoutrements:
Bamboo comb
- In case you start to get clogged ducts. I will explain later. Just buy it now and keep on hand.
Coconut oil
Nursing bra
- In the beginning I was so leaky and covering in nipple creams, I needed a clean one on hand. Target has really great thin comfy bras to sleep in or sit in your house in.
Eye mask
- I kept these everywhere around the house for those first few months. I'm not going to tell you to sleep when the baby sleeps, but when you do get a chance to close your eyes, make it count.
When experiencing "discomfort" on the edge of blinding pain, I recommend these steps:
1) Warm pack to make sure your milk flows out
2) Apply a nipple gel pad from the fridge
3) Nipple balm
4) Breast shield so your nipples can air out
5) After aired out, apply another cool refrigerated nipple gel pad or a Bamboobies breast pad for leaking
Repeat 3 to 48,000 times for the first few weeks.
I will post another recommendation for clogged ducts, but I am not emotionally prepared to go to relive that memory. Cabbage leaves do work, know this and you will be ok!
