@fantasynerd we had the crystals at first with C too! It happens to mostly everyone! You are doing great and will find the “perfect” for you and L soon!
The crystals are a byproduct of the baby getting out all of your extra (estrogen I think) hormones from their system, and are definitely prevalent in baby girls. We had lots of them with A, and I think a few with S. Your milk is probably only just starting to come in, or just about to come in, so she should start plumping up more when she’s getting the milk vs just the colostrum.
You are doing a perfect job @fantasynerd ! It is so freaking hard to figure out a rhythm of what works for you and baby. I mean hell, she can’t tell you, you’re brand-new, it’s a weird circus act even latching, you can’t measure or see or know what she’s getting. It’s absurd and everyone feels clueless in the beginning, you just have to try different things until you figure what works for your family. It sounds like you have a great plan in place! Btw—It does not sound like this is your issue but there are a lot of YouTube videos about breastfeeding if you ever need to try new positions to see which position she’s most “effective” at nursing from. They helped me try new things I never would have thought of and gave helpful tips.
You can. I always need them way before the dishwasher will be done though. You can wash with dish soap and a bottle brush. If you’re worried about sterilizing, you really don’t need to with a healthy term baby. But if you want to do it on occasion, either boil them in water for 5 minutes or get a microwave steam bag and just use that. If it’s just for convenience, go for it. Replacement parts are easy to come by if they get fucked up.
Just a heads up that this practice is no longer recommended. I never put mine in the dishwasher, just rinsed immediately after use and M washed them with bottle brush and dish soap when he did bottles.
I didn’t know that! At work I definitely used to rinse, keep in fridge, use again, then actually bottle brush wash with hot water and soap at home that day. Do you know if it’s not recommended because it doesn’t actually help at all or because it’s more harmful?
I don't remember all of the reasoning, just that I read about it back when I was pumping. I believe it was CDC guidance, maybe AAP. I couldn't hot water wash my pump parts at work so I bought the sanitizing spray and wipes and used those between work pumps.
I love the Medela quick clean soap. It’s spendy so I don’t normally use it, but if you’re in a hurry you really can just squirt some in hot water, swish stuff around, and rinse.
Actual question and then weird boob pumping thing. Nursing pillow? I have a My Brest Friend but kind of hate it. I have to buckle it or it doesn’t sit right and it’s not comfortable or easy to use. I don’t need anything super thick since my tits pretty much already touch my knees. I was thinking about just a basic Boppy? Lefty has always been the breadwinner. All through 14 months pumping for C1 and until a couple weeks ago. The only time Righty would produce more is when L had a clog but then would catch up next time. So now. Right lets down like immediately, and Left takes almost 5 minutes. And more and more Right produces more, by and ounce at least. WTF.
@CoolWife following along for the nursing pillow recs. Don’t be tricked by the Dr Brown Gia Nursing pillow reviews. It looks like a giant shrimp and it sucks.
That’s interesting to me! I love the Breast Friend pillow because it can snap up around me and stays tight to me. I’ve used other pillows but baby always falls between it and my stomach, so I find it to be much more supportive and keeps baby up.