A friend of mine is expecting her first baby next month! I wanted to get her something special and meaningful. I knew she was planning to breastfeed, and since it is a topic very close to my heart, I thought a gift of things to make that journey easier for her would be special! I had a lot of fun putting it together too!
I remember what it was like when I had Hasting. Before he was born, I thought breastfeeding was something that just came natural. You just stick your child to the breast, and it was all hunky dory from there.. Easy right? Not necessarily for all new mommies. I missed out on the support that I really needed from others. Sure, I had the support of my husband. But like me, he was new at this breastfeeding thing too.. And it's not like it was something he studied. If I didn't, he surely didn't.
Support from other nursing mothers is one of the BIGESST backbones a new nursing mother can have. Breastfeeding support and help holds a big place in my heart. If it weren't for the support I've had from fellow nursing mothers, I wouldn't still be nursing our sweet Annestyne for 13 months and counting. So, with that being said.... Along came the breastfeeding support basket.
Now there's a lot more I could have added, but I wanted to keep it simple and practical, and not go over-board and over-spend. These things can get wallet happy if you aren't careful! Plus, I had already handmade this awesome whale pillow to put in their whale themed nursey!
So here's the basket I ended up with! All items came from Target (minus the nursing necklace and the set of breast pads which are handmade, and the mini doTERRA oils kit).
Water bottle: staying hydrated while nursing is VITAL in keeping yourself healthy, and keeping a healthy supply!
Snacks: protein bars, nut bars, dark chocolate! Eat your little heart out and keep the calories coming. Healthy snacks are good for those extra 500 calories you should be intaking while nursing!
Mothers milk tea: generally, most view this tea as a tea mothers take when they are only having supply issues. This tea can also help to bring milk in as well!
Nipple cream/lanolin: for dry or cracked nipples that mommy may indure the first couple weeks of nursing. This will provide some healing support!
Milk storage bags: these are good for if you know mommy will be returning back to work and will be working on building a freezer stash for her little love!
Nursing pads: Keep from walking around with milk stains all over your clothes. These I handmade, and they aren't perfect, but they're cute and re-usable!
Nursing necklace: As baby ages, mommy doesn't have to worry about fingers in eyes/mouth, hair pulling, chest scratching, etc. This gives baby something to focus on while nursing.
I also include one doTERRA mini kit like the one provided below. These oils can be used during the remainder of pregnancy, & during & after labor. I also included fennel oil for milk stimulation.
This was so fun to make, and I really enjoy being able to provide support fir something that is so often over-looked! Here's the completed basket!
As I said, there's much more that can be included in this. Baskets can also easily be customized depending on the mother and how little or BIG you want your budget to be!
Even if you're unsure if the mother will be choosing to breastfeed or not, this is a great encouragement! It is also a way to show mommy-to-be that she has that support if she needs it!!
Comments
Post a Comment