Breastfeeding puts so much pressure on the breasts; they’re overworked, battered, exhausted. Breast engorgement, sore nipples, and making sure that there is ample supply in your refrigerator to feed the baby when you go back to work are just some of the many challenges any breastfeeding woman faces.

Breastfeeding is a very painful experience. The first 30 days after I gave birth were the most challenging as I struggled to exclusively breastfeed my newborn while getting very little sleep. I cried every time my son latches on to me. The pain was unbearable. Pumping every three hours helped – and I was able to build enough supply to have my husband feed the baby while I try to get some shuteye. My breast pump was working overtime. Thank goodness for insurance, it’s free!

A lactation consultant from Kalispell Regional Medical Center handed me a tube of Lansinoh lanolin cream the day after I gave birth. She told me that it may come in handy when my nipples become dry and sore. I didn’t use any butter or cream when I breastfed my twins two years ago so I did not pay attention about what she said about the possibility of bleeding nipples. At some point, one of my nipples bled. Lansinoh’s lanolin cream became my first breast friend in relieving the pain.

It did come in handy.

I became interested in other Lansinoh products so I wrote them and told them about my breastfeeding story. Two weeks after, two long agonizing weeks of breastfeeding Baby Number 3, I found a package at the gate; it was a box from Lansinoh containing disposable nursing pads, breastmilk storage bags, therapy packs, and gel pads.

My breast friends have arrived.

 

Nursing pads

I was already using nursing pads from Nuk when Lansinoh’s gifts arrived. I used the pads when I go out for grocery shopping, occasional class observations for my graduate studies, and once-a-month, outside-the-house date nights with Jeff. Nuk’s nursing pads worked well; they’re wide so  they offer good coverage area preventing leakage. Before Nuk, I have also tried almost all brands (except Evenflo’s nursing pads which, I heard, was already discontinued by the manufacturer). I found Lansinoh’s nursing pads more absorbent than Nuk and the adhesive strips keep the pads in place. However, it is smaller than Nuk so I had to be careful on how the pads are positioned. The pads are individually wrapped so on-the-go and often-stressed mothers, with very little time to prepare and arrange things, can just grab extra pads and shove them in their bags or purses without having to worry about “losing” nursing pads in a chaotic bag environment.

The trick about nursing pads, in general, is that it has to be “friends” with your bra. I have stayed away from underwire and push-up bras. I am using nursing bras made of cotton to support my breasts and to accommodate the presence of nursing pads. 

 

Storage bags

Before I was introduced to Lansinoh, I have been a loyal user of Parent’s Choice’s breastmilk storage bags. They have the lowest price among all bags, I think, or at least in the shelves of Kalispell’s Wal-mart where I buy them. I like that the bags are thick and stores up to six ounces of breastmilk; perfect storage units for liquid gold. Lansinoh’s bags are thin and pliable making it easier to thaw breastmilk when you ran warm running water over the bag. Like Parent’s Choice, Lansinoh’s bags have double zippers/sealers ensuring that no, if not minimal, leakage happens. Each bag can carry up to six ounces of breastmilk.

 

Gel pads

Aside from Earth Mama Angel Baby natural nipple butter, these gel pads are my favorite “nipple soother”. The gel pads are reusable up to 72 hours. I applied them to my nipples after every feeding to relieve discomfort from sore, cracked nipples. They come with reusable trays so I can put them back in the fridge after I used them. However, the downside is – and it may be an additional chore for already busy Moms – you have to wash your nipples after you removed the gel pads. While Lansinoh says that the “soothies” are made of water, vegetable-based glycerin, and a non-toxic binding agent called Polyacrylamide which they said “will dissolve and come out through the baby’s stool, I am not comfortable thinking that there might be gel residues left in my nipples that my baby may ingest. So… wash those nipples with water. I recommend using this for those first few weeks of nursing when you and your baby are still in the getting-to-know-how-this-entire-breastfeeding-process-works stage.

 

Therapy packs

Among all of Lansinoh’s products, the Thera Peal 3-in-1 Breast Therapy Packs are the ultimate winners! The box contains two reusable packs that can be used either cold or hot. To help with swelling, you need to put the packs in the freezer. To help relieve with plugged ducts and breast engorgement, you place the packs in microwave for 10 to 11 seconds. I like to use it as a breast pump aid as it helps with let-down. You can put it around your breast (surrounding your nipple) and the warmth from the therapy packs make you feel comfortable and relaxed. I literally breathed a sigh of relief the very first time I used these packs. They’re my lifesavers especially during the first two weeks of breastfeeding Baby Number 3.

Today’s mothers are fortunate that these products are now available to help us in our breastfeeding journey. I cannot even begin to imagine how women in the past managed to relieve discomfort without therapy packs or gel pads. They were more resourceful and more enduring, I guess. I am a whiner and a ranter so I can only utter endless “thank yous” to companies like Lansinoh for coming up with products which make my life easier.

And now…back to breastfeeding my mutant hobbit.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above in exchange for an honest review. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”