Pro Tip

Nipple Flows: When to Switch?

Warning: If you breastfeed and bottle feed, continue using a slow-flow nipple to make sure baby doesn't lose interest in the breast. If it's too easy to get milk from a bottle, they'll be less inclined to put in the work at the breast.

For the rest of you: Your infant will send clear signs they're ready for the next level:

• Irritability
• Extended feeding times
• Lack of interest

The third, lack of interest, is very true for my daughter, Lily. At 7 months, she uses a level 3 nipple. If ever a level 2 accidently finds it way on a bottle of hers, she will eat a couple of ounces and be done. As soon as you replace the nipple with a level 3, she goes to town.

Pro Tip

Painless Band-aid Removal

Source

This is breaking news - a discovery my husband and I made just this evening.

My girls went to their six-month pediatrician appointment this afternoon and received a round of shots. Our pediatrician puts band-aids on after the shot has been administered to keep out infection and to make sure the medicine doesn't escape from those tiny little thighs. These band-aids are heavy duty and do not come off very easily. In the past, we've waited until they were already crying to take off the band-aids and planned to do the same this evening. Then, the magic happened...

This evening after bath time, while baby #1 was still soaking wet in her kitty cat towel, I slowly peeled her band-aids off. They lifted off the skin with ease and not a tear was shed.

Pro Tip

Pumping

This is the holy grail of pumping tips - all of the things I wish I had known when starting out!

• Angled Breast Pump Flanges. I use Pumpin' Pal Angled Pumping Flanges. These flange are significantly more comfortable than the standard ones that came with my Medela pump. The fit is better for a range of sizes and the angle allows you to lean back a bit more to ease up on the rigidity of sitting up super straight. This will increase your comfort and probably allow you to pump more.
• Hands Free Bra. I use the Medela Easy Expression Bustier. This is awesome now but was essential in the hospital after delivery. I was exhausted and would fall asleep while trying to hold the flanges onto my body. The heartache of losing those hard earned drops of colostrum could have been avoided if I had used this bustier from day one!
• Polysporin. I've found this triple antibiotic to be the best choice because it's effective and low maintenance. There's no need to wash it from your skin between pumping sessions.
• Storage and Cleanliness. At the beginning, I was disassembling the pumping pieces and cleaning every little piece by hand... every three hours... all day (and night) long. Then, I discovered this little tidbit. Store your pieces (membranes, connectors, valves, and bottles) in the fridge between pumping sessions. Breast milk, when refrigerated, is good for up to five(ish) days. This applies to the small amounts of milk left in your pump pieces, as well. As a general rule, I still clean my parts and pieces once per day.
• Hospital Grade Pump. At least for the first three to six months, I would recommend renting a hospital grade pump. I rented mine from Babies 'R Us. Every time I switched back to my Medela Double Electric, I would become engorged and could only get true relief from the Symphony (Medela brand hospital grade pump.)
• Massage, Massage, Massage! Massage your breasts during your pumping session. Give extra care to those areas that seem harder. I have never had mastitis and attribute this to massaging out any plugged ducts before the situation escalated.
• Timing. 20 minutes long; every three hours; all day and all night long (until your supply has been established). Just do it.
• Overproducing? Freeze it! You'll thank yourself later. My supply became inadequate when both of my girls were drinking seven ounces each, every three hours. It helped that I had hundreds of ounces stored in the freezer from those early days when my body was overproducing like a crazy lady.
• Destress. If you're stressed, your milk will not flow as freely. Once I tried to pump on a plane while sitting right next to the restroom with a very long line of passengers during a four-hour layover. As if that weren't enough, my mother-in-law was traveling with us and was overstimulating my poor tired girls, causing them to cry uncontrollably, which meant I had to take one while my husband took the other and try to calm them down while seating in a tiny area with a hoodie across my chest. Needless to say, I pumped a good ounce or two total.
• Pump While the Babes Eat. It was nearly impossible for me to keep two babies happy long enough to get a 20-minute pumping session accomplished (especially during their colic-y phase... it's getting easier now). By some miracle (curse?), it seems as if they're never sleeping when it's time to pump, either! The next best thing? Occupy them with a feeding! They drink their bottles while I pump and we're all finished right about the same time. If they're done first, I can burp them and change diapers as needed.

Why do I think I have any right to give advice on pumping? Because I'm 6.5 months into (almost) exclusively pumping for my twin girls and I'm rocking it! (...if I do say so myself *pat pat*)

Other recommended products:

•  Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with On the Go Tote (double electric breast pump)
• Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags
• Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads

Pro Tip

4-oz Bottles

They're a waste!

Source

I bought a variety of bottle sizes (4 and 8 ounces). At first, we used the 4-oz bottles exclusively but inevitably, the girls started eating more than 4 ounces at a time.

Now, they're totally useless and I wish we had registered for more 8-oz bottles. They were never able to hold their own bottle during the 4-oz bottle reign, which would have been the only useful purpose for having a smaller bottle.

However, the formula cap pictured is AMAZING. We have three of these and they come in handy when you have a screaming hungry baby at 3 o'clock in the morning and need to throw together a bottle STAT.