7 Practical (And Perfect) Gifts for the Breastfeeding Mom

Do you know a breastfeeding mom (or soon-to-be breastfeeding mom) who could use a little encouragement? These are my top 10 best gifts for the breastfeeding mom.

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I’ll never forget being 38 weeks pregnant with my son and thinking, “Just a couple more weeks until I can wear what I want, sleep on my belly, and be comfortable again!”

Little did I know that the early days of breastfeeding would certainly stand in the way of that.

Nobody told me that it would be totally impractical to wear my wardrobe full of dresses and nurse a baby or that my nipples would hurt so badly in those first days that I couldn’t lay on my stomach to sleep because it would be too painful.

Best Gifts for the Breastfeeding Mom

I had no idea how much nursing would impact my life. After several years of pregnancy and breastfeeding, I created a list of my favorite gifts for the breastfeeding mom.

Help her Get Comfortable

Not all nursing bras are created equal! Being frugal, I looked at nursing bras and thought, “well, I’m only going to use this for a year or two…” and bought cheap.

BIG mistake.

Early on in breastfeeding, I was very sore and later on, well, I don’t want to walk around uncomfortable for months on end.

The Bravado! Nursing Bra is so comfortable that I considered keeping it around after I weaned my son. There is no underwire, so it’s super comfortable, but still offers a nice shape.

The material is crazy soft which helped in the painful early days. I threw out all of my other nursing bras and bought several of these.

Speaking of those early painful days, I hear that some women don’t experience that, but for me, both times the first several weeks were unpleasant.

I tried all of the lanolin creams people generously gave me before baby arrived, but nothing worked until I stumbled upon Motherlove Nipple Cream.

Not only did this natural and organic product actually help relieve my pain and encourage healing, but I loved that it was safe for ingestion so I didn’t worry about the baby.

Help her Get Functional

I hate pumping! But with my first I had to pump exclusively for two weeks due to a medical issue and by the time my second came around I was ready to pump so I could go out with my husband now and then!

There is nothing more valuable to a pumping mama than a hands free breastpump bra. Being able to multitask and do other things I needed or wanted to do during that time made it so much more tolerable.

Help her keep up her supply.

Breastfeeding becomes very challenging when supply issues hit. I love this lactation cookie mix because it doubles as a nice treat while helping encourage a healthy supply.

Let’s be honest here, waking up all night to nurse is exhausting. By week two (or night two), I’m walking around in a half-awake stupor trying to nurse and change the baby as quickly as possible and get back to sleep.

Not to mention, trying to keep the baby as “asleep” as possible so that she doesn’t wake up fully and not want to fall back asleep!

Early on, I found myself wrestling with my night shirt trying quickly pull it up and let baby attach while my daughter just cried herself more awake.

Nursing nightgowns are an absolute must have. The drop down feeding clips are quick and easy so in a second baby is eating happily and hopefully nodding back off to sleep in a milk coma.

I also loved the added bonus that my nightgown was not only practical but sexy. It was something that let me feel like me again!

Nursing doesn’t have to mean frumpy.

Help her Find her Breastfeeding Style

When I first started nursing, I realized that what I wore before baby just wasn’t going to work. I quickly ran out and bought a couple cute button up tops, but I still wanted to wear some of my favorite pre-baby shirts.

By putting a nursing camisole underneath my shirts, I could use the pull-up, pull-down trick to nurse modestly and not have to only wear nursing friendly shirts.

Simply pull up your top, unsnap the easy, full drop away cup and you can nurse without exposing your entire midsection. I wore these under almost everything while nursing.

Even with the nursing camisole, I always preferred a cover. The trick was remembering it, carrying it with me, and keeping baby from moving it to the side far enough to make it completely worthless.

Then I found the cover scarf.

I was first sold on it because of the way it wraps around my entire back and doesn’t budge easily when baby’s arms flail and still offered me an easy view of baby.

I loved using it as my stroller and car seat cover so that I wasn’t carrying so many things in my already overstuffed diaper bag.

And I absolutely loved how it doubles as the cutest scarf so I could throw it on as an accessory and then use it as needed.

However, the biggest change for me when I started nursing was that I couldn’t wear dresses all day, every day. (I’m a sundress kind of girl.)

But with nursing, what I had in my closet just wasn’t working. I found a ton of amazing nursing dresses that worked really well for me.

Print this free self-care habit tracker

This post comes with a free self-care habit tracker printable to help make yourself a priority in the everyday moments.

Here’s a sneak peek…

Download Your Free Printable

1. Download the checklist. You’ll get the printable, plus join my weekly newsletter! 
2. Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock would be ideal.
3. Place it on your refrigerator. Check things off as you go and don’t forget a thing!

Grab your free printable here

Want more on Motherhood?

• Stay-at-Home Mom Gift Ideas: 7 Ways to Make her Day
• 31 Days of Printable Affirmations for Moms to Inspire and Encourage
• 10 Baby Sleep Tips That Will Help You Get More Sleep
• 25 Surprisingly Easy and Delicious Freezer Meals for New Moms