Hi friends! My goodness I have a lot of catching up to do. I intended to blog allll throughout my pregnancy and postpartum but exhaustion and adjusting to life with two newborns got the best of me (I have stayed consistent with my YouTube at least so go catch up over there!). I plan to back track with my blog posts a bit so that I can 1. get you all the helpful information that I can on my pregnancy/ new life as a twin mama and 2. so I can have these fun posts with photos and memories to look back on!
Today I wanted to share with you my best & worst postpartum products. “Worst” might be too harsh– basically just the items that I think you could pass on depending on your circumstances. I’ve had four months to test out lots of items and these are the ones I use the most by far. Scroll to the bottom to watch my overview vlog of all these products and find out what I love and don’t love.
BRAS
My very favorite nursing bras are from Cake Maternity– and that’s saying a lot because you go through A LOT of bras when nursing 🍼 they are extremely supportive while also being comfortable. They will help you figure out your best fit based on your pre-pregnancy bra size and they have a ton of beautiful options to choose from so you can still feel feminine even in your post-baby bod.
Cake Maternity Tutti Frutti (HEATHERFERN15 for 15% off)
Cake Maternity Truffles (HEATHERFERN15 for 15% off)
Here are a few other bras that I have liked using postpartum. The Amazon one are nice for sleeping in, Bravado is super thin so it’s comfy for just lounging, and out of the two pumping bras, I’ve preferred the zip-up one over the full sized one, but both are good.
TANKS
Okay so nursing tanks are the BEST. So easy to lounge in around the house or to wear layered under jackets or sweaters for easy access. Again, I love my Cake Maternity one, it is definitely better quality and thicker than the Amazon ones. I usually just wear my Amazon ones around the house.
Cake Maternity Nursing Tank (HEATHERFERN15 for 15% off)
PUMPS
Okay pumps & pump-like things! SO I absolutely love my motif luna pump. It is battery-charged and I can go a few days with a decent amount of pumping without having to recharge it. It is so nice not being attached to a plug on the wall every time I have to pump. I get amazing output, like at least 4-6 oz per side per pump. I also got the Elvie Pump and like you may have heard me talk about in my video, while it is convenient in a pinch, I actually don’t love it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m pretty well-endowed currently and so I have a hard time getting them in the right place, but I find the getting-started process a little tough. But the big difference is just the strength of the pump. I know that Elvie’s claim to fame isn’t necessarily their output strength, but I can pump a whole 15 minutes and only get like 2 oz. So again, while it is convenient on the go or in a pinch, I certainly wouldn’t rely on it as your sole pump.
Then there’s the Haakaa, the famous Haakaa. I don’t like the haakaa, BUT, I also honestly haven’t had to use it much considering I tandem breastfeed most of the time. I find it to be uncomfortable and an annoying shape/ size. I got the Elvie curve to sort of do the same thing for me as the haakaa, just in a bit more of a practical shape and I do like it. But I honestly really don’t use it a ton anymore– mostly in the beginning when I was getting a handle on my let down or when I’m feeding one at a time out in public (tandem breastfeeding is quite the show so we don’t do that in public haha).
Then there are the nursing accessories. These are the two main ones I suggest– this balm is great (don’t let the color or texture be off-putting in the beginning. It warms up and melts on your body). And then we used nursing shields for awhile since they were born a month preemie and had a bit of trouble latching at first. I tried a ton of different shields and Medela was my favorite in the 20 mm size.
DOWN THERE CARE
Okay so, spoiler alert, if you birth a baby, you’ve got some down there care to deal with. Once I got home, I liked using these Always underwear instead of the jumbo pads and mesh undies from the hospital (does anyone actually like those?!) for about 10-13 days. After that I down-sized and liked wearing high-waisted underwear for a bit to just help everything feel tighter and more secure for a couple weeks after giving birth. Also, I mentioned this in my vlog, but I cannot recommend a bidet highly enough! Even if you haven’t just given birth, we love ours for cleanliness (and it’s good for the environment!). But yes, definitely a huge help postpartum too.
RANDOMS
Okay my final random items– I highly recommend this cart for your bedroom to organize all the baby and nursing things you need for middle of the night while the baby sleeps in your room. It is so nice to have everything organized in one place so you can find everything you need to in a 3 am haze. I also recommend this cheap changing table if you have a two-story home and need to set up multiple changing stations. Especially with twins, if one needs to be changed, I can’t just leave the other one alone to take one baby all the way up to the nursery. Lastly, I’ve been taking these Vitamin D supplements as breastmilk is deficient in Vitamin D but it is so essential to ensuring strong bones growth for your baby!
Heather Fern 