Breastfeeding Products I'd Genuinely Buy All Over Again

Nobody tells you just how much your nipples go through in those first few weeks. Between cluster feeding, figuring out the latch, and your baby treating every feed like it's a personal endurance challenge. Things can get rough.

I applied this balm religiously after every single feed and it made such a difference. It soothed the pain, it became non-negotiable in my routine, and it's safe for baby so you don't need to wipe it off before feeding. Ten out of ten, no notes.

These little cups sit over your nipples between feeds and genuinely help prevent serious cracking. They give sore skin a chance to heal even when you're still feeding constantly. Which, in the newborn stage, is always.

Also, there's something weirdly empowering about walking around with tiny silver cups on your chest. You've earned them.

If you're not already using one of these, it's worth knowing about. You attach it to the opposite side while you're feeding and it catches your letdown with zero effort on your part. In those early weeks, every drop genuinely adds up.

It's one of the easiest ways to start building a little fridge or freezer stash if that's something you'd like, without adding a whole pumping session to your day.

What I love about this pump is that it works with both hands-free cups and a standard pumping set-up that collects straight into bottles. So you actually have options depending on how the day is going.

Some days you'll want to sit down properly and pump. Other days you'll be reheating your coffee for the third time, attempting to fold one piece of washing, and navigating a clingy baby. The hands-free option is exactly what you need for those moments.

Honest note: Having that flexibility made pumping feel far less like an ordeal on the harder days.

Honestly? This became even more useful for me in the later months than in the newborn stage. Because once babies discover the world around them, they decide that everything, every sound, every passing person, every flicker of light, is more interesting than finishing a feed.

A cover helps minimise distractions and actually gets them to the end of a feed without losing them completely halfway through. It's also genuinely handy in those early days when you're still working out the latch and feeding in public feels like a lot.

The reality: Learning to breastfeed is hard enough without feeling like you're performing in front of an audience. A little privacy goes a long way.