As a breastfeeding mom, you will spend a lot of time breastfeeding and you will need to set up a station to make yourself comfortable. These nursing station essentials are items that are helping me stay comfortable while I feed Partaap Singh (which ranges from around 2-4 hours a day).

Nursing Station Essentials

Nursing Chair and Table

During the day, I love feeding Partaap Singh (PS) in his nursery. I bought this armchair that was the perfect colour for the theme of the room and a great price point (I got it for under $100). But more importantly, it is comfortable. I also bought these Alseda stools from IKEA that I stacked on top of each other to make the perfect footrest, while staying within the theme of the room. Nursery tour is coming soon so look our for that!

I asked my mom friends on Instagram if they recommended a rocking chair versus an armchair, and a lot of moms said all you really need is a comfortable chair with a footrest. This setup works for my budget and fits my style since I find rocking chairs to be too big and bulky and quite pricey. I also bought this simple but beautiful Gladom side table from IKEA that makes for the perfect table to keep all of the following items on while I feed PS. Finally, I love having this beautiful rope basket to store all my nursing stations essentials so I can set up a station anywhere in the house.

Huge Straw Water Bottle

I didn’t realize how thirsty breastfeeding makes you. I think I drink over 4 Litres a day! And the crazy thing is, I don’t even pee that much. I remember when I was pregnant, I would pee every 30 minutes and I barely drank any water. Anyways, get yourself a large water bottle and make sure it has a straw. You don’t want to risk spilling water on your baby when you get thirsty while breastfeeding.

Disposable Nursing Pads

I hate waste so I bought myself some reusable bamboo nursing pads. However, I was leaking so much that I had to keep changing the pad every couple of hours. And apparently, reusable bamboo pads need to be washed very frequently, else the risk of infection increases. And no breastfeeding mom wants to get mastitis. These disposable pads from Madela are amazing. While I was changing the reusable pads every couple of hours, the disposable ones last me all day. And I don’t have to worry about infection, because I just toss it and use a new one once I need it.

Nursing Pillow

A nursing pillow is absolutely an essential. It helps elevate your baby and also helps position the baby perfectly. You will minimize back issues while using a nursing pillow. I like to combine the nursing pillow with another small pillow (I love using the wedge that I shared in my pregnancy essentials post) on one side so that the side I am feeding PS on is slightly elevated. This is supposed to be good for preventing too many bubbles and helps with gas as well.

Nipple balm

During the first few days of breastfeeding, my nipples got very cracked and sore. I had received this K’pure nipple balm as a gift from a friend for my baby shower, however, my midwife gave me a prescription to a cream that she said worked wonders. I’ve been using this prescription cream since and I think it really has helped with the pain.

Amazon Alexa or Google Home

We have an Amazon Alexa in our bedroom and the nursery and it is the most amazing thing ever. While breastfeeding in the nursery, I sit in my nursing chair and tell Alexa to connect my phone and play a podcast or audiobook. Since the breastfeeding sessions last me anywhere from 20 – 30 minutes and I’m feeding 8-9 times a day, that is a lot of time of me just sitting. I love listening to Katha in the morning and then Podcasts and Audiobooks the remainder of the day. I don’t even need to physically use my phone, I just talk to Alexa and she obeys my command. It’s great and an absolute essential.

Kindle

During the night feeding sessions, I am in our bedroom and breastfeeding in bed. I have this beautiful rope basket on my bedside table with my essentials which includes diapers, wipes as well as my Kindle. I love reading books during the night sessions and the Kindle is great because I don’t need to turn on any lights. I’ve been reading baby books at night and I’ve already finished one just during the night feedings. I’m currently reading one about baby’s sleep since I’m debating if and when to start sleep training PS.

Airpods

Finally, I think Airpods or any other type of wireless headphone is an essential. If you want to watch some videos while breastfeeding, then just connect your Airpods and you won’t disturb your baby and no wires will come in the way.

Well there you have it – all my nursing station essentials. All these items have really helped me stay comfortable and entertained while I feed our son. Since the nursing sessions take up 2-4 hours of my day, it’s important to have a great nursing station setup.