Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (May).  This carnival is dedicated to all moms, celebrating Mother’s Day today.  Participants will share various topics covering A Breastfeeding Mother’s Top Ten List.  Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants.

(This is part 1 of a series)

I would like to list breastfeeding both my kids as one of my mommy achievements.  Well, see, it wasn’t really easy, and you have people who would naysay your efforts.  But I’m so proud to say that I breastfed my eldest until he was nearly 2 years old (had to stop then because I was undergoing chemotherapy) and currently, I’m still breastfeeding my youngest, who will turn 2 next month!

I believe the true ESSENTIALS of successful breastfeeding are a mom who’s determined to do so, a baby and support from everybody who’s close to the mom (especially the dad!).

However, there are now plenty of things out there which make life easier for the breastfeeding mom.  While these are not truly essentials in the strictest sense of the word, I would say that these are must-haves for a smooth breastfeeding experience.

Moms who can’t afford these products though do not need to fret, because there are certainly cheaper alternatives, so you can still make your breastfeeding journey easier without breaking the bank!Ok, now here’s my list of the top ten nursing must-haves…with their cheaper alternatives:

Image from http://fabnaima.multiply.com

1.  nursing bras

By the time you become pregnant, your pre-pregnancy bras would have already felt tight.  Some smart mommies, instead of buying maternity bras, simply buy nursing bras in a larger size in order to get more mileage out of them.  There are now a lot in the market, but not all of them are as easily found as the regular bras.  Rustan’s has them, and online shops like Mama Baby Love carry a lot of them too, in various designs, almost all of them flattering and all of them with features which make nursing easier, while still flattering you and making you stylish under your clothes.

But for moms who are either hesitant or just do not have the budget to buy nursing bras, you don’t really NEED  to buy them.

Image from http://luckydollstore.multiply.com

What I did when I was pregnant with my second kid (experience does make you wiser — and more frugal too, since I realized that we now had to provide for TWO kids instead of ONE, when we were more all out in our spendings.), I bought a few of those cotton tube bras found in the Greenhills tiangge for about 100-120 pesos each (back in 2008-2009).  They are one sized and “grew with me” when I progressed further in my pregnancy and served its purpose of being a nursing bra.  I just pushed the bra up when I needed to nurse!

Of course, the drawback of this tipid tip is that these bras do not look as nice as the usual breastfeeding bras.  They don’t flatter you as well.  But if you’re not going out, these would already suffice.

It’s also ok to go braless (gasp!) when you’re home, but then you’d have to have a few extra Tshirts ready because believe me, they WILL get wet when the milk comes in!

Note:  Products shown are not paid endorsements

Part 2:  nursing clothes (Updated May 10, 2011)

Please check out the other carnival entries!
Top Ten Breastfeeding Partners
Ten Things a Handy Mommy Can Do While Breastfeeding
Ten Life Altering Moments of a New Breastfeeding Mom
Nurturing Rafael: A Breastfeeding Mother’s Top 10 List
Ten Things I Now Know About Breastfeeding Because I Breastfed
Things a Handy Mommy Can Do While Breastfeeding
10 Ways to Cheer Up a Breastfeeding Wife
Aria’s Habits While Breastfeeding
Top Ten Tips for Pumping and Working Moms
Our Breastfeeding Library
My Top 10 Favorite Foods for the Breastfeeding Mom
10 Reasons I Still Breastfeed, Even As a Low-supply Mom
Nursing must haves…and cheaper alternatives (1/10)

Tags: breastfeeding, breastmilk, mommy, nursing