How We Do Toys...

... I love toys. What I don't love is unloved toys.

And if toys are stacked up and difficult to get to, that's what they become, and have you ever seen anything so sad as an unloved toy? It's like a Christmas Tree that doesn't get to fulfil its Christmas destiny.

From the very beginning, even before becoming a mum, I had a very strong idea about toys. Ones I loved, ones that annoyed me, ones that were pointless. My life as a nursery teacher has taught me a lot about how children play and I've often felt in somewhat of a privileged position when it comes to being a mum, because even though all children are different (oh so different), I've been able to observe 100's of children access toys and I feel I know what works and what doesn't and can use that knowledge with Theo.

First up, quality. The quality that the toys are in is probably one of THE most important things when it comes to how children are using toys. I've worked in settings before where there are 100's of toys to play with, literally 100's and where do the children even start! Well I start by having a cull. Any setting where I've been asked to change things up, that's the first thing I've done. 

- Broken toys? Be gone - Missing pieces? Be gone. - 

What the flip does this do?!? Be gone!

It may sounds ruthless and wasteful but broken toys are just a no go for me. Especially in a nursery setting. I want children to respect toys and care for toys and I'm not sure they can truly do that if they are often faced with something that is broken or looks like it's seen far better days. I'm not saying everything has to be shiny and new, the loved toys with the scuffs or the teddy with the missing eye are of course MORE than welcome but the shape sorter with a missing shape or the jigsaw with missing pieces... no. I would be incredibly frustrated as an adult to get to the end of that jigsaw and find pieces missing and I don't want a child to feel the same. Of course some toys can have missing pieces and it doesn't matter but the ones that really need all the parts and they don't, well they're out.

Also the toys that just don't really do anything, or are too fiddly, or too closed. I usually cull those too, or put them away for a more suitable time. Often children will use toys in a way you didn't expect so maybe for the toys that you're not sure of, let the child explore them for a bit, watch how your child plays and if they get disregarded quickly or not used have a think about whether they are suitable yet, or at all. 

OK, so you've Marie Kondoed (new verb) the toy stash so what is next? It's time to sort out storage and how the toys are going to be displayed. Today I'm going to talk about toy rotations. I also want to talk about a few other things about play; invitation to play and open ended play but I'm going to tackle this at a later date.

These might be something you're familiar with or you might be thinking huh? Let me tell you they're all really simple ideas and ideas that I have used for a really long time in nursery settings, particularly toy rotations. That's what I'm going to start with...

But first let me be honest, I want to get better at toy rotations (in fact I want to get better at all the things I have mentioned) and this is how this blog post has come about. I was sitting on Instagram and got inspired with the many gorgeous accounts where parents are sharing how they deal with toys and play in their house and I thought, "I've done this for years in school why am I not doing this at home?" I kind of started it but then just got stuck with every new toy being bought into the house needing to be played with and displayed straight away and before I knew it our shelves were full, so we've scaled back and this is how toy rotations work for us. 

Most of Theo's toys are stored in his room. We're lucky that Theo has a good sized room so there is space for his toys up there but where ever you store toys you can do toy rotations. I'm going to share a couple of ways you can do toy rotations. 

- You group toys into types. So a vehicle box, jigsaw box, musical instrument box. Then each time you come to do a rotation you decide what out of each box you would like to bring out to play. This is the way we currently do things and it works for us at the minute because we're not over run with toys. The toys that are "in storage" so to speak, i.e. not out to play with, all stay in the plastic Ikea boxes and are sneakily stacked and hidden behind the chair in the nursery. This will need to change in the future because inevitably Theo will acquire more stuff and to be honest the way the toys are in storage is not the best because its not easy to go through the boxes. I think we are going to have to find a way of storing things in the garage. I guess you just have to be smart with where you can keep things. 

- The other way is not my idea but came from chatting to @steph.soj over on Instagram. She has an inspiring set up and spoke to me about storing toys in a way so that you could just pull one box out per rotation. Each box would have a mixture of things in, enough to out out in your space and then that way, when you come to rotate your not searching through each box of toys for things but you just pull out one box and a way you go. I really like this idea and I think I want to move to doing it like this BUT.... there's a big but. I'm sooooooooo particular about where things go and if I have a box that has cars, farm animals and jigsaws all in one box... well the thought of it brings me out in hives. But that's just me and my silly ways. Maybe once I sort out a better way of keeping the toys that are out of use, I might be able to move to one box for a rotation. 

A final thought, I never rotate all the toys at once and often leave the more open ended toys or favourite toys out all of the time.

Ok, so that's the idea of toy rotations in the briefest way I can manage and I don't even feel like I've touched the surface as to why it's a good way to do things but I'm aware this is already a lengthy post. I might follow up this post with a shorter one where I talk about why this works. What I want to do now is answer a couple of questions that you have sent over to me to make sure I have covered enough to get you started. 

I also rotate books too.

How often do you rotate toys?

I try and do it at least once a month. If I was better I would do it fortnightly and at school I used to do it half termly. I think the most important thing to make sure of is that you ARE rotating toys. Trust me though, once you start you will see such a difference that you will want to rotate to keep it fresh. 

How many toys would be in the rotation?

I guess this depends on the space you have. We have the Kallax 4 x 2 storage unit and we have four boxes for toy sets such as a train set, a farm yard set and then 4 spaces for individual toys like a jigsaw or a large car. Then a couple of other toys dotted around the room. You don't need a lot and the choice of toys makes all the difference. More open ended toys can become many different things so don't worry about your child becoming bored, it will only add to their creativity.

Does the way you store toys help Theo choose what he wants to play with?

Absolutely and also how to tidy up afterwards. Everything has it's place and because there are fewer toys he is less overwhelmed by what to choose and then as I said, where to start when tidying up. It's lovely to watch him go to the open shelves and watch him select something himself and then when he's done put it back and choose something new. This obviously hasn't happen just because of the way things are displayed but I honestly believe that if he sees his toys being cared for, he definitely wants to look after them too. 

There we have it, toy rotation in a nut shell, a really big nut shell. I hope that is helpful. Please ask in the comments, or over on Instagram, if you have any questions and share any ideas you have me me because I want to get better at this too. 

Amy x

A day in the life of a 1 year old...

... our daily routine with Theo aged 1 year and 2 months.

If I had been a better blogger then this would of been maybe the 4th post about routines, but I'm not a good blogger so it isn't!! Maybe I could back track and have a think about what we were doing at 4 months, 8 months... etc but for now this is the first post about routines.

So as I've already said, Theo is 14 months old and has just recently changed his routine to just one nap a day (most days) and is becoming much better at sleeping at night. We've always had a pretty routine existence, I like it and it works for us. Remember, happy mum, happy baby. If you like routine then go for it, if you don't then don't... simple.

Do I think having a good routine has helped Theo with his night time sleeping? Maybe, I mean he's always been pretty rubbish at sleeping through but perhaps it would've been worse without a routine?! Who knows.

This blog post is a follow up to the series of stories I'm doing over on Instagram today (25th January 2019)where I'm documenting what we do at different points of the day. I'm filming those stories on a non work day for me, I have two of those a week, so this routine that I'm about to type up is for a non work day.

OUR DAY

Couple of things first...

- If Theo wakes before 6am I TRY and feed him back to sleep.

- Theo is still breastfed twice a day, in the morning, before bed and if he wakes in the night.

• 6:30-7:30 Theo wakes up. We breastfeed and then get him ready for the day with a nappy change and he gets dressed.

• 7:30-8:00 Breakfast. We eat together and it usually consists of toast and cereal or just porridge. Maybe some fruit and a yogurt. 

• 8:15-9:00 Mummy gets ready. If we're going swimming I only get dressed but if not then I'll shower and set Theo up on the bathroom floor with some toys whilst I have THE QUICKEST SHOWER KNOWN TO MAN!!! I then take my clothes/make up/hairbrush into Theo's room and he'll play whilst I get ready.

• 9:00 Out we go. Normally for swimming or a group or if we're not doing either of those then we go to the park or the shops. I love getting out first thing. Firstly because it gets him nice and tired for an afternoon nap but also because if I left it till the afternoon I probably wouldn't bother. 

• 10:00 Snack time. Theo will have a little snack at this time during groups or just after swimming. Usually a fruit bake bar or a fruit pouch, something easy to transport, and a drink of water.

• 11:00 Groups finish. Any groups we go to are done by this time so we usually head to the shop, we've usually forgotten something in the Ocado shop, and then we head home.

• 11:30 Theo's dinnertime (lunch). Usually something quick, a ready meal, a sandwich or left overs. He is so tired at this point as he has dropped his morning nap, food has to be quick and easy because if I'm not entertaining him he can get fussy at this point in the day.

• 12:00-12:30 Naptime routine starts. Depending on how long dinner has taken, we go upstairs and start getting ready for bed. A nappy change, story and songs and then I leave the room for him to go to sleep by himself (with Ewan the Sheep signing his little tune). 

• 12:30-(wakes up anytime between) 2:00-3:00. At this point I have a clean, put in washing, empty the dishwasher... any chores really before I eat my lunch and then have a bit of time to myself. 

• 2:30 - 3:15 The average time he wakes up is 2:30pm. I check his nappy when he wakes but don't always change it and get him dressed. He has a drink of water and then we play in his room. I want to start doing a specific "activity" at this time such as painting or playdough but for now we just play with his toys.

• 3:15 We come downstairs. Theo plays with his toys in the lounge/dining room and I prepare him an afternoon snack.

• 3:30 Snacktime. He is always so hungry at this point in the day and he just eats and eats!!! He will have something like malt loaf, toast, hummus and pittas, cooked carrots or some fruit and perhaps a yogurt. 

• 3:30-4:30 Fresh air. We usually try and get out again at this point to walk the dog. If the weather is too poor then we'll play again in his room. 

• 4:30-5 The witching half an hour.... I'm so tired at this point of the day and he knows it. I try and just have a cuppa and watch him play downstairs. You all know how much I love Tipping Point and the last half an hour is the best bit!🤣

• 5:00-5:30 Daddy is home. Neil gets home at some point after 5 and during this time we put in some tea to heat up (that we usually batch cooked on Sunday.)

• 5:30-6:00 Teatime. I feel very lucky that most evenings we all get to sit down together to eat tea. I really love that part of the day.

• 6:00-6:45 Bathtime and getting ready for bed. Neil looks after bathtime. He runs the bath whilst I get Theo ready and then once Theo is in the bath I usually tidy up from tea time and then wash my face and put my pjs on.

• 6:45-7:00 Last bit of In the Night Garden. We try and get down for the start but it never happens and we just see Iggle Piggle NOT being in bed. Then Theo breastfeeds and once he's done I take him up to bed.

• 7:00-7:15 Bedtime songs and stories. Theo still will not let Neil do this part, we keep trying but he's not having it and that's fine by me because I love this part of the day. We read a story together and sing a couple of songs and then I leave the room and he'll be asleep usually within 5-10 mins.

• 7:15-7:30 Last tidy up. We both run around at this point hanging out washing, putting a load in and just a general tidy up before finally sitting on the sofa by 7:30-8 o clock with a VERY large glass of wine. 

• 9:00 Bedtime. On Fridays and Saturdays we make the effort to stay awake until the dizzy heights on 10pm!!!! Lol!

So that's our usually non nursery day. They're busy days and when I type it out like that, it looks very structured, although it never feels regimented. Obviously sometimes lunch is half an hour late, same with tea. Naps will only last an hour and its a battle to get to 7.. who knows what the day will bring! But as long as I have some idea of what I would like to be doing at what ever point in the day then I feel better. 

Some days we'll be out all day and he'll just grab half and hour in his pushchair or car seat when he can and I like those days too!

Some people don't like routine but as I said at the beginning I do and I think Theo does. 

If you have any questions please ask or pop over to my Instagram @amysheartyhome and ask over there. 

See you soon,

Amy x

A year of being mum...

... the most wonder, special, difficult, challenging year of my life.

I've been wanting to write about and sum up, the first year of motherhood for a little while now. Theo is now 13 months old and a joy but in the past 6 months this honestly feels like the first time I've started to get a little more mind space to actually put fingers to keys. 

He isn't "difficult" or "challenging" but I've found being a mum is. I'm not sure what I expected, of course it was going to be hard work, since when has being a mum been easy? But for me adapting to this new way has been a bit of a shock to the system.

I've blogged in the past about being "A Motherless Mother" I think this has had a lot to do with it but of course even if we would've had all of the support it would've been tough. This is just me writing about my experiences. 

I'm going to try and give you a brief (ha! when have I ever been brief??) update in all the stages of the first year and how they felt for me.

So 0-4 months... 

A blur to be honest. A worrying, self doubt blur! A wonderful new born bubble blur. That's the thing with being a mum/a parent, it's that you have those days that only emojis can describe (😩😢😧) and then this gorgeous being, that you created does something for the first time or pulls that face that you adore and all the 😩😢😧 disappears. That's what 0-4months felt like. I found those early months probably the toughest. Everyone around me was talking about new born baby bliss and I didn't get it!!! I wasn't down or depressed. Baby blues? Of course! But blissfullness is not how I would describe those days. Theo wanted to feed all the time, i was sore, tired, teary. I'd forgotten who I was. It all sounds very selfish now but it was how I felt, I found it really really tough. 

Then came 4-7 months...

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that Theo is pretty pants at sleeping but at around this time I expected different. The 4 month sleep regression had supposedly passed, that's what the books said anyway. Everyone else's baby was sleeping 7-7 why wasn't Theo? Maybe he's hungry, breastmilk isn't filling him, I must be doing something wrong. 

So we weaned, not until 6 months but we weaned. BLW is what you must do! I panicked, so worried about choking. We slowed down, took it at a pace that I was happy with. The saying "happy mum, happy baby" could not have been more true for me at this time. 

7-12 months... 

All weaned, breastfeeding slowing down and an amazing eater, who STILL doesn't sleep well. I think by 7/8 months I'd just succumbed to the fact that Theo wasn't a great sleeper. And you know what, that acceptance changed things for me. I remember reading something about sleep being a development thing and that we don't rush babies to walk before they're ready, so why do we try and force them to sleep through when sometimes they're just not ready for that either? Some would say you're kidding yourself, but actually trying to enjoy that 2am cuddle made a huge difference. It was the cuddles at 4am and 5am after the 2am cuddle that drove me to distraction!!! 

The hardest thing for me at this point was returning to work. Sending him to nursery was so difficult but he was a star and actually, looking back, I think sending him to nursery before 12 months was actually easier then it would've been after 12 months. He was pretty clueless when he started nursery at almost 10 months (bless him) and he just accepted the nursery staff as his family. I think now he is more in tune with the world, it would've been more difficult. So no trouble there. It was me. I found going back to work so difficult for lots of reasons, perhaps I could write more about that in a separate post in the future. 

In brief my plans didn't work out and the doctor suggested I took some time to reevaluate before things went too far. So that's what I did.

I've returned to work again this week, after almost 2 months out of it and it's felt daunting but I also feel so different this time round. I'm now a supply teacher and I'm hoping it will help me to rebuild my confidence again. I guess we shall see. 

So where are we now at 12 months +... 

Well I don't want to jinx it but i think Theo might actually like sleep now!!! We're now down to one long nap (most days) and that is working out well for us and for the past week he has slept pretty much 7-6/7am over night. I'm enjoying it for now, who knows what next week will bring. 

I talk A LOT about sleep but it's really defined a lot of the 12 months for me, I guess with so little of it it's hard to think about much else because I'm tired ALL OF THE TIME! I don't think its a coincidence that I'm enjoying being a mum more than ever and we're getting full nights sleep. But then I must say this age is just a dream!


It may sound like a bit of a moany blog post, you signed up to having a baby so you should expect all this. Well yer, we did sign up to having a baby but that doesn't mean that I can't express how I felt in it all. Each stage had it's own difficulties but of course each stage had all the gorgeousness of having your baby with you. I almost feel like the special stuff goes without saying, it's the harder parts you hear less about. But for balance here's a quick list of the things that made my heart burst this year...

- Breastfeeding (all the feeds, even the painful ones). I'm so happy I did this. It will forever be something I'm proud of myself for. breastfeeding cuddles are like nothing i have ever experienced.

- Watching him change and develop each day. Each new little thing he does is just fascinating, I just love seeing how pleased he is with himself.

- Weaning. I absolutely loved this stage, once we found what worked for us. Seeing how much he loved food from the beginning was just great!

- All the physical stuff. Learning to roll over, sit up, crawl, stand up, walk. Each of those milestones have been truly glorious.

- Watching his relationship with his dad. I think his dad must be his most favourite person. He just adores him and I love seeing that in his eyes. 

So that's our update. 12 months of having the hardest and most rewarding job and I wouldn't change a second of it. 

I opened the floor to you guys last week, over on my Instagram and you made loads of suggestions for future blog posts, but if there is anything you would like to know more about (sleep, going back to work, weaning) then please get in touch and I'll see what I can do. 

Amy x

I am Motherless Mother

... who will I learn from?

I hope this post doesn’t sound too whoa is me but it’s been something I wanted to write down for a while. Something that often pops into my mind, out of nowhere and floors me for a day or two and yet it is something, which in other ways, is with me all the time. This is about me as a motherless mother.

Being a motherless mother can present it's self in many different ways, for me it's being a new mum who lost her mum before she was pregnant. 

I lost my mum almost 9 years ago to breast cancer. I was 24 she was 52. My mum fought cancer for 5 years and although we were somewhat prepared for her passing there was something inside me that still thought she would beat it, even up to three days before she left us. I guess that something was denial or even niaevity...

My mum didn’t know a lot of things about me. She didn’t know the career I’d choose, she didn’t know where I’d set up home or if I’d get married and she didn’t know if I’d become a mum. I guess at 24 I would’ve made comments about maybe never wanting children and I know that would’ve made her sad because she would’ve loved to of been a nanny and my goodness what an amazing one she would’ve been.

                                   

 

So fast forward 9 years to where I am now. A mum of a four month old, without my mum around. I appreciate that a lot of people don’t have their mums on their doorstep but even having them at the end of the phone to let off pregnancy steam and new mum worries must be such huge support.

I no longer have the person who I know was my biggest fan, to cheer me up on those harder days. Those days that can be filled with self doubt about my mummy decision making. 

How am I supposed to know if I'm doing this motherhood thing right when she isn't around to learn from? 

She’s not there for the advice giving, the encouragement and the patting on the back that only mums do in their mum way. She’s not here to cuddle Theo for 5 minutes and make me go and get some rest when I'm sleep deprived. She's not here to tell me that I'm doing the new parent job well.

Life is so different from when she was here, beyond recognition in some parts. She’s missing but from something she was never apart of, so how can she be so missed? 

What are the hardest parts? Perhaps seeing other nans/grandmas doing the job I know my mum would’ve been an absolute pro at. Those moments are hard. Family gatherings where I see other children being surrounded by grandparents and a feeling of jealously almost, hits me on behalf of my own child who doesn't have that. Those are are hard. Thinking back on the impact my own grandmother's made on my life and worrying that Theo will resent not having that. Those are moments are hard too.

Due to unfortunate circumstances Theo only has one grandparent who also isn't on the doorstep, so perhaps the whole motherless mother situation feels heightened at times for me, I don't know.

I wake up everyday so grateful for the little family we're creating and so happy with the amount of love me and my husband are surrounding Theo with. I'm happy with the love that we have for each other but loosing my mum left a huge hole in my life. that hole took on a new form when I became pregnant.

I miss her and I think about how wonderful it would've been to see her with Theo and play the Nanny Pat role that she no doubt longed for. An almost childish sentiment of "it's not fair" comes over me at times. Not fair for me, not fair for Theo.

But as I go further into this new motherhood role, I'll hopefully handle it in a way that would've made her proud and begin to trust my own instinct more as I see that I'm actually doing an ok job.

Although I am now motherless I will be forever grateful that I was mothered and more importantly, by her.

Amy x

A Gender Neutral Nursery - Theo's Room

... the main concept for the room was calm with muted tones.

From the moment I found out we were expecting, my attention shifted to the nursery. 

We always thought the small room in the house would be the nursery but after a little thought we decided to sacrifice the guest room to make room for the baba. We decided this for a few reasons;

- It was at the back of the house so would be quieter
- It's one of the few rooms in the house that has double glazing (we've kept the original windows in most rooms) so would be much warmer
- It was a big room so could become more than just a place to sleep but also a place to play

I started planning the room in the place I normally start... PINTEREST! We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl at this point and didn't want this to determine the look of the room, so one search of "gender neutral nursery" on the beloved app and there were reams of inpsiration to get us started.

There were a few must have's to get me started...

- the cot
- a changing station
- a nursing chair
- book nook

I also stated to think of a theme but didn't want it to be overthemed so in the end just chose things that I liked. A bit of woodland/bohemian/adventure! But all in muted neutral colours. A calm space for a place to feed, sleep and play. So here are some of my favourite elements of the room.

The Cot

I think the cot was the first thing we bought. We had a lot of furniture that we had in this room already which was perfect for the nursery. All white, lots of storage. We chose the cot from MoKee. It had the simple look I was after and with the addition of the beech wood, add a little interest to the simple white furniture. I changed the door handles of the furniture to match the beech wood on the cot and although simple, made a big difference of bring everything together. The wardrobe was from Ikea 

The Nursing Chair and
Book Nook
With us being so lucky with the size of the nursery I really wanted to treat us to a nursing chair. I wished for a dream Baby Grey chair for a while and when I was shown one of the new designs I was sold.

                           

 

We went for the Nelli Rocker in the pale grey chenille with wooden legs, in fact it was the very first Nelli Rocker! It was an investment but I'm so glad we bought it because it has been invaluable for feeding in comfort and it's fast becoming not only the nursing chair but also the story telling chair. It's just beautiful!

The Changing Station

I really liked the idea of making the changing station a feature of the room but didn't spend a fortune on a changing unit that wouldn't be used for long. Instead we used an Ikea chest of drawers with Ikea shelves above to display useful baby bits and some favourite toys. AND Theo's famous hat collection!!! I loved the changing mat baskets that I had seen on Pinterest but couldn't stretch to one so I customised a charity shop Moses basket by just cutting it down to size. I bought a new mattress for it and it became the perfect place to change Theo in those early days. The basket has now become a 'Treasure Basket' and is filled with lots of natural finds ready for him to explore in the future.

The Details
As I said earlier, when playing the room I didn't want to go with an obvious theme but preferred to just chose items which I loved. 





A sort of woodland/mountain 
theme has started in the nursery which came with these beautiful mountain display shelves made MJM Bespoke.

 
 


I also loved these prints from The Crown Prints which I found on Etsy and just printed them at home. 

I'm so thrilled with how the nursery looks. It took me a while to get it to exactly how I wanted it but I think it's perfect now. It's also already been adapted to make room for Theo as he grows and his interests develop. 








It's not just a place to sleep but a place to play, feed and cuddle and we use it all the time. It's one of my favourite rooms in the house and we love spending time together in here. 

I've tried to link as many of the products as I can without it becoming a shopping list but if there is anything that catches your eye and I haven't said where it is from, feel free to ask.

Amy x

Breastfeeding Must Haves

Today I'm going to be recommending a few products that helped me through breast-feeding. From the very early days to present day...

If you have read my previous blog post about breastfeeding you'll know that it wasn't plain sailing. There were a few products that I really wanted to recommend if you intend to breastfeed. Some of these items helped saved breastfeeding for me, it might sound dramatic but they really did. I hope you find something in here useful. 

Click on the headings to find where to buy from.

Nursing Pillow
Such an important piece of kit for both

breast and bottle feeding. I love ours (exact one pictured)especially for the early days. Theo would drop off after a feed and the little pillow attachment made him look so comfy. I still use it now. Feeding in positions that are not comfortable for you will give you terrible back ache so do make sure you get one of these.

Medela Swing Breast Pump
I expressed from around day 10-14. I really wanted Theo to be able to take a bottle, so that we had more flexibility if required. I haven't used any other electric pumps but I really rate the Medela. If you could stretch to the double pump I would say go for it. Pumping is BORING and anything to get that job done quicker is a bonus.

Haakaa Breast Pump
What is this wizardry?! A non electric hands free breast pump?? It'll never work.. well it does! And if you can't afford the double pump get one of these. If you can afford the double pump also get one of these. It's my new best friend. I use it to speed up expressing in the evening and I also use it in the morning if Theo has slept through a feed at night. It just takes the edge off when feeling a little engorged and I can collect perhaps 2-3oz with zero effort! It's actually designed to collect the let down from one breast when you're feeding on the other one but I personally find that a bit fiddly. 

Nursing Bras and Sleep Bras

They're not the prettiest of things but they are an essential. The best looking one that I've found is the one pictured from JoJo Maman Bebe. Marks and Spencer are probably the best quality and do get measured when you're about 37 weeks pregnant. You size will change so much. Also, maybe it was just me but I completely didn't think about the fact I'd have to be sleeping in a bra (to hold the breast pads in place) unless you don't mind waking up in a puddle of milk! So I went for the JoJo Maman Bebe sleep bras. 

Breast Vest
I haven't bothered too much with specific nursing clothes but more with nursing vests underneath regular clothes. The breast vest is a genius piece of clothing! No fiddly bits of material to fold down or tuck away. Really great idea.

Nipple Cream

It's pricey but you NEED it. I would never of continued to breast feed without this product. There's no need to wash it off to feed so it also works like a barrier cream. Once your boobies aren't so sore it's a great lip balm!!!


Breast Pads
I got through a fair amount of these whilst waiting for my supply to settle down. I still wear them now to stop any unfortunate moments. If it wasn't for these I wouldn't be able to wear grey clothes! Ha!


I think this list is fairly extensive to get you going. I asked my husband if he could think of anything else that was required to breastfeed and he said "a strong will and ounces of resolve" but I couldn't find a shopping link for that!!!

Anyway, I hope that has helped you out somewhat and I wish you lots of luck. 

Amy x