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Gifts for Teenage Nursing Mother

967 Views 21 Replies 17 Participants Last post by  zak
I know this might sound kinda strange... but I'm not totally sure what to get her...

The 16yo girl next door is due the first week of Nov. She is planning to bf (her mother is very encouraging), but she will be returning to school 6wks pp. Her plan right now is to pump/schedule nursing (there's day care at the school).

I'm wanting to do anything I can to help her with bfing. I already purchased her Lansinoh, breast pads, & milk bags. I was thinking about getting her The Breastfeeding Book (Sears) too. I know she'll the need the breastfeeding and working information. But honestly, I never truly worked & breastfed. I was able to manually express for the few times that DH had the kiddos, but not anything "hard core".

I was wondering if there is something else that her friends (a bunch of teenagers
: ) might not think about. Thanks for your ideas and help!!!
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haha you are soo right about the teenagers not thinking about certian things...
I had my son when i was 17, and i can tell you ... all my friends bought me was CLOTHING.
Thank god my mother invited tons of her friends to the shower or i wouldn't have received anything i actually needed.

I had a HUGE issue with breast pads.. they would stick to my nipples and rip skin off when i tried to remove them...

I would reccomend getting the ones that are made like diapers ( turn gel like when wet on the inside ) so they don't stick to her nipples... *shutters*

Also i know this is off topic of breastfeeding.. but often the focus of baby showers is buying stuff for the baby, and the mother is left with nothing.

Perhaps a gift card to a clothing store so she can buy herself something that fits for when she goes back to school.. i would be shocked if anyone else would think of getting her that.
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Does she already have a pump? if not that could be a good idea, or even something that you and another guest could pitch in on and purchase together...

Also VIT E OIL!
I prefered that WAY more than the creams and ointments or whatever that guck is they have in the baby section for breastfeeding...
it also helped to keep the nipple from sticking to the pad and if you didn't get it all off it wasn't much of a worry...
Does she have a good pump? If she doesn't have one you could go together with someone else and get her a good pump?

I think what you are doing is awesome! Lansinoh, breast pads (I would recommend cloth), maybe some mothers milk tea, breastfeeding book. Maybe also give her your phone number so if she needs some encouragement
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I had horrrrriiibbbblllleeeeeeee nipple sticking to breast pad issues, resulting in bleeding and sooo much pain... i am anti-cloth pads... the thought makes me cringe...
some nice cloth soft nursing pads- I saw some great tye dyed velour ones at fullmoon babygear. yum.

nursing tank tops- make life easier and still look like normal clothes

-Angela
Does "So That's What They're For" have info about working and pumping? I really like that one as a BFing book gift.

Maybe a cute nursing top or nursing tanks? Those are pretty spendy, but having "discreet" nursing clothes might help. How about a boppy pillow? Or even a sling?

Oh and definitely a list of good websites, phone numbers for LLL and LCs, that sort of thing.
Lansinoh breast pads were a godsend for me the first few weeks. I later switched to cloth, but nothing beats the absorbency and non-nipple-stickiness of the Lansinoh ones.
I'd get her The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I turned to that book a lot at first. It may also get her interested in LLL!
Also . . . a subscription to Mothering!!! And tell her about MDC, there are a lot of young mamas here!
I was a 17 year old teen mother who had to pump at school.
:

A few things (not items) that helped me ALOT were:
-My son's ped. wrote a note excusing me from 12 weeks of school because I was exclusively breastfeeding my son. I kept up with all school work thanks to a tutor.
-The school nurse let me pump in the nurse's office. This was amazing because a friend of mine had been pumping in the bathroom the year before (yuck!)
-Schedule pumping time: speak to (female) teachers ahead of time so I could leave one class 5 min early and go to the next 5 min late, so I could pump for 15 minutes.

Although she is 16, she may need your support alot. Her friends are all telling her "Nothing will change! I'll babysit! I'll be fine hanging out with you and the baby!" And then the baby will come, and they will not. My best friends right after DS was born were other teen moms and older moms with young children, who were my friends not parent figures. The person I clashed heads with most was my own mother. There's nothing like two mothers in one house.

I also second the boppy pillow, sling, and a trip to a maternity store to buy her clothes she likes and also to get her out of the house.

Congrats to her! I graduated HS, with honors: a nursing, cloth diapering, AP mama! It's wonderful she has the support of both her mother and you!
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I wish my high school would have had a day care
i never even got to finish high school.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by mammakerry

Although she is 16, she may need your support alot. Her friends are all telling her "Nothing will change! I'll babysit! I'll be fine hanging out with you and the baby!" And then the baby will come, and they will not. My best friends right after DS was born were other teen moms and older moms with young children, who were my friends not parent figures. The person I clashed heads with most was my own mother. There's nothing like two mothers in one house.



I was a 17 yo mother and the thing I needed most was support. My friends were clueless about BF (only 1 had a child). My mom was supportive, but having another person behind you is even better! Support is the best gift you could give.
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There's a good book called Nursing Mother, Working Mother. Not sure how much it is, but that would make a good gift.
how wonderful that she'll have your support...that's worth more than money!

Someone mentioned nursing tanktops...yes, they are pricey (altho I got several at Motherhood Maternity - they have sales now and again)...I love the ease the nursing tank gives me to feed or pump just about anywhere I want to.
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I think the fact that any teenaged mom wants to nurse is awesome - and to the young mamas who have piped up in this thread - much
to you! The fact that you want to support her is wonderful. I agree with the Boppy and sling ideas - how about a nursing necklace?
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I think it's awesome to see so many teen moms breastfeeding and continuing to do so while attending school.

I got nursing tanks at Target for a reasonable price.
I agree lots of support.
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Oooh, I like the nursing necklace idea. Maybe something that looks hip and chic so she can wear it all the time, something to remind her of her baby while she's away from him at school.
Oh yes, tell her to take more time off if at all possible! I know it is important to graduate, but if she goes back too soon it may be detrimental.
I was in HS when I had my first too. I actually pumped in class
I went back to school at I think 5 weeks postpartum. I was already not very attached to my son and I think that made it worse. They had told me I could stay home longer but I was bored. Even though I went back to school and did 4 years of high school, I didnt have enough credits to graduate at the end of my senior year, so I quit, took the GED test and got my GED, so I could start college. Anywho, that is great that they have a daycare at her school.
The biggest present you could give her is your support and friendship. My step mom was a HUGE help to me, as was my oldest step sister-she is a year younger than me and we were in school together. I definately second the good pump thing too!! I love my PIS and soooo wish I had had one for my first.
Oh yeah, one more thing. I dont know how close you are to her or if maybe you could hire a doula for her, but I would definately have someone knowledgable with her when she delivers. The hospital gave my ds a bottle against my wishes and he had nipple confusion. I had to pump for 3 months before he nursed for the first time. Most teen moms wouldnt have pumped like that. So just let her know-NO BOTTLES!!!
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nak
your support
johnson and johnson sposie pads
soothies
good bf book
cooler pack for ebm
cool nursing clothes, tanks, necklace
nursing necklace!...great idea too...my 6month old ds LOVES his...Cheryl designs EXACTLY what you want at this site. I really recommend her designs.

http://www.tickled-pink-designs.com/
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