By Hillary Sadler of Baby Settler • Haakaa Breast Pumps

#1: The HaaKaa can help your baby latch. Your breast milk undergoes three stages throughout the course of pregnancy and breastfeeding: colostrum, transitional milk, and mature milk. (In my Breastfeeding course, I go into detail on how to have a smooth transition through each of these stages). But here’s WHY the HaaKaa is SO helpful for you and your baby! When your milk is transitioning from the colostrum stage to the transitional to mature milk, aka when it “comes in,” a lot of women experience engorgement. This can make it difficult for babies to latch when a mom’s breast is full and a bit hard from engorgement. (Right when your baby gets the hang of latching to your breast, it goes and changes on them!) This is where the HaaKaa comes in. When you massage your breast and use the HaaKaa prior to latching, it helps soften your breast and makes it easier for your baby to latch. Before this product, I would encourage patients to hand express into a cup if they ran into this problem. But with the HaaKaa, you can attach it to your breast and do a bit of massage and passively collect some ounces to store! This technique has been really helpful for many mothers who’ve experienced engorgement and had trouble getting their baby to latch during the first week of postpartum.

#2: The HaaKaa helps collect milk from both breasts. Once your milk is starting to transition and really come in, your baby might not make it to both breasts at each feeding. As you’re in the building stage of breast milk production and your baby’s stomach is expanding, you really want to try to have stimulation and milk removal on both breasts at each feeding. Why? Well, let’s break down the size of your baby’s stomach. At birth, your baby’s stomach is about the size of a shooter marble. By the end of the first week, it’s a small egg. And by the end of two weeks, a large egg. Today, your baby might not need to feed from both breasts. But tomorrow, as their little stomach is growing, they might! And you’ll want to have the breast milk available for when your baby does. Then, once you're in the maintenance stage (usually after 4 weeks) your baby may mostly feed on one side at each feeding, and that’s OK! You can use your HaaKaa to collect milk from the side you're not feeding from and collect several ounces to store without ever having to use an electric pump. Win!

#3: You can supplement with milk collected from the HaaKaa. Sometimes, babies need to be supplemented in the early days. (Your pediatric provider will take many variables into account to determine whether to recommend supplementing your baby). If this is you, my first recommendation is finding a lactation consultant to help you make a specific plan for you and your baby. As a lactation consultant myself, here’s why I find using the HaaKaa to be very helpful and useful for supplementing with milk. In the early days, some breastfeeding babies get tired at the breast and don’t transfer milk efficiently enough to get the volume needed (example: a baby who is jaundice). If your baby is feeding from one breast but not the other, and your pediatric provider wants you to supplement your baby, you can use the HaaKaa to collect breast milk and then supplement your baby with it. Why? Because breastfeeding, supplementing, and pumping at each feed is considered a triple feed, which can be downright exhausting for mothers (and partners!). Plus: using the HaaKaa to collect expressed breastmilk and supplement your baby is so much easier than using an electric pump.

So, when it comes to breastfeeding, the HaaKaa is a must have. I’ve seen time and time again how it helps babies latch, mothers collect milk from both breasts, and makes supplementing with milk much easier. If you’re looking for more resources to answer your questions and build your confidence in your breastfeeding journey, my Breastfeeding course will be available September 1st!