How to Catch Leaking Breast Milk Breastfeeding: Best Nursing Cups
What could be worse than wasted breast milk, right mama?
Think of all that breast milk that is just being absorbed into those worthless breast pads while you’re pumping and breastfeeding.
I’ll be honest, I did not know how to catch my leaking breast milk when I had my baby a year ago. Which is why this article needs to be read and shared!
This read should be very helpful in showing you with what and how to collect leaking breast milk. You are going to be introduced to some really amazing breastfeeding products today!
Ready to get started?
This post may contain affiliate links. Full disclosures here.
Dealing with Leaking Breast Milk
If you are a nursing mother or soon to be, the thought of wasting any of that precious liquid gold is heart-wrenching.
This is especially true during the first few weeks postpartum, while your milk supply is being established and leaking is much more prominent.
Not to mention, the mess of EVERYTHING leaky breast milk makes of your clothes and furniture.
I’m sure you know that breast pads are an available option to solve this problem. In fact, if you still want to go that route after reading this, I can get you some for FREE with this link and the code LOVEOURLITTLES.
Even so, the sad reality remains true – that milk is still lost forever, never to reach your little one’s tummy.
Additionally, breast pads quickly get moist, making the environment much more friendly to harmful bacteria and funguses, like yeast.
Moral of the story, there is a BETTER WAY to catch leaking breast milk.
Most Common Times You May Experience Leaking
The most common times to expect leaking is during a let-down. Usually, this happens while you are nursing and the other breast is going un-nursed.
You may also leak at night, during intercourse or if you see or hear a lactation trigger, such as your baby crying. The most common products for catching breast milk are with nursing cups, breast shells and silicone breast pumps.
The Benefits of Saving Leaking Breast Milk
Did you know that you could be saving an extra 2-3 ounces (or more) of extra breast milk at every breastfeeding session? The amazing thing about collecting breast milk is the ability to effortlessly build a freezer stash for a rainy day.
This milk collector bundle (use LOVEOURLITTLES10) has everything you need in order to get the milk flowing and save it for later!
You expect to effortlessly put away dozens of ounces of breast milk a day that would have otherwise been absorbed into your t-shirt!
Many moms say they were able to have a decent sized freezer stash for when they returned back to work without ever touching a breast pump thanks to this milk collecting strategy.
What is a Nursing Cup and What do They Do?
Nursing cups, breast milk collectors, milk cups, breast cups, and milk savers. These are just some of the names these breast milk catchers are known by.
Try and say those ten times fast!
Essentially, a nursing cup is a disc-shaped, hallow vessel meant to be placed into a bra to collect breast milk. However, not all nursing cups are created the same nor should they be used as such.
For instance, some breast shells are primarily meant to help correct inverted nipples and should not be used to catch leaking breast milk to then also be given to baby.
Benefits of a Nursing Cup:
- Helps Bring in Your Milk – You can bring your nursing cup to the hospital with you and begin using it right away after baby’s birth. Suction it on the side not being nursed and the gentle pull will help stimulate lactation. Which in turn, will encourage your milk supply to come in.
- Relieves Engorgement – Using a nursing cup is a fantastic way to relieve engorgement during those first few weeks postpartum. It is also a much safer way at removing milk this early on because you are much less likely to stimulate an over-supply as you would be by pumping.
- Prevents Mastitis – Because this particular nursing cup suctions, it also gently pulls stagnant breast milk out of sticky milk ducts with ease, helping you fully empty your breasts better.
- Increases Milk Production – Nursing cups can effortlessly stimulate breast tissue and help remove milk from your breasts, it in turn increases the supply and demand market of your milk supply. Remember, the more milk that is removed, the more your body works to replace it.
- Heals Nipple and Tissue Damage – Most nursing cups are shaped to avoid contact with the aereola and to allow any nipple damage to heal.
- Multiple Let-downs – Another benefit of some nursing cups in the added breast tissue stimulation by means of suction that may even help you achieve multiple let-downs.
What You Should Not do with a Nursing Cup
The first thing you should know about a nursing cup it that they are not meant to be worn for extended periods of time. For instance, wearing one to bed is not recommended because it could easily come detached.
Another reason why you would not wear a nursing cup or breast milk collector to bed or for long stretches of time, is because the suction removes and pulls out milk unlike a breast shell.
You may be thinking wearing it for a long hours at a time could help increase your milk supply. When in reality, it could actually cause an unhealthy over-supply or damage your breast tissue if used in an extreme manner.
Best Nursing Cups to Catch Leaking Breast Milk
Let’s look at some nursing cups that will allow a breastfeeding mom to save her precious milk. The items you’ll see today focus on the need for collecting breast milk that leaks.
Ready to check them out?
LadyBug Breast Milk Collector
The best way to save leaking breast milk is with The LadyBug Breast Milk Collector. I discovered this product recently and was blown away by how simple and innovative it is!
This silicone and multi-functional nursing cup is the perfect solution to eliminate the chance of wasted breast milk.
The Haakaa Nursing Cup is shaped to fit into a woman’s bra and stays there securely.
There is even potential that this nursing cup could help prevent mastitis by allowing the breastfeeding mom to gently hand-express breast milk into the cup.
Bulleted below are some of the amazing features this nursing cup provides.
- Fully Transportable
- Express milk easily without damaging breast tissue.
- Feed breast milk to baby straight from the cup to eliminate nipple confusion.
- Lightweight.
- Equipped with stand upright feet.
- More milk capacity.
Pictured: Haakaa LadyBug Breast Milk Collector
Available at Amazon
The LadyBug Breast Milk Collector vs. Haakaa Breast Pump
The nursing cup may sound like it has a lot of the same functionalities as the Haakaa silicone breast pump, and it does.
They are very similar.
However, I think the most important difference and potentially the tie breaker is in the shape. You see, Haakaa breast pump is still shaped like a bottle and flange.
Which means, it’s protruding quite far from your body. Which also makes it much less concealable and protected from baby’s excitable and unpredictable movements.
In other words, one swift kick to the Haakaa breast pump and there goes your milk!
Because of the Haakaa silicone pump’s less discreet shape, it’s also almost impossible to place completely inside of a bra.
The fact that the Haakkaa Nursing Cup is shaped like a domed shell – makes it much more desirable for the purpose of catching leaking breast milk.
Both of these breastfeeding products can be used the for similar purposes and will achieve very similar results, but in different ways.
Personally, I prefer the option of placing something into my bra. So that I will have less worry of it being knocked loose or completely off and spilling my milk!
If interested, you can use this link to view more about the Haakaa on Amazon.
Pictured: Haakaa Silicone Breast Pump / Milk Catcher
Available at Amazon
Last Thoughts
Leaking breast milk can be an undesirable side-effect of postpartum. It can lead to so much wasted and unused precious breast milk.
Not to mention the mess it makes of everything.
Thankfully, The Boobble Nursing Cup and Haakaa will both serve to catch any leaking breast milk and safely save it for your baby’s benefit.
These breastfeeding products are designed to eliminate the frustrating helplessness of leaking breast milk. Give them a try and share this article with another breastfeeding mama!