I am a proud mom of two little boys, David Anthony & Jason Vincent, and little girl, Ella Presley that are the inspiration behind Straplettes™.
When my first son was born in September 2003 I had decided as a first time mom that I wanted to try breastfeeding. I had always heard how wonderful it is to nurse your baby and the bonding the two of you experience together cannot be put into words. It sounded beautiful to me and I truly wanted to nurse my son.
But breastfeeding my son was not so easy for me and after what seemed like at the time, 8 long weeks, I gave up! I packed up my breast pump and sat on my bed and cried. I felt so defeated that already within two short months I felt like I had failed as a new mom. What I didn't know at the time was that breastfeeding was not easy for all moms and that there were resources available to help us struggling nursing moms.
So when my second son was born in May 2006 I decided that he may be my last child, and I truly wanted to experience the beauty of breastfeeding. So at one week old, he and I started attending a breastfeeding class given by the hospital where he was born. The lactation nurses educated me on breastfeeding my son. I learned in order to prevent clogged milks ducts and to maximize my breastmilk production; I needed to nurse evenly on both breasts.
For example, if you start nursing your baby on the left breast, halfway through the feeding session you should move your baby to your right breast. Then at your baby's next feeding session you would begin the feeding on right breast (because this was the side the baby fed from last) and again halfway through the feeding session you'd switch your baby to your left breast.
Personally like many other moms it was difficult for me to remember which breast to start on when I would begin the next feeding session.
I was told that our mothers and grandmothers would place a safety pin on the strap of their bra to remind themselves which breast to start on. I used the safety pin method for the first three months of my son’s life, but when it opened on me without my knowledge one day, I decided to stop using the safety pin. I didn’t feel it was the safest method and I wanted something to symbolize the beauty of being a breastfeeding mom.
It was then that I decided to create my own nursing reminder, The Straplette™, a stylish accessory for your nursing bra that symbolizes the beauty of you being today's breastfeeding mom.
I truly feel that nursing evenly made it possible for me nurse my second child for the first 18 months of his life and has also made it possible for me to be nursing my third child born in January 2009, so successfully.
Lisa
Owner/ Designer/ Mom
