They say, “You can bring a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.” Amen. Whoever made up that phrase must have tried to breastfeed. From my experience, sometimes nursing can be a cinch and sometimes it’s a no-go. I would guess that having an arm cut off would have felt better than trying to nurse my first-born. With my second, it was easy as pie. Regardless of how hard (or easy it is), if you do end up breastfeeding, you’re going to want a few “tools of of the trade.” Here are the things that I’ve found particularly helpful:
If you haven’t gotten one already, get yourself a pregnancy pillow. Wrap it around each arm, your back, and prop up your legs for complete support during night-time feedings. The comfier you are, the more likely you’ll drift off to sleep during and after nursing.
I’m not one of those people that feels comfortable nursing in public (maybe I will one day), but sometimes it’s a necessity. I have a nursing apron that I drape over myself for coverage. I never leave my house without it and find it useful at home, as well, when I have guests.
Another thing? You’re going to want lots of tops that make it easy to nurse. I’m particularly fond of nursing tanks – you can just throw them on under most normal tops and unsnap at the straps when it’s time for a feeding. I’m not very fond of standard nursing tops (the ones with special mid-shirt access or extra layers). They are often frumpy and just scream, “I need easy access to my boobs.” I’d rather just buy a few inexpensive tops and plan on stretching the neck opening out a bit. But, that’s just me.
Regardless of how successful you envision yourself as a breastfeeding mom, you’ll inevitably want to have a breast pump. Which means you’ll need bottles too. Having a pump equates to freedom for you. Store up a milk supply and you just may be able to get away from the house for a few hours – without baby!!
And finally, down to the nitty gritty – you’ll need great nursing bras (this Bravado one is my fave), some comfortable nursing pads (these came highly recommended to me by other mothers), and some lanolin.
By no means am I an expert, so please feel free to share other tips in the comment section. New moms need all of the advice we can get!
Realistic expectations are important too. Sometimes nursing doesn’t turn out the way we want it to, so we must be kind to ourselves. And, with my first baby, I needed a lactation consultant and a good cry! 🙂
Well, this is my second breastfeeding rodeo and what I have learned is that patience is key. It’s easy to get frustrated because the baby isn’t latching on properly or your milk isn’t coming in fast enough. However, you just have to hang in there. Don’t give up. And remember it’s ok to seek help. The lactation specialist at Presbyterian are amazing.