1. Give it time.
In the newborn stage, you baby might struggle to find a latch. That could be because of a tongue or lip tie, your breast is too large, your baby’s pallet is too high, you have a flat or inverted nipple or even a few others. Luckily most/all of these are fixable or you can adjust your latch to accommodate. However, when you and your new baby are learning to latch things can be messy.
I recommend having a nursing cover, preferably one with the wire boning to keep the top open so you can see you baby and what you are doing. You will be fumbling around a lot and don’t need fabrics in the way of such a delicate operation.
2. Be prepared.
In the beginning, your breast is adjusting to how much milk they need to produce for your baby. So, you tend to leak. A lot. To accommodate for this, I would suggest breast pads. I have used both disposable and reusable breast pads and to be honest I like the disposable ones more. I know, I should be ashamed. The truth is disposable breast pads will hold way more milk than a reusable one will. So, any time I leave the house I have the disposables on because I’m not willing to risk a leak through. Although, since my milk supply has evened out and I won't leak through pads hardly, I will wear reusable ones around the house.
I would also suggest having 2 burp rags. 1 to lay under your baby so that if your baby comes unlatch the milk will not get your pants or shirt wet, and 2 so that you can have it close by so when (not if but when) your baby comes suddenly unlatched you can cover your breast quickly so you don’t spray everyone in a 10-foot radius with breast milk. I’m over exaggerating of course…. Sort of.
3. Time it.
I have an app on my phone that I use every day. It is a baby app that allows me to track what breast and how long I fed on. It will also tell me how long it has been since the last feeding. It is the best thing I ever downloaded. So, I have noticed a pattern. My daughter will feed every 2 hours or so. If I time it just right I can make it to town and home without ever having to feed in front of people. Not that I mind feeding in front of people. It's just so much easier when you are in the privacy of your own home or car and can just feed without worry of covering up.
The best thing is just to think ahead. If it will take you an hour to get to town and back home and your baby feeds every 2 hours. Feed and change your little one’s diaper right before you leave and you, hopefully, can make it to town and back before your baby will need to feed again. If you're lucky your baby will also sleep the whole time. Bonus points. You can also make time between stores to feed in the car.
4. Take a Friend.
Now I know this isn’t always possible but man it sure does help. It is so much easier when you have an extra set of hands. So many times, I’ll start feeding and have to get my husband to start the timer or hand me a burp rag. Plus, people are less likely to approach you when you are making conversation with someone else.
5. Don’t mind the haters.
Now I can’t speak from experience on this one. I have not had a single person say something while I’m feeding. However, I heard my friends complain about rude comments or see women being harassed on the news. It’s a scary world we live in and the last thing we want is to be belittled for publicly nursing. You just feel so venerable when your boob is out and your helpless baby is attached. I always picture myself fighting off a rude assailant while my baby is suckling on the breast but thankfully that probably won’t happen. (Thankful for the assailant that is.) You can’t spend your time looking at every passerby face. Wondering if this is going to be the woman or man that will say something. Wondering if they are secretly cursing you. Try not to care, I know you will, but try not to. I mean who are they to say anything to you? If someone does have the courage to say something to you then please use that 10-foot spray we discussed earlier and hose them down. It will be the last time they open their mouth to a wonderful mom feeding their child.
Thank you for reading. Please share!
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