One of my best friends just had her first baby – a sweet little GIRL who I cannot wait to meet!!! They don’t live here anymore, but don’t you worry, I’m already looking at flights 😉 Our sweet Beckett (maybe her future hubby?!?) is only 3 months older than she is; plus he’s our third. She’s been asking me tons of questions related to nursing, pumping, working, etc. While I am by no means an expert, three babies in – and three completely different experiences at that – I have a little bit of veteran knowledge that I’ve been able to share with her. We were on the earlier end of friends having babies, so I didn’t really have anyone that I could ask when Hunter was born. Man, do I wish I had! I think it would have maybe gone better for us. Who knows?!? I decided to put everything into a post to share with y’all … if these breastfeeding tips help even just one mama out there – whether it’s your first baby or fourth baby – I’ll feel content!
You’ve carried this sweet baby inside of you for nine months, and it’s an incredible journey. In a way, breastfeeding can be an extension of your pregnancy journey. You feel a sense of relief when your baby is born and placed in your arms, but now you have new worries. And breastfeeding itself is such a beautiful, wonderful experience – no doubt – but I haven’t found it to be as “natural and easy” as many people seem to describe it! You worry if you’re doing it correctly, is the baby getting enough, etc. I mean, I’m on my third child and just now finally having success at the breast. I wish I knew the first time all of the things I’m about to share with you below … they really do make the journey a ton easier!!
1. Get in the zone
This is a marathon, not a sprint! Make sure you and your partner are on the same page with this, especially if you have other young children. Did you know that breastfeeding a baby for an entire year is estimated to be 1,800 hours? That’s INSANE! A full time job is considered to be 1,960 hours per year. So my point is, this is time-consuming – whether you nurse directly from the breast or exclusively pump (EP). I would actually argue that EPing is more time-consuming, but I’ll likely save that for another post! You need help – with house chores, cooking dinner, watching other littles, etc. In those first few weeks, you are just there to feed your baby basically. By the time you take care of yourself as you’re still healing from giving birth as well as feeding baby, that’s about all the hours in a day – I mean, I assume you want to sleep somewhere in there, am I right?!? And be willing to accept help from others – no one else can feed the baby if you’re nursing, but anyone can load the dishwasher, right? I know, I know – you like it loaded in a certain way … I do, too; but I have most definitely learned three kids in that I would much rather spend time with them or sleep than load the dishwasher. The important thing is that the dishes are clean; who cares how that happens (I still cringe a little saying that/living that, but it’s the truth!)!!
2. Use an app
That leads me to the next one – get yourself a good app to use! I cannot tell you how many times this app has saved me when I can’t remember which side to start nursing on or even the last time the baby ate. This is much more a symptom of having a 3 yr old and 2 yr old as well; I’m sure you’ll remember all of this info. I have no doubt my friend who is on her first baby will remember exactly the last time she fed! I just have too much going on this time around to keep everything straight. I love this app because I can also log pumping sessions, bottles, diapers, bath time, medicines, sleeping etc. While we don’t track diapers after about the first week as long as baby is doing well, you might choose to track a bit longer. Additionally, if baby is getting sick, you may want to track diapers temporarily to watch for hydration. This app is super easy to use! It’s a little crazy to see how much time I’ve spent nursing Beckett so far. It shows me total minutes by day, week, month; how many minutes I average per feeding and logs the day for me. I choose which breast I nursed from & it has a handy little arrow that shows me “last” side – this is extra helpful when baby is screaming crying to eat and I’m trying to quickly open my app, bra and sit all at the same time! LOL
3. Save your nipples
Since you’ll be nursing very frequently in the beginning, I recommend just getting comfortable with letting your nipples air out. Seriously, just walk around the house topless for the first 2 to 3 weeks or so. Same as for a diaper rash, air time is the best way to heal those cracked and sore nipples. I don’t care how many times the lactation consultant tells you it shouldn’t hurt if you have a good latch, your nipples are going to be sore. Now, there is a difference between pain from a bad latch and soreness because your nipples are adjusting to something sucking on them a million minutes a day! Even three babies in, and Beckett had a wonderful latch from the start (I know this because H & G has awful latches looking back now at the difference), I still needed some healing time to adjust to the constant sucking. Also, do yourself a huge favor and get a good nipple cream. I’ve tried about 4-5 at this point, and this one is my favorite! I’ll be honest that the smell isn’t my favorite, but this isn’t about smelling nice – this is about saving your nipples!!
4. Take the ibuprofen
Stay on top of your ibuprofen! Most physicians send you home with a prescription for the hospital grade dosage You would be so surprised at how much of the “engorged” feeling is just natural swelling with all of the changes in your body. I’m talking, hurts to hug your other kids-type soreness! I’m not really a fan of taking medicines (personal preference) if I can just tough it out, but this is one where I really noticed this most recent time that it made such a difference in how sore my breasts were if I fell behind on taking my ibuprofen.
5. Gel packs are your new BFF
Heat before / Ice after – I feel like this wasn’t explained well to me the first time around. I mean, maybe I just missed it in the fog of post delivery, pain meds, newborn tiredness, who knows? But you want to provide a little bit of heat to help with that engorgement when your milk first comes in. A few minutes (about 3-5) of moist, moderate heat will do the trick. It just sort of loosens all the liquid up, helps loosen any clogs you may have forming, and baby also doesn’t have to work as hard if you help it get going. When they’re so little in those newborn days, anything you can do to help them is a step in the right direction. Just be ready to feed, pump or catch that milk in some way, because typically once you apply some heat, it’s ready to leak out. You want to ice right after a feeding/pumping. Again, this helps tremendously with that swelling. It’s just like putting ice on a bump that you get and you’re trying to keep it from swelling up! I really love these gel packs because they are the perfect size and can be used frozen or hot. And don’t knock the frozen peas in the grocery section if you don’t have anything else available 😉
6. You’re going to leak…
I really like the Haakaa to help this issue. I feel like the Haakaa is somewhat controversial, but it really worked for me at the beginning of this third breastfeeding journey. I’m not sure it even existed in the US back when I had Hunter. Some say that the Haakaa steals milk from the baby, and I do think you need to be very cautious about how and when you use it. I know for certain that I am an overproducer and I really needed a way to get the milk out, but I wanted to avoid stimulating my production with the electric pump. The Haakaa is the perfect solution for the overproducer or the mom that needs to offer some breastmilk in a bottle to ensure baby is fully satisfied. Side note: we had to do this for the first couple of weeks at our pediatrician’s request for Beckett. I thought I’d be annoyed by doing it (because breastfeeding directly was supposed to eliminate all that hoopla), but it was actually comforting to know that he was full at the breast and never really took any extra from the bottle!! But either way, we had enough to offer to B after a feeding and the rest I was able to freeze. It’s also great in the beginning when you’re feeling super engorged and like your baby will never drink all of your milk. Just use caution with the Haakaa if you’re concerned about not having enough milk in the breast for baby to eat. But I seriously love it & it SAVED me from the pump! It was just enough to take the edge off, and IMO avoid a clog situation, without fully emptying my breasts with the electric pump signaling my body to make more than the baby can eat! If you’re worried about the suction of the Haakaa, I would try these milk savers – no suction whatsoever. PRO TIP: Once the first six weeks passes and the engorgement has subsided, gently push on the nipple on the non-nursing breast to stop the leaking. You’ll know when your letdown is complete and you can let go.
7. Avoid clogs
Clog – a single word that can make me cringe!!! The best way I can describe a clog is like a painful bruise that’s hard like a knot in your back. Sometimes the skin might be pink or light red in the area as well. I had so many clogs with Hunter, I seriously hate to even think back on those times. Those clogs led to double mastitis and a trip to the ER for sweet Hunter having a reaction to my extreme antibiotics. A friend who I had met between Hunter and Gage’s births told me about Sunflower Lecithin for clogs. I didn’t even bother doing any research, I trusted her and started taking it the moment I got home from the hospital with Gage. It was a GAME CHANGER! One a day at minimum can be super helpful, and you can take a maximum of four if you feel a clog coming on. I didn’t have mastitis once my second time!!! I did have a few clogs here and there, but I was successfully able to heat and rub them out. This tool was a new discovery before Beckett was born as I was determined to actually nurse him from the breast. I told Chance before our baby was born that I couldn’t do the EPing with 3 kids under 4 – the baby was either going to breastfeed or take formula. Chance completely understood and was in full agreement. I still wanted to give it my all and hoped I could get him to nurse especially in these COVID times. Anyway back to this tool, it SO beats having to knead your breasts over and over again with your hands. It’s relatively inexpensive and works extremely well. This tool combined with my gel packs and sunflower lecithin – I think I’ve had maybe 2 or 3 clogs in 12 weeks of nursing. With Hunter, I probably had 2-3 clogs in one day – no joke!
8. Find a good nursing bra & top
Find a great nursing bra & tops that are nursing friendly but still make you feel great! These weren’t items that I needed with the first two, since I wore a hands-free pumping bra to EP. I had a few nursing bras that I purchased back when I was pregnant with Hunter and eager to breastfeed – they really weren’t that great. I also bought a ton more when I realized that I was going to be able to successfully nurse Beckett at the breast. Let me tell you – I tried a lot of bras on – and they’re all so expensive, too! This one wound up being my absolute favorite (SO comfortable), and the best part is that it’s totally affordable! I was wearing these nursing tanks with joggers or leggings around the house the first couple of weeks (and still do on days at home), but then I was ready to re-enter the world & these outfits weren’t quite going to cut it. It’s amazing how quickly I realized my wardrobe was not nursing friendly. I tend to do a bunch of dresses because they are most forgiving to my thighs which hold my extra pregnancy weight. I quickly realized that that was inconvenient and most definitely wouldn’t work out in public. I did find this nursing dress & it’s pretty awesome I must say! The rest are button down tops that can be switched up with different bottoms & dressed up or down. This top is an actual nursing shirt and is very soft and comes in tons of colors.
9. You do you!
But the most important tip I want to share with you is that if this isn’t working for you, your baby and your family, formula is a perfectly fine option as well! We are so blessed to live in a world where science has created a formula extremely close to breastmilk. My two oldest are thriving, and I have no regrets about the choice I made to give them formula; just like I have no regrets trying again with Beckett and persevering on this nursing journey with him 🙂
I hope you find these breastfeeding tips for new moms and veteran moms super helpful! Most importantly, remember that each mom / baby / experience is completely different & what works for one child may not work for the next one. Give yourself grace, mama, because you’re doing a wonderful job no matter what 🙂
*As always, please check with your doctor and your baby’s doctor. Every journey is different, and I am not a medical professional providing any medical advice. I’m just a mom hoping to help another mom 🙂
