There is so much to learn about breastfeeding. It isn’t as easy as it looks in the beginning. And even once it does become “easy” it does take a lot of your time. Especially in the beginning when your baby is feeding constantly. Here are 8 breastfeeding tips you need to know.

Nursing Bras

Don’t sleep with nursing bras. When you first start to breastfeed, your body is still getting used to what times to produce breast milk. By wearing a bra to bed, you are only going to get milk ducts. It’s so painful! You have use warm compresses. What helps even more is massaging your breasts under warm or hot water in the shower. Those sleeping nursing bras are great to wear during the day for comfort, not for sleep.

Nursing Pads

Your breasts will not leak forever. After about 2 months you will have a better schedule of when baby eats. That is when your body will regulate. You will still feel the milk coming in and you will feel full but over time they will just feel like breasts. Not full and ready to explode. Nursing pads are super itchy, in my opinion, but are definitely helpful and a must for those first couple of months when your body is trying to figure out when baby is hungry. I once made the mistake of not wearing them when picking my son up from school during the warm months. Let’s just say I had to leave ASAP. Not just one side but both sides were soaked and I didnt even realize it right away!

Cup Size

Your breasts are larger in the beginning but over time they can go down a cup or 2, in my case! Especially if you nurse, they tend to get smaller. My toddler is 2 years old and I am still nursing. Luckily he only nurses once in the morning and once at night. He is slowly weaning. Just the other day he only nursed once!

I recommend not buying new bras for a few months until your breasts decide what size they are going to stay LOL We all know bras are expensive!

Milk Supply

To keep your milk supply going. Make sure you pump. Let’s say your going out for dinner. Bring the haaka along. If you plan on breastfeeding for the first year, you definitely want to pump at least once a day and pump every few hours when you are away from baby. My son never used a bottle. He refused and I tried many different bottles with no luck. But I still pumped to keep my supply going when I was out.

You can stop pumping after the 1 year mark and nurse whenever your child wants or needs to nurse. Your supply while still be there as long as baby or toddler demands it. Which is the nice part. I mean who likes to pump!?

Nipple Pain

Your breasts will be tender and painful for about 6 weeks. After that you won’t feel a thing. If you can get through the first 6 weeks of pain, cracked nipples and even bleeding, breastfeeding will then become enjoyable. I recommend using a nipple shield for those cluster feeding nights and whenever your nipples hurt to much when baby latches on.

I have to say, breastfeeding support groups helped me tremendously. All these moms gave their advice. A nurse and lactationist were at every class to help support us moms. Every child is different and that includes nursing. I hope my baby girl will be easy to nurse when she arrives this summer! Some moms cried telling their stories. I for sure had many nights where I cried of pain. The things we do for our babies.

Random Things to Know

A few more breastfeeding tips you need to know.

1. Babies can’t actually bite and nurse at the same time. It’s impossible. If baby or toddler bites, it’s usually when they start to teeth or are distracted. If baby or toddler bites, break the latch.
2. Eat healthy and nutritious food as it breaks down and passed through your milk. It is said babies can taste different flavors of milk, depending on what you eat!
3. Your baby or toddler will learn to feed laying down sideways doing somersaults, standing and even play with your other nipple. And yes this is normal! It just makes it harder when feeding out in public!

Related Posts

These are my 8 breastfeeding tips you need to know. I hope it helps you! Breastfeeding does get easier. The beginning is just harder than it seems!