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The Holidays And Being A Breastfeeding Mom

December 21, 2009 by Mommy News  
Filed under Breastfeeding Info & Tips, Traveling With A Baby or Toddler

6 Comments


Welcome to the Carnival of Breastfeeding for December! This month’s theme is, “Taking care of yourself during the holidays.” You can see lots of other great posts by following the links at the end of this article.

Being a breastfeeding mom during the holidays can be very stressful for some moms. You might be traveling to see family – which puts you out of your normal routine, or you might have guests coming over – which puts you in overdrive! You also might be faced with the presence of friends or family who aren’t as comfortable with your breastfeeding as you would like them to be. Below are a few tips and tricks to help you get through the next few weeks.

Traveling

If you are going to be traveling for the holidays, be sure to plan ahead. Take lots of water and healthy snacks with you and be sure to allow extra time for baby changing, taking a break to nurse and some rest room visits (after all you’ll be drinking lots of water!). Drinking water is so important. Your whole schedule is going to be out-of-sync from what you are accustomed to – so you’ll want to be sure to take good care of yourself and your little one! If you are traveling by car – bring lots of water and have it easily accessible so that you can reach it from the front seat. Bring healthy snacks like grapes, granola bars, even pack some sandwiches. Having some of your favorite foods around will make the trip more pleasant and will help you to stay nourished during your journey. If you are traveling by plane, you won’t be able to bring as much with you, but be sure to stock up in the airport so that you have plenty of snacks and liquids for your flight. Be sure to look here for more holiday travel tips.

Having Family Come Visit

If you are having family or friends come to your house for the holidays – try not to stress about it too much. You are a new mom – no one expects you to have a perfect house. Hire a cleaning service to come over and help you out or convince a friend to come and help you prepare for your guests. Try to get as much of your shopping and cooking done ahead of time so that you can enjoy your time with your visitors. Remember – this is a time to enjoy your family and friends – so be sure to take some time out for all of the fun parts of having holiday visitors!

Less Than Supportive Voices

If you think you might encounter some “less than supportive” comments about your breastfeeding during any of your holiday events – the best thing you can do it prepare yourself ahead of time. Decide now – who might say something, what might they say and how will you respond to it. If you go over the scenarios in your head before-hand, then you will be better prepared for if and when something happens. If you are traveling, look up your rights before you go. Know what the laws are of the state or country that you might be visiting. If it is a family member – go through the scenario in your head ahead of time. And if you are pleasantly surprised – embrace every moment of acceptance!!

I remember when my son was 5 months old, I was visiting my family out of state and my entire extended family was there for Christmas Eve. I was nursing my son on the sofa sitting next to my very conservative Aunt. I had a festive nursing top on – which I don’t think anyone even realized was a breastfeeding top! My aunt looked at me and said “Is he nursing?” and I answered “yes” and then she said “Well you can’t even tell!” It was about the nicest thing I could have expected her to say to me. I was so happy and relieved and it made for such a wonderful experience!

Most importantly – during all of your holiday festivities – if you are traveling or staying home or having visitors – remember that this time is about family and about enjoying yourself. So take some time away from the hustle and bustle and be sure to take a moment to just enjoy the holiday!

Do you have any great holiday tips that have helped you to enjoy this time of year? Please leave a comment and share them with the other moms reading this article!

And don’t forget to visit the other Carnival of Breastfeeding Posts at the great blogs listed below (NOTE: this list will be updated throughout the day, so please check back often!):

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Breastfeeding in Public

June 20, 2009 by Mommy News  
Filed under Breastfeeding In Public

20 Comments


Welcome to the Carnival of Breastfeeding for June! This month’s topic is breastfeeding in public and you can see lots of other great posts by following the links at the end of this article.

Breastfeeding in Public with Skinies Open Cup Nursing Cami

Breastfeeding in Public with Skinies Open Cup Nursing Cami

When I heard that the topic for this month’s Carnival was going to be Breastfeeding In Public, I was thrilled. This is a topic that I have been meaning to write about for a long time – and it is something that I have a ton of experience with!!

You see, when my son was an infant – and really throughout the first year of his life and beyond, he was a “nibbler.” He didn’t eat a lot at a time, but he ate often! On average, he nursed every 1-2 hours for the first year of his life during daytime hours. So no matter where we went, we ended up breastfeeding in public. I became the queen of finding great places to breastfeed my baby and I developed a list of tips and tricks along the way. I’d like to share those places and tips with you now.

Places that are particularly breastfeeding friendly:

Babies ‘R’ Us: I think we went to Babies ‘R’ Us at least twice a week when my son was an infant. Each store has a wonderful mother’s room equipped with a changing table, a comfy sofa, a rocker and pretty pictures on the wall. Whenever you walk in, there is usually another mom in there breastfeeding her baby. It is a lovely room and I spent many hours in it during my sons early days!! Many of the store locations also have free infant sized diapers for you to use when you are using the changing table too.

Motherhood Maternity: Each Motherhood store has a sign in their dressing room that says “Breastfeeding welcome here” and they freely open up their dressing room to you to come in, sit down and nurse your baby. Even if I wasn’t buying anything (their nursing supplies collection is pretty limited), I was still able to go in and use their dressing room. And at least at the one near me, the sales associates were always very friendly.

Tips for breastfeeding in public:

Many moms are nervous about having to feed their babies in public. The first thing you should know is that you are doing what is BEST for your baby and what is NATURAL! You shouldn’t ever feel intimidated about breastfeeding in public. In fact, you should be PROUD! Below are some tips to help you feel more confident.

1) Know your rights. In most states, breastfeeding mothers are protected by law. Read up on the laws in your state and be knowledgeable about where and when the law is on your side.
2) Practice. Many moms are nervous about breastfeeding in public because they are afraid that they will bare too much skin while getting the baby latched on. The best way to get good at getting your baby latched on is to practice. Practice at home where you don’t have to be nervous while you are doing it. Another good thing to do is to practice in front of a mirror. That way you can see yourself and see how little of your breast can actually be seen. You will be surprised at how discreet you already are – without even knowing it!
3) Get some nursing clothes. Many women feel more comfortable breastfeeding in public if they have clothing with easily accessible nursing access. This is what I did. For me personally, I didn’t care if someone happened to get a glimpse of my breast, but I didn’t want them to see my belly!! So I invested in nursing tops and wore them everywhere! I even wore them at work when I was pumping. Now-a-days, nursing tops are so cute and stylish that your non-nursing friends will be asking you where they can get a top as cute as the one you are wearing! So treat yourself – you deserve it!
4) Use a sling. Using a sling makes it easier to nurse your baby while walking around or even sitting somewhere comfortable. It helps to keep your baby close to you and makes nursing a little more discreet by giving you some extra fabric to cover up. I can remember walking around shopping when my sister-in-laws were in town one time. I had my sling and my baby was nursing while I walked around! It was great. The only down-side was I wasn’t wearing a nursing top, so I had to cover up my belly with a receiving blanket! I highly recommend combining use of your sling with a great nursing top – that way you can walk around, have one arm free and still nurse your baby anywhere!
5) Be confident. You are doing the best thing for your baby!! Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for it. I can remember being in a restaurant one time with a friend. My baby needed to nurse and we were sharing a table with another couple. I thought about asking them if they “minded” if I nursed my baby. But then I thought to myself “What if they say that they do mind? I’m not going to change what I am going to do – my baby needs to eat, so I am going to feed him” So I didn’t ask. They didn’t say anything either!

I nursed my son in public just about anywhere you can imagine (at the grocery store, at the mall, sitting on a park bench, at the library, when visiting friends at work, at my work, at my husband’s work, at Disney World, at the museum, on the side of the road in my car and just about any other place you can imagine). We nursed in public until he was about 18-20 months old and we NEVER had anyone make a negative comment towards us. I was always ready in case they did – but no one ever did. Sometimes people would smile at us and sometimes they would walk away, but I always felt good because I was giving my baby exactly what he needed! I even convinced my nanny to nurse her own children with out even trying! Just by her seeing how “easy” it was when we were together and I could just nurse my baby when he was hungry and how “difficult” it was when she was by her self and had to plan ahead and lug bottles everywhere.

Bottom line, there is no need to cover yourself when nursing in public – you have a right to feed your baby. Different women feel more or less comfortable when doing this in public – so use the tools that make you feel better. Get out and enjoy this time with your baby! And most of all FEEL PROUD of what you are doing.

Do you have funny or interesting stories about nursing in public? Do you have any great tips you’d like to share with other new moms? Please leave a comment.

And don’t forget to visit the other Carnival of Breastfeeding Posts at the great blogs listed below (NOTE: this list will be updated throughout the next few days, so please check back often!):

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How Breastfeeding Changed My Life

May 23, 2009 by Mommy News  
Filed under Breastfeeding Info & Tips

21 Comments


WELCOME Carnival of Breastfeeding Readers!!

I always knew that I would breastfeed. When I was in college, I spent a semester studying in Kenya and I remember seeing all of the moms there carrying their babies on their backs while they did their work and breastfeeding. I always thought that would be me. I never imagined, however, how much breastfeeding and becoming a mother would change my life!

Even when I was pregnant, I never imagined staying home with my son. I always thought I would be dying to go back to work once the baby came. I never could have imagined how I would pass my day “just at home” with my baby. Even in my “Kenyan dreams” I always imagined going back to work with my baby on my back and never letting becoming a mom change anything – I would just work and carry and feed my baby. Of course, in my “real world” bringing my baby to work wasn’t an option. I had planned to take three months off, but figured I would be very eager to go back to work once the time was over.

BOY WAS I WRONG!

I cried for a whole week before going back to work. I couldn’t imagine being away from my baby and having someone else care for him! I actually ended up taking four months of maternity leave, not the three that I had originally planned.

breastfeeding-5-mosWell, one week shy of four months, I went back to work. I started on a Monday (if I had to do that over, I would definitely start mid-week!) and it was a tough week. I was breastfeeding, and my son was a nibbler, so I had to pump often. My son nursed every hour during the day, but I couldn’t pump that often, so I pumped every two hours at work. That was FOUR TIMES a day! It was stressful and difficult, but I did it. I missed my son, I missed my “other life” that I had established while I was out on maternity leave. It was full of play dates and mommy groups! I lived vicariously through my nanny who went to all of the play dates and support groups in my place!

I lasted until my son was 15 months old. I had pretty high-profile corporate job which required long hours in the office and lots of out-of-town travel. I was lucky that my nanny was willing to travel with me – so for most of my business trips, I took her and my baby with me. It was a lot of work for all of us and after 15 months, I decided that I wanted to spend more time with my son. I had been exploring other “career options” and even went on a few job interviews. I was still breastfeeding, although only pumping once per day by this point. My son and I had a very difficult time getting started with breastfeeding and ultimately I decided that I wanted to find a way to help other new moms be successful at breastfeeding.

When my son was 15 months old, I left my corporate job and stayed home for 4 months. During those first four months I enjoyed every minute with my son! I didn’t even think about my new career yet – I went to mommy groups and play dates and took my son to his music lessons and swim lessons and the park and the zoo and everything else you can imagine. I just enjoyed being a mom!!

Then in January of 2007, after the holidays were over, I started formulating my business idea. And four months later, A Mother’s Boutique officially opened for business!! I love my job and the time that it gives me with my family! I love helping new moms! I write articles and participate in breastfeeding support groups. In October of 2008, I started this blog to be able to give back even more to moms everywhere! It has been a wonderful journey!

How did breastfeeding change your life? What things did you imagine? And what parts took you by surprise? My journey has taken to places I never dreamed I would be – both personally and professionally. I’d love to hear more about yours!

Thanks for visiting the Carnival of Breastfeeding for May! Take a look at these other great blogs and their posts which are part of this carnival (this list will be updated throughout the day)! Please leave us a comment to share your stories too!!

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