My Tips for Breastfeeding

I want to preface by saying I am by no means an expert on breastfeeding, however, I do seem to have taken to it easier than most... though I do believe we make our own luck to some extent. Of course, if you're struggling with breastfeeding, seek the support of an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (this is different than your hospital midwife/lactation consultant - there is a big difference in the training and education required to become an IBCLC compared to a LC).

And that leads me to my first tip: do an independent breastfeeding course before you have your baby (I did mine with Mumma G in Townsville). The public hospital breastfeeding education is okay, but it definitely isn't comprehensive; it primarily teaches mother-led attachment, and the one I did only included two holds (cradle, and football hold). Comparatively, Mumma G taught me about baby-led attachment, the breast crawl, side lying position, as well as set me up with links to great videos and support websites, and like-minded Facebook groups! The two approaches are worlds apart!

Although I really wanted to allow Willow baby-led attachment for her first breastfeed, we did end up doing mother-led - so in my mind it was so helpful to have learnt both; it just gave me extra tools in my toolbox! We then went on to do primarily baby-led attachment in those early weeks (except for that morning feed from massive engorged boobs first thing when we woke up; she needed a little help then!)

My second piece of advice is that the sooner you and your baby learn to feed side lying, the easier your nights will be. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I actually "got up" to feed bub in the night - it was only the few times she was really unsettled and wouldn't latch laying down, and she often needed some stimulation from movement and then was all good. Our nights mostly consisted of (and still do!), popping out a boob and both of us are back to sleep before we're even really awake. We have bedshared from birth and transitioned to a sidecar cot at around 7 months, which still lets us feed side lying because the surfaces are joined and completely level, unlike a bassinet. (Check out @cosleepy on Insta for all the co-sleeping inspo). If you do choose to cosleep while also transferring bub to a bassinet or separate sleep surface, side lying feeding will still save your nights; and it's much safer to accidentally fall asleep while breastfeeding side lying, than it is to fall asleep while breastfeeding sitting up!

For tip number three, I would suggest that you don't need to prepare for breastfeeding by buying all the things ahead of time. Yes, it all looks pretty and 'necessary' on a curated Instagram feed, but the reality is that all you really need to breastfeed successfully is your boobs! It's very easy to acquire the gadgets and products as you go along if you decide that something will make your journey easier. Things like nipple shields or a breast pump are not necessary in my opinion, (see my latest social post), and can sometimes cause more harm than good if used without proper education or understanding of the lactation process. And a lot of other things can easily be swapped out for free for items you already have in your home; want a breastfeeding pillow? Use a normal pillow! Want nipple balm? Try hand expressing a few drops and let your breastmilk dry on your skin as a natural healing agent, go braless as much as possible and embrace the milky life! Want hot/cold packs? Use a face washer run under cool or warm water, or freeze some cabbage leaves! (New research suggests it's not beneficial to use heat on engorged or tender breasts - heat exacerbates inflammation whereas cold reduces it, so stick to cool packs where you can. Though a warm, not hot, face washer feels wonderful on morning boobs in those early weeks postpartum when the skin is stretched so tight and full!)

So although it can be tempting to buy all the things, I suggest waiting until you're in the thick of newborn life to see if you feel it's really necessary for you and your baby - because chances are, you'll find your groove and not even question whether you need the thing. The only things I bought prior to my baby arriving was reusable breast pads (since I was planning to do cloth nappies anyway, I had no concerns about washing them, and I knew I wanted to rely on disposable products as little as possible), and a tub of pure lanolin (I planned to use it as nipple balm and nappy rash cream, however, since we mainly used cloth nappies, and got a really solid wash routine right from the start by following the Clean Cloth Nappies washing advice, it hardly got used at all and these days is mostly just used as lip balm in our house! Although there's many branded nipple creams out there, I'd suggest the most cost effective way to purchase it is as 100% lanolin, I got mine through my friend's small business, The Peeping Sheep).

My fourth snippet of advice is: hang on tight when that 4 month leap hits! It's honestly no joke! I seen so many stories in the Facebook groups I'm a part of, about babies hitting that 4 month leap and all of a sudden refusing the boob, developing a bottle preference, and jeopardising breastfeeding relationships - and thought it wouldn't happen to me. It happened to me! My baby, who had never been offered a bottle or a dummy in her life, suddenly started refusing one boob at 3 months old. She'd always had a little preference, but seemingly overnight she refused her least favourite boob, and started fussing on her preferred one! We battled it out for a couple of weeks; I was too stubborn to pump and give her a bottle, so I ended up learning heaps of tricks to help get her to feed when she didn't want to. It's incredibly hard watching your hungry baby cry at the full boob and refuse to eat, so I get it; I understand why you would want to offer a bottle in that moment. But I've also seen friends go from exclusively breastfeeding to exclusively pumping and bottle feeding within the space of a few weeks because their baby developed a bottle preference. So it's important to understand the risks associated if you chose to take that path! If you do decide to offer a bottle, can I suggest you research pace feeding and cup feeding, and choose a wide mouthed, nipple-shaped teat, rather than a narrow, boob-shaped teat, to give you the best chance of continuing to breastfeed your baby. Now back to the tricks to help stay exclusively on the boob, if that's what you want: first up, try all the positions! This is when that breastfeeding education comes in handy - try as many different feeding positions as you know how, and make some up! Find what's going to work for you and your baby. For us, cradle hold went completely out the window and we mostly did reclined feeding, a little bit of football hold, koala hold in the carrier, and side lying still worked mostly of a night time and the occasional nap. You can also try feeding in the bath or shower (I'll never forget the look on my girls face when she realised she was allowed boob in the shower! It's pretty much become a nightly thing ever since, sometimes she even falls asleep and I have to dry and dress her while she's sleeping!), going somewhere dark and quiet, or any other scenario that will help your baby feel calm and soothed so that they can relax and feed. Breastfeeding in the carrier is a game changer, especially if you're out and about, bub is just in their own little cocoon in there and Willow would often feed right off to sleep, even in the thick of the 4 month leap. I did end up getting Willow to a chiro 3 times in 2 weeks, and that kind of coincided with us coming out the other side of this boob refusal. I'm hesitant to say it solved all our problems, but she was very one sided, and after those chiro visits she went back to feeding off both sides almost equally, and as time has gone on she's switched favourite boobs a few times, so there's no more stiff neck preference which I believe could have been a little part of our issue at 3-4 months. Basically you just have to do whatever keeps bub on the boob during those tricky times if your goal is to exclusively breastfeed for any length of time. My inbox is always open for troubleshooting if you need support!

And lastly, listen to your intuition, trust your mum gut, and watch the baby, not the clock! Ditch all the schedules and rules. Your baby has way more knowledge of the needs inside their body than some random app or arbitrary schedule made up by who-knows-who, however-many-years-ago! Spend those early weeks and months learning your baby's cues - the amount of times I had some random lady tell me that my baby sounded like she had a gassy cry when I knew she was hungry, or that she was hungry when I knew she was just tired! You're the mum, and you know your baby best, always. The more you cultivate that intuition muscle, the more it can continue to serve you throughout your child's life. On top of that, ditching the schedule and offering boob on tap allows your baby to listen to their body's needs of hungry and full, and allows your body's supply to regulate to their exact needs. This rule also goes for sleep as well as breastfeeding. Just as your baby will eat when they are hungry if boob is made available to them; they will sleep when they're tired if the opportunity is made available - babywearing is my favourite hack for this. My baby pretty much lived on my chest until she was about 6 months old, then we graduated to the back carry, and as she learnt to crawl and walk, increasing times of independent play as she explored her world. While Willow lived in the baby carrier, I got to go about my usual day (with my baby bump haha!), she would eat when she was hungry, sleep when she was tired, and absorb the world around her all the time. She's never been one to be distracted by toys, she loves exploring real life and being involved in things, which I think is super important for development, plus saves so much money on all the 'developmentally appropriate' toys for each age and stage - baby's don't need much, they just need real life!

Anyway, now I've given you all my breastfeeding tips from 16months of boobing, plus got on my babywearing soap box a little bit haha! I hope this blog has served you; please share with the expecting mama in your life who plans to breastfeed! <3