6 Ways to Survive Breastfeeding

As a nursing mama who is now more than 10 months in with her second, here are my 6 ways to survive breastfeeding.

1.  Throw your modesty out the window. 
This might sound like a challenge if you are pregnant or not yet pregnant, unless you are a super expert bead collector during Mardi Gras.  ;)  But once you deliver that little bundle of joy and everyone - from your ob to the janitor sweeping the halls has seen it all, it will be much easier to do.

2.  Take advantage of the Lactation Consultant at the hospital.
Ask to see the LC right away.  I have to admit that when I first heard of a Lactation Consultant I rolled my eyes.  Mothers have lactated and babies have been nursed since the beginning of time.  It can't be that hard.  Well, it is.  And that is why there are experts in the world to help.  Use them.  See your hospital LC as much as you can, have her check the latch, ask questions or just get positive feedback that everything is going well.

3.  Have a sense of humor.
It might be hard to find the funny in some of the nursing predicaments you might find yourself in at first, but you'll get there.  Like if you are on a different level of your home nursing your newborn under a cover and your father in law comes to chat with you and doesn't realize that you are in fact breastfeeding until 10 minutes into the conversation.  Or if you are nursing in the car without a cover because of the heat and a boy scout troop walks by and gets a better view of you than they would watching National Geographic.  Or better yet, nursing during a pap. 

If you can't laugh through it, you might die of embarrassment.  So just laugh through it.

4.  Get a cute nursing cover.
I love the Udder Covers, but there are many brands out there.  The benefit of a cover with a cute print is that a lot of times people won't realize you are nursing.  Like in the above scenario with my father in law.  The covers are more light weight than blankets and have wire in them so you can peek down at the baby, which helps in the early days with getting the baby latched on correctly.

5.  Purchase nursing supplies ahead of time
and have them ready to go for when you come home from the hospital.  Lansinoh ointment saved me but there are gel soothies and other ways to help heal those sore nipples.  Nursing tanks/bras make life much easier and I couldn't imagine nursing this long without them.  Nursing pads are a must and come in disposable or cloth varieties.  You also might want to think about getting a Milk Saver to collect the extra milk to save for bottles or cereal down the line without having to pump.

Don't open the box for your pump until you are sure breastfeeding is going to work for you.  Most stores will not except a return once the box is opened and they are too expensive to sit around collecting dust.

6.  Remember why you chose to breastfeed.
Because you are going to want to give up at some point.  Whether it's for the nutritional value for the baby, the fact that it's free {vs $100 a month for formula!}, the bonding experience, whatever.  Discuss your reasons with your partner and when times get tough remember why you chose to do this.  And whatever you do, do NOT give up on your worst day.  It DOES get easier as the weeks go on - it hurts less {until it doesn't hurt at all!}, it gets faster and less frequent.

Setting smaller goals for yourself to get to your long term breastfeeding goal can help, too.  Committing to nurse for a year is huge.  Start off by committing to one month, or six months.  If you can break it down it can seem much more manageable.


Lastly, if breastfeeding doesn't work out for you, it's okay.  Formula fed babies turn out to be healthy and happy, too! 

Do you have any tips to add to survive breastfeeding?