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This breastfeeding hacks article is meant to help moms and babies with the nursing process.
Breastfeeding is a beautiful thing, but sometimes it’s super difficult for moms and babies to adjust to nursing.
This is why I’ve written about these seven amazing breastfeeding hacks that every nursing mom needs to know about. They’ll make nursing your little one so much easier for you both.
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Yoga for beginners.
Big areolas?
If you have big areolas and are finding it nerve-wracking to feed your precious little one in public for fear of being called out or stared at by some passerby, then this hack is going to be a god sent.
P.S If you’re one who doesn’t mind using a comfortable cover to shield you and baby when nursing then try out these wonderful multi-function nursing breastfeeding covers for privacy.
However, if your little one doesn’t like to be covered when being fed, this nursing hack is an amazing alternative to try out.
You’ll simply need to cut out a hole in a comfy bra for each areola. Make sure you don’t cut out massive holes since you’re not trying to bare much of your breast, just enough so your baby can feed! You now have a bra that you’re able to feed your baby with while out in public without having to bare your entire breast or cover your baby up.
Consider wearing an additional bra over the altered bra so your areolas aren’t making any appearances through your clothing. You can easily pull this second bra down when you’re ready to feed. Also, use breast pads to further conceal the slit/hole in your altered bra.
You can find the most suitable bra for this here.
Pumping
If you work outside the home and often have a difficult time pumping, these breast pumping hacks will help you out tremendously.
Consider bringing in a few of your baby’s things from home to get some sort of ‘feel’ for your little one while you’re pumping. It should make let down easier as you’re getting some sort of special connection with your baby.
Also, here are a few important items to consider getting if you’re pumping at work or if you are planning to go back to work while needing to pump:
Insulated Cooler Bag: You can use a small insulated lunch bag to keep your milk and pump parts in. If you’d prefer, use a few ice packs to keep things cold during the day or you can also put in a fridge at work if you’d prefer that.
Hands-Free Pumping Bra: This is a great idea if your company makes your ‘pumping time’ your break time as many businesses often do. That way you will be able to do a few other things while pumping such as eating.
Additionally, If you have no special room or space that you can pump at your workplace, consider pumping while you’re driving to work, especially if you have a long commute. This will help minimize the number of times you need to pump at work.
If you use this breastfeeding tip, consider getting a Vehicle Breast Pump Lighter Adaptor. This breast pump lighter adapter will make pumping so much easier. You just get it set up in our car before heading off to work or heading home and unhook it once I arrive at your destination.
Difficulty Latching
Breastfeeding can sometimes be difficult at first. One of the major problems faced is that your baby may have a difficult time latching in the first few days or few weeks of trying.
Here are a few simple tricks you can try out to make the process easier:
Express some mil onto the nipple and offer it to your baby. After a few days or a week, the baby should begin to latch better.
Sometimes one problem is that the baby may latch on one breast fine and completely refuse the other. One simple way to help this situation is to continually try feeding baby off of the breast that he or she refuses so that he or she is hungry enough to nurse there.
This will get the baby into the habit of accepting both breasts eventually.
Also, consider using a nipple shield if your baby just won’t latch. These continue to help plenty of nursing moms feed their baby’s when babes refuse to latch.
You can find these here.
Clogged Milk Duct?
If you have a clogged duct simply soak your nipple in some warm salted water for ten minutes to unclog the nipple.
Another tip for clogged ducts includes using a cotton pad (the ones used for nail polish removal) saturate it in olive oil and put it in your bra or nursing tank over the nipple for 24 hours.
Also, consider taking 2 sunflower lecithin pills unclog and feel better. The Lecithin pills are made from sunflowers and they help to thin out the milk a little to help push it through the ducts.
Low milk supply?
Try eating plenty of galactagogues and staying super hydrated.
Also, on a side note, if you live near a Starbucks, try the Pink Drink. Many nursing moms swear by this to help increase their milk supply.
Best way to increase your milk stash
This is a great product to have for collecting milk while your baby is nursing. It’s not really a “pump” per say. It’s more like a catcher and the suction pulls out slowly as you feed or pump.
So, when you have let down and your breasts are leaking, this is a really awesome way to catch a lot of milk pretty quickly.
Side note: This will work for you even if your other breast doesn’t leak when you’re nursing.
Also great for when you’re feeling engorged and need relief but don’t want to over increase supply by pumping. Just pop those on, one on each side, and continue with your day. It’s like hands-free pumping with hardly any cleaning or setting up, and you’re able to remove just enough milk from the breasts to lessen discomfort.
You won’t regret this either. Tons of nursing mamas absolutely love this!
You can find them here.
Co-sleeping
If you’re looking for a good way to manage breastfeeding at night times, then having a great co-sleeper is a must.
Not only will this allow you to be able to sleep better with fewer worries and fears of harming the baby. But, it’ll also help you be easily accessible to your baby when he or she needs to nurse during the night.
You can check this co-sleeper out here.
Breastfeeding can sometimes start off really difficult, use these amazing breastfeeding hacks to make the process so much easier and enjoyable. Plus if you have any more breastfeeding hacks that you’d like to share, leave them in the comments below!
The information and products offered on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any issues you may experience. It is provided from careful research and personal experience. Please do careful research and consult your midwife/OB/GYN to make the best medical decisions for you and your child.
