10 Breastfeeding Tips for New Moms

Breastfeeding is hard, and it isn’t free. You need some things to make it easier, and then you pay in time. A newborn can spend between 8 and 10 hours latched and feeding. And that is if you are lucky and don’t have latching problems.

Then there is the pain. In the beginning your breasts will be sore. You can get engorged, and blockages can leave you in almost screaming pain. Then there is always the risk of mastitis and thrush.

Between the sleep deprivation, a needy baby, and your perpetually sore nipples; you are in for a hellish start. But it does get better, and there are tools you can (and should use) to ease the transition.

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Tip #1: Get a pillow and a comfortable chair

If you have chosen to breastfeed, you are going to be nursing this baby a lot. So you need a comfortable place to sit and an easy way to hold the baby in place. As soon as possible you should get a super comfy chair to nurse in.

This is not just any chair. A nursing chair should rock, have arms that are the perfect elbow height, have a place to put your feet up, wipe clean easily, and be comfortable for a 3-5 hour nap with a baby on your chest. This chair is like a quest item. You need to go try out as many chairs as it takes to find this perfect chair.

I recommend getting the chair as early in the pregnancy as you can. If you get the right chair, you will usually find yourself sleeping in it instead of your bed come the third trimester.

Personally, I would go for a rocker recliner if you have the money. If you don’t, or that doesn’t work for you, the scour the second hand marketplace and pair the perfect rocking chair with an ottoman or poof. You are going to spend upwards of 8 hours a day in the first 3 months in this chair.

But a chair is not quite enough. While the chair with the perfect elbow position will allow you to hold the baby all day without fatigue, positioning on the breast for food is another animal entirely. A good nursing pillow will become indispensable. So indispensable we got two: one for baby’s room for night feedings and one for the living room for day use. Make sure to get a second cover for your pillow. It will be spit up on.

A small nursing stool, while not entirely necessary, is also not a bad investment.

Tip #2: Get the right bra

If you have done any research at all on breastfeeding, you will know there are all kinds of nursing bras out there. I know before I had my first baby, I thought they were all a gimmick. I did not understand why I couldn’t just use my normal bra.

They are not a gimmick, they are a necessary tool. Milk ducts are not necessarily confined to what most of us would consider “boob”. They can extend out. If you wear an underwire bra, the underwire could crimp a duct, cause a blockage, and put you in severe pain.

So why can’t you just find a normal bra without an underwire? Normal bras make a couple of assumptions that are not going to be true. They assume you don’t need easy access, that your boobs are going to remain the same size throughout the day, and that you are not leaking.

As you create milk, your boobs can increase up to two cup sizes, then they can loose a size when they are empty. You could leak, so you need a pocket to put something to catch the milk. And normal bras are not easy to fold down at the drop of a hat to allow junior access.

So, now you are ready to buy new bras. Pump the breaks for a moment. There are literally thousands of nursing bras out there and a lot of them suck. Before I had my baby, I tried close to 15 different bras of various sizes. None of them worked.

While pregnant, only spring for things like nursing tanks. They have a shelf bra that will be supportive enough while in the hospital, but still provide all the other things you need. Then get fitted for a bra by your lactation consultant. You will save money and get the right bra the first time. Get at least 3.

Tip #3: Lube up

Nipple chafing is no joke. Before putting that baby (or the pump) on your boob, take a second to protect it. Use an easily digestible oil and rub just a bit on the nipple. The baby won’t be affected by it, but it will protect your skin.

I recommend using vitamin E oil the first month while you are trying to perfect the latch as it is odorless and tasteless. After that you can switch to something cheaper. I used extra virgin light tasting olive oil. One bottle lasted over a year. Much cheaper than the tiny vitamin E oil bottles.

Tip #4: Ditch the Lanolin

Everyone and their brother are going to extol the virtues of lanolin. You will get it at the hospital. You will get it from the breastfeeding coach. They will talk about it in the baby classes, and many bloggers will wax poetic about its wonders.

Lanolin has great marketing, but otherwise doesn’t really work. And it can be expensive.

You do need something edible to put on your nipples after the feeding (or pumping) is done to prevent chafing, but lanolin doesn’t actually do its job well. There are two directions you could go to protect the girls: use the same oil you use for lube, or get a nipple butter.

In the beginning, I would definitely recommend a nipple butter. This is my favorite commercial butter, or you could save money by making some yourself. Just make sure you use organic ingredients if making it yourself, remember your brand new baby will be exposed to it.

Tip #5: Use the Breast Pump

In America, insurance is now required to cover breast pumps. Get one. Get it early so it arrives before the baby comes home. You may have trouble latching and need the pump to bridge the gap. Maybe you have trouble producing, and need to monitor your production. Or maybe the baby can’t latch at all.

Beyond the awful scenarios above, you also need it if everything is going well. Your newborn baby is likely to be up and hungry every three hours. You are not going to get any sleep if someone else can’t feed the baby. You can also use it to up your milk production. Pump before the baby latches (the baby is much better then the pump at getting everything), and put the milk in the fridge or freezer. Then someone else can feed the baby a few times a day so you can sleep. Yes, that does mean you need to buy a few bottles.

Extra milk is also helpful in case you wind up in a pump-and-dump situation. You could get a cold and need to take cold medicine, or maybe you ate something that give baby gas. Having that extra milk as backup can save you in a pinch.

If you are in a pump-and-dump situation, don’t dump the milk. Save it and mark it as discard. Then, when baby is having a bad skin rash or diaper rash, add the discard milk to the bath. Breast milk will clear those rashes right up.

Tip #6: Have the right snack at the ready

Every time the baby eats, your body is going to be screaming for food. Your body wants to remake the milk that was just eaten, and it needs more energy to do so. Unfortunately, any old snack is not going to be enough.

Your body is looking for something with some fat, sugar, and vitamins. A small ice cream with berries, a smoothie, a bowl of cereal with fruit, or a fruit and nut bar dipped in chocolate are going to be much better than a bag of chips or slice of cheese. Do not shy away from fat or sugar. Going for low fat and avoiding sugar will negatively impact milk production. So up your full fat dairy intake and eat that piece of chocolate if you want it. Sugar feeds the good bacteria making the milk, and the fat and calcium create the base.

Tip #7: Cue up some entertainment

When nursing a baby you might not have any hands free. Holding the baby (or positioning the pump correctly) takes precedence over anything else you might need to do. So before you sit down go to the bathroom, get your water and a snack, and cue up some entertainment.

Audio books and Netflix are your friends right now. Put on something engaging when you need to stay awake, and something you can sleep through when you need a nap with the baby. After all, you could be in that chair for the next hour or three.

Tip #8: Take naps

You just gave birth, and are spending 8+ hours a day breastfeeding. I promise, you are exhausted. You can’t sleep every time the baby sleeps, after all the dishes still need to get done and you need to do something for you, but you should try for 2 naps a day. Pick two times the baby is sleeping during the day and sleep then as well. You need the rest.

Tip #9: Enlist Help

While breastfeeding can leave you sore and exhausted. It should not leave you in a ton of pain. Use the lactation services offered by the hospital to be fitted properly for your breast pump and get a proper latch.

Often, lactation services will meet you in your hospital room shortly after giving birth to help you out. But the hospital will include a number of consultations in the bill. If you don’t use them all while in the hospital, you can come back and use them in the weeks after birth.

If you are having a problem, seek help. Don’t only trust the lactation consultant either. Look online for solutions. Contact me or other mommy bloggers if needed. Talk to your mom, your significant other (they can do more than you think), or someone you trust who successfully breast fed. And don’t be afraid to make the decision that works best for you and your family. If it isn’t working, you can stop.

Tip #10: Trust your baby and your body

This system is biologically engineered to take care of your baby. Your baby inputs saliva and your body tailor makes milk for your baby’s needs. That means your baby may need more of one mineral or another one day and less the next. Your body will tell you what it needs.

So if you are craving massive amounts of sugar, go get something sweet. If you are craving steak, go get it. And don’t forget to take your prenatal vitamins. A breastfeeding baby pulls more from your body than it did when you were pregnant.

And don’t forget the water. Drink before you are thirsty. Drink constantly. While breastfeeding, I drank over 3 gallons of water a day. Most of it went into milk production, the rest was for me. If I didn’t drink that much, my milk ducts would clog and I would be in pain. So when in doubt, down a glass of water.

Just remember, you know what is right for your family. You have got this!

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